back in the game [Brice]

[ALISTAIR ELIJAH MACMILLAN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-green.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] pacemaker, big bang what we doing where we going this night feel drunk already maybe drink got spiked but more like the other like i'm just a lightweight well i don't care i been drunk forever. To say that Alistair was looking forward to tonight was an understatement. The past weeks had gone by sluggishly because he knew he had plans for this Saturday night. Lessons ticked by seemingly lasting sixty hours each rather than sixty minutes, homework assignments seemed to take longer than usual even though Alistair tended to painstakingly go over them anyway and even quidditch practice seemed to drag. It was highly unusual, not because Alistair never had anything to look forward to (though apart from receiving essay and exam grades and the occasional quidditch match that was true; his life was quite dull most of the time) but because all that was happening was a night out with a friend. He’d done it before and he’d do it countless times more that was for sure. It must be because the friend was Brice. Brice who up until recently, had seemingly disappeared from the earth and cut ties with his old Ravenclaw chum. Brice who never agreed to a night out. This moment needed to be savoured as it was unlikely to happen again anytime soon. If ever. And also probably because Al wouldn’t be sneaking off to the room of requirement or the dungeons for a secret get together with other students. He’d be going out with someone who had graduated Hogwarts. So Brice was only a year older but it made it all seem very adult like; all of a sudden Al felt quite grown-up. And he liked it. Although he was quite content with school life and saw the outside world with trepidation, sometimes he was impatient with his current life situation and eager to explore the outside world. Of course Alistair knew that to get the best out of life he would have to study hard but tonight was a welcome break. He burned away the day with quidditch practice, reading and nipping to the owlery to send Brice a quick note. Hope you haven’t forgotten about tonight, see you later, I’m looking forward to it. Al. Just a friendly reminder, not to mention a way to pass the time. He had chosen Hogsmeade as their destination since it wouldn’t be far for either of them to stumble home; he supposed Brice wouldn’t even mind Al kipping on his sofa for the night if needs be. Although Alistair didn’t plan on getting completely wasted. He’d done that recently and found himself locked up in a broom closet so he wasn’t too keen on repeating it. Just a few drinks so that he edged into drunkenness would be good enough. He supposed Brice would be able to slow his drinking down. But he was quite determined to get Brice drinking, he didn’t want to ruin his friend but lowering his inhibitions slightly might actually do the guy some good. He wandered into the village, dressed in dark jeans and his favourite blue polo shirt beneath his designer jacket. You could tell Alistair was pureblood, not only by the way he walked but by the way he dressed. He had told Brice to meet him in the bar at the far end of Hogsmeade, students weren’t allowed in but Alistair had connections; the perks of being a pureblood with many a relative behind the scenes and so he was granted entry. He was beginning to think (even though he had arrived early) that he should have swung by his house. He knew what Brice was like, knew that it often took Alistair pulling forcibly on his arm, literally dragging him out the door to get him out and even then it didn’t always work. He sighed; sipping at his pint and restlessly watching the door from his table, thinking that if he wasn’t here by the time he got to the bottom of it he would turn up outside his house. Because even if they didn’t go out, even if they didn’t drink. Al was determined to spend the evening with his friend. They had made plans and he’d be damned if Brice didn’t stick to them. brice, 600-700 words, yay a template

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[BRICE PAUL BECKETT]

There wasn't a chance in hell that Brice would ever admit it but there was more then a small part of the wizard that was actually looking forward to what he and Alistair had planned for Saturday night. He needed a break from reality for a while even if it was going to be short lived (and odds were Alistair was going to be trying to force more then a few pints down his throat) but anything was better then nothing after the week he had been forced to suffer through. Mundane was hardly a way to describe it, the fact of the matter was it had been down right dull. Far from the auror training that he had wished and hoped for when things seemed to be just perfect for him. Now things had sunk to the point that he had nothing better to do then fix clocks, de-doxy furniture though he did at least enjoy himself when he at least got to deal with a boggart. Still that was nothing that a third year couldn't handle but it was nice to put his defense against the dark arts skills to use on something that wasn't himself for a change. But at the very least he had something to look forward to. That simple distraction from what his life had become was more then welcome considering this time next week he would be recovering from his hellish transformation and hoping like mad that no one put two and two together. As friendly as some of the populace of the town seemed it was just his mere wish that the newness of his arrival would quickly wear off and they would leave him alone to do his own things. At least within reason. There was no sense in being a total bastard to the world.

Brice smoothed out the collar of his jacket for what was possibly the fourteenth time as for some reason he could swear that it wasn't laying right no matter what he did. But that was perhaps what happened when clothes spent more then a few months stuffed in the bottom of a trunk and that was precisely where they had been up until mere hours before when he went on the hunt for clothes in his possession that didn't have a worn out appearance. Like so many of his things. In the end, however he did manage to find himself a decent jacket, a hole free pair of jeans and simple t-shirt (which he couldn't believe still fit considering it sure didn't look like it would. Magic perhaps?). Without a doubt he was going for more of a casual look but there was no real point to dress up more then he had. It wasn't like he was heading to some four star restaurant (and how he would pay for that he would never know) he was going to a bar for a few drinks with a friend. And that was far from a place where anyone pulled out their best clothing. Even the argument couldn't hold up in his mind that a person had to look that good to pick someone up, getting a few drinks into someone did have an ability to make them less picky and that was the fact of the matter. And the last thing he needed was finding someone anyway. With his condition it wasn't possible to hold anything together but that too was just an excuse. People sure didn't walk into a bar looking for 'the one'. It was more like some quick action. One night stands or even something as cheap as sneaking off to the bathroom. Still he didn't want to stoop to that level. He was better then that.

The wizard stepped inside the pre-chosen location, happy enough to be in some place warm. While it was a very normal November, the chill in the air was not one he wanted to remain in for hours on end. He spotted Alistair quickly enough, the younger Ravenclaw glancing to the door (surely what was a common practice) gave himself away and Brice moved to meet him. To say the least his friend had done a great job at out classing him with his selected attire but that was nothing that was surprising nor hard to do. It wasn't as if the wizard had a large closet filled with fancy clothes. In fact, the one shirt that he had of any real value (and even then it didn't hold a candle to most of the things that he had seen) had been ripped to ribbons right along with the rest of him when he had gotten attacked. But even though he told himself it didn't matter, there was still small part of himself that surfaced that was nothing more then jealous over the fact that his friend had the money for such things. Though that was not how he should think at all. It was wrong, petty and completely beneath him. Brice flashed his friend a smile, pushing the unpleasant thoughts from his head and taking a seat. "You seem surprised I showed." He commented, eying his surroundings briefly. There was no hiding that certain level of disdain that he had for such locations. The smell of stale beer and smoke was never one that he liked but it was still better then sitting at home rereading another book. And there were a few attractive individuals here and there. Not that he needed that sort.

"So, now what?" Brice asked, considering this marked the first time that he had ever willingly went out with his friend. He knew the forced reaction all too well. Looking like he had just eaten something sour, holding down a chair the whole evening while sipping on the same beer the whole time he remained there. But for once he was going to give having fun a shot, within reason anyway. He was only doing it because his friend had taken so much time in tracking him down. That was still one thing that he wanted to know how he did it. Even though he was found for the better, it was unnerving. But tonight was still about trying to have fun.

Words;; 1,040
Tagged;; Alistair
Clothes;; Jacket, t-shirt, jeans
Notes;; New prettiness, yeah? xD
Lyric Credits;; Digital Summer's War Against Myself

[ALISTAIR ELIJAH MACMILLAN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-green.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] pacemaker, big bang what we doing where we going this night feel drunk already maybe drink got spiked but more like the other like i'm just a lightweight well i don't care i been drunk forever. Alistair saw tonight as an evening out with his friend and so even if a hot, leggy blonde started eyeing him up from across the room he would not do anything about it. When he organised a night out with his friends, he didn't just ditch them because he might get lucky, unless of course they stared shoving him towards the girl because they hoped to have a laugh watching him get shot down as she pointed out the older, muscular man who had been standing behind him. And he was sure Brice wasn't that sort of friend anyway. That didn't mean to say he was against pushing Brice in her direction. Not because he wanted to see him shot down, but because Al was determined to see him with someone. Or at least admit that he wanted a relationship. Alistair had a strange way of doing it, but that was him putting his friend first. Which in Macmillan world didn't happen very often so really Brice should be thrilled and flattered. He continued to sip on his pint, not even bothering to glance around and check out if there was anyone worth perusing anyway. He kept his eyes trained on the door, conscious of the fact that he was almost at the bottom of his drink and jangling the loose change in his pocket half irritated half nervous that he was being stood up by him. Being stood up by a girl was pretty embarrassing but by one of your close friends, that took it to a whole new level. And there was only so long you could sit on your own in a bar drinking before you started to look a bit like an alcoholic loser. ‘A watched pot never boils’ his mother always told him so with a sigh he took a look at his surroundings, hoping that would mean the door would open and it would be Brice who entered and not some balding middle aged man or a group of people in cloaks with their hoods covering their faces. The setting he was used to; the long bar against one wall, the pool table and darts board in one corner, jukebox and slot machine in another and then a sea of tables dotted with people in between. The place wasn't too busy yet, it was still quite early and with the price of alcohol forever rising in pubs and bars, most people chose to drink mostly at home and go out later. Al was one of the lucky few who could afford a night out and he was sure he would be insisting on paying for most of the rounds even though Brice would try and stop him. He was pretty sure his father when he allowed Al a share of his trust fund hadn't wanted the money to be spent on alcohol but as long as his sister kept her mouth shut there was no harm done. He switched his gaze back to the door just as it opened and Brice stepped inside. Relieved that he wouldn't have to go and bang his door down again, the Ravenclaw sat back in his chair, smiling. With a small bite of his lip, Alistair looked down at the table at his friends’ first comment. "Sorry." he apologised quickly. ”Are you not surprised that you willingly turned up?" Images of a disgruntled Brice sitting stubbornly with his head behind a book in the Ravenclaw common room as Al desperately pleaded with him to move the few metres down the hall to the room of requirement, flashed into his mind. "First, I get you a drink." He said standing up whilst swilling the last dregs of his beer around the glass before tipping them down his throat. "Then we put the world to right. And whilst I'm gone you have a look to see if anyone takes your fancy." Al gave him a look that plainly said, 'I'm not joking even though I know you won't play along.' he then turned around, smirking slightly and feeling rather triumphant that after many years he had finally gotten Brice out of his front door and out to a bar without the use of excessive force and persuasion as well! He returned with two pints of beer, setting them down on the table and sitting himself back down. ”Drink up mate, the first of many!” He chuckled, ready to do his very best to keep the both of them out for as long as possible. ”The more you drink, the more comfortable you’ll be.” He said, picking up his glass and indicating that he should do the same. A couple more down his throat and all either of them would care about was drinking some more of that Alistair was confident. Feeling a lot more at ease than Brice was Alistair was sure, he placed his glass carefully back down on the coaster whilst he was still functioning well enough to see it straight and looked across at his friend. ”So come on then, how have you been? I’m ready to listen to you moan about work.” Truth be told, Alistair would rather he did the talking because that would mean Brice would be drinking but he did want a catch-up with him so he was content to listen for now. brice, 890 words, yay a template

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[BRICE PAUL BECKETT]

"Maybe a little." Brice replied to his friend, shrugging his shoulders. After all, the last thing that he really wanted to do was give his friend the satisfaction of not only getting him into a bar setting but having him want to be out in the first place. It was just not going to happen because if he really made it look as if he wanted to be there there really was no doubt that Alistair would be trying to get him out any chance he possibly could. Regardless, there was a part of himself that was surprised that he had gone out, just as he had informed his Ravenclaw friend but even then it was something that didn't all at the same time considering the week that he had suffered through. Without a doubt he really wanted something more and something that wasn't so boring and without challenge. But that was something for another time as well, he had all of tomorrow to figure out what he was going to be doing when it came to the career front because as much as he wanted to play it safe, there wasn't a chance in hell that he was going to be doing the job he currently was for the likes of minimum wage. There were far more interesting jobs out there, then the one he had selected. Honestly he could feel his magical abilities dying like a muggle child's braincells from watching too much mind numbing television. At least tonight he didn't have to think about much more then the concept of conversations and keeping track of the number of drinks he was consuming. Indeed, he was still determined to remain as close to sober as he could manage. One or two pints, never hurt anyone.

That was what he maintained was going to be the end of his 'wildness' for the evening. Anymore then that and he was just asking for things to get out of hand and that was something that the wizard was going to do his best to avoid. The general lack of control was something that he held in great disdain. Once a month of having to deal with that really was enough so the last thing that he needed was that happening any more times during the month. Brice smirked at his friend as Alistair went to go fetch some more beers. See if anyone caught his fancy, indeed. That was still the last thing in the world that he needed but even with that being the bottom line, he couldn't help himself but see who was out there. Here he was doing something that Alistair suggested (but he was not going to inform his friend of that), not that there was anything wrong with looking but there were more then a few questions that liked to appear in his head when he did. The most complex of which being why. Why was something that had to be asked when he took everything into full consideration. It was dangerous enough for him to keep friends around let alone trying for a relationship. So many things had the ability to go wrong and all were things that he didn't want to take any chances on. After all, how long could he hide his furry counter part? Even if he did erase it from their memory, it still wouldn't fix the fact that he knew them. Sooner or later, he'd end up with nothing more then a sea of romances and memories while they failed to so much remember his name. God, the whole thing sounded like a bloody romantic movie; bet muggles would eat it up with a spoon.

Even with that terrifying idea, however, there were two that had his attention. Though he did his best to avoid attracting theirs, making it seem his watching was nothing more then a passing glance as someone took in their surroundings and that was just the way he continued to play it when Alistair returned with the beers. His eyes moved back to his friend, not wanting to make him any wiser. The younger Ravenclaw seemed all too pleased with himself already anyway. Brice picked up his glass in accord with his friend as Alistair made, what was a very basic toast (if that was even what it was). "Here. Here." Brice replied, bordering on mock cheer. "Though I hope you plain on drinking most of them." He sampled his beer, treating the whole thing more like a wine tasting then a proper outing. At least the drink wasn't half bad, there really was no point in anything that tasted too terrible. Even more so when you're bloody paying for it. Or maybe he was just cheap and picky. Still, things could have managed to be a lot worse. Though the topic of work did more to dampen his spirits then any amount of drink or lack of control could. Moan really was about right. Brice took a proper mouthful of his beverage and then set it down onto the coaster, taking a few moments to insure it was straight and evenly placed upon it. Otherwise it was libel to bother him the whole time.

"I'm not really liking it. Work, that is." Brice admitted, though there wasn't anything that Alistair or himself could do about it at the moment. And there wasn't a chance that he would ever expect his friend to figure something out but he had asked, and even as much as the wizard would have liked to have lied about his feelings about work, he knew better then to try that routine with Alistair. He was too smart for that and they had known each other for the longest time, or really long enough. "But I finally got everything unpacked. Have everything figured out for Friday." Seeing as that was the dreaded day that the full moon was going to ruin his weekend. "Work could just be better." And there wasn't a chance that he was going to lie to himself or humour anyone and say that it was going to get better. That job was what it was always doing to be and there was no changing it. "I honestly think my brother could do it and he's a muggle." Brice muttered. There was still a part of him that was paranoid that there were unfriendly witches and wizards keeping track of who wasn't pureblood, whether there was actually a threat he had no idea. He took another drink of his beverage. "How about you?"

Words;; 1,095
Tagged;; Alistair
Clothes;; Jacket, t-shirt, jeans
Notes;; Finally, here you go.
Lyric Credits;; Digital Summer's War Against Myself

[ALISTAIR ELIJAH MACMILLAN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-green.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] pacemaker, big bang what we doing where we going this night feel drunk already maybe drink got spiked but more like the other like i'm just a lightweight well i don't care i been drunk forever. It was with a raise of his eyebrows and a roll of his eyes that Alistair responded to Brice and he quickly vowed to begin tipping beer down his throat. They were going to have a good time. Hell they both needed it, particularly Brice who must have had some good feelings towards tonight given that he had voluntarily arrived and graciously accepted an alcoholic beverage already. And if anyone knew how to have a good time then Alistair did. They didn’t have to get fall down drunk and forget where they lived (or arrive home not quite remembering how in fact they had managed to find their way back) but just enough to lose their inhibitions and worries sounded more than welcome to Al. He continued to slurp at his drink not bothering to worry that he was guzzling it like it was lemonade and hoping that Brice would try and keep up with him. After all, the faster they drank, the quicker the drunken effects would arrive. Alistair had to admit, the beer was flowing nicely. It was good stuff here, none of the cheap, low alcoholic volume rubbish they shoved into bottles and shipped to supermarkets. This was fresh from the barrel; cask and it came in a rather nice glass as well. Alistair wasn’t just beginning to appreciate alcohol; for as long as he could remember he had been allowed wine with his dinner; with a little water when he’d been younger and so he had acquired a taste for it at a young age. His father made his own beer as well and always allowed Al a small sip whenever they went out. One of his earliest memories was sitting on his dad’s knee at in a quaint pub somewhere in Yorkshire and licking the froth from his lips. He had a goal and that was to visit as many pubs in the British Isles as possible; muggle ones included because from what he had tasted, those non-magic folk could brew some pretty fine ale. Al shrugged at his comment, tilting his head to the side and inspecting how much of the drink Brice had drank. ”Probably the rate I’m going at compared to you.” He held up his three-quarters full glass, pouring a little more down his throat. ”C’mon, drink up.” In order to be a good influence, Alistair firstly had to be a bad influence or at least that was the way he liked to see it. He nodded, sympathy etched onto his face as he listened to the older wizard talk about work. He really did feel sorry for his friend having to be stuck with this mundane job when his wizarding skills and credentials were far more superior to clock fixing. It was wasted potential as far as Al was concerned. ”I’m sorry it’s rubbish, I hope it picks up for you.” His tone was encouraging but all Brice needed to do was take one look at Alistair’s face to see that he didn’t particularly believe that things would pick up, not whilst he was stuck at that job at least. His ears had perked up with interest at the 'plans for Friday' section of the speech, Al remembering all to clearly the moment when Brice had announced he was going to transform in his own home. He wondered if he had come up with a different plan. Not that any plan could be full-proof but perhaps something a little less risky. ”Oh yeah?” He asked casually, not sure whether Brice was keen on talking about it, especially in a public place, so he gave him that two word answer and his friend could decide whether or not to answer or see it as rhetorical. He shrugged, staring down into his pint glass suddenly wishing they had skipped the pleasantries. Did he lie to Brice and pretend everything was fine in order to keep their night as high-spirited as possible or did he admit how messed up he’d been feeling this week and admittedly look like a bit of a pansy? Plus worrying about Brice was part of the reason he’d been feeling all over the place and he did not want to worry him when he had more than enough on his plate already. Alistair knew he had just been acting like a self-pitying teenager. ”Eh, not too bad. Could be better. Could be worse.” He gave his friend a dark look as if to say ’I could be contemplating transforming into a werewolf this coming week’ yes, Brice definitely won at the ‘currently, how bad is your life?’ game. ”But I’m in much better spirits now, as should you be. We don’t want to sit here moping all night like a couple of grumpy old men.” Alistair said, finding it quite easy to become upbeat and why shouldn’t he? This was what he lived for; time out with his friends. ”So seriously, let’s get drinking. It’s your round next.” Alistair said with a smirk, holding up his glass from which beer was quickly evaporating. ”And don’t think I’ve forgotten to ask you if anyone has caught your eye.” Again, Al said it with slight mocking to his tone but only because he was almost one hundred percent sure that the other wizard would not play along. ”Trust me, if you take take full advantage, tonight is going to be the perfect distraction.” He said determinedly. From black marks on records, detentions, waking up in broom closets and girls that won’t give me the time of day. Alistair thought to himself. brice, 931 words, I fail for making you wait so long, sorry!

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[BRICE PAUL BECKETT]

Alistair had always been what Brice considered to be a terrible influence. Or as it were, someone who tried to be one. Not that he didn't have the ability, it was there and many of the population couldn't even have said that much. Instead it was safe to say that Brice himself was merely the one that wasn't receptive to his friends more negative behaviors. All too often he spent party after party either hiding out in the common room, book in hand or at the gathering itself spending it thinking about what he had read. Everything being nothing more then a complete fixation of what had been hoped for his future plans and career choice. A career that seemed to have so many options and a challenge that he could not deny. Sure there was a certain level of glory to be had from being an auror but that was not the true reason as to why the career practically called to him. The challenge was far greater then anything else. It gave him endless ideas and time to learn and think. It seemed to be the one thing in life that offered him anything and everything that he could ever want. Of course, things were changed that fateful night taking most of his dreams away and making most of the time he spent avoiding parties to be nothing more then a complete waste. And that was perhaps one of the many reasons that he found himself at least out with his friend, willingly for a change. He was lucky to still be breathing in the first place and there was a slight curiosity as well that made the wizard wonder what he had been missing all those times. Though the whole thing did seem rather uncomfortable.

Still he had no real intentions of getting use to his current surroundings either. But it was still better then sitting home alone with a book he had read a few too many times, looking around only to see the number of things in his home that needed to be replaced or repaired. To a degree, it was better that he was out instead of sulking in his own self pity wondering exactly where his life was going or would end up. Yeah, the stale air and loud noise really was better then all that. Sort of a pick your poison deal. The wizard took a proper drink of his beverage, if only to make Alistair happy, giving his friend a look that did well to convey as much. Honestly, he did as much nagging as a woman. Though there were a few differences compared to most women he had heard nag and Alistair's version. At least in this case he wasn't being told to eat something healthy or to eat less junk food. Instead his friend seemed quite apt to see if there was a chance that he could get him drunk. There was no denying that and it was something that was possible, the drunk part, that is. Which was the number one reason that Brice was doing his best to pace himself. Last thing he wanted to do was be outside vomiting his guts out with little recollective ability of the evening because he had overdone it. Though odds were that he was just being a little on the over dramatic side, it would take more then a few drinks for the wizard to get to that point. But it was still a point that he didn't want to go through again. That was without a doubt a foolish time but considering everything that had gone wrong for him during those days he almost dared someone to inform him that he should have reacted differently.

"Yeah, me too." He replied flatly, taking in a little more of his drink. Sometimes knowing the truth about a matter did well enough to kill any optimism despite any amount of kind words that were said. "I'm thinking about trying to find something else. New job. Something with a little more to it." Even though what he really wanted was his auror chances back there wasn't a chance in hell that such a thing would ever come to pass again. The long hours were the most dangerous part. The risk at the very least. So many things could go wrong if he couldn't get away for his transformations. And it wasn't as if there was a way that anyone would feel real compassion for him if he told them the truth. Now that was a thought. The fact of the matter was that it was a dead dream and even if he was the smartest man on the planet it would never be enough to make up for the fact that he turned into a large, pissed off dog with an infectious bite once a month. Still there were more interesting things then repairing clocks out there, at least he hoped so. "Yeah. Decided to go camping this weekend." All he could hope was that Alistair caught on to the meaning as to where he was really was going to be. The whole thing was dangerous enough to speak about in such a public area but the wizard was unsure as to whether or not he was going to be seeing his friend again before the end of the week and it was best to at least put his mind at ease some. "I have everything arranged. Should be a smooth trip." That was the plan anyway. And for the sake of the lives of the people that lived in the area he hoped like hell everything would go off smoothly.

It was Brice's turn to raise an eyebrow at his friend when his answered seemed to state things weren't exactly all that great but the look that followed kept the wizard from pressing. He didn't care for the fact that his condition seemed to win out over his friends various other events and it was plain enough to see that, but it didn't mean that he had to like it. Though there were high odds that there really wasn't even a small thing that he could do to fix Alistair's troubles, so odds were that things wouldn't get any better anyway. He knew how the Ravenclaw was all too well. Even when they were in school Alistair was often too stubborn to accept help unless it happened to be one of those events where he passed out so things being any different now that the wizard was on the outside of the school world were surely not going to change. And for once he had to agree with Alistair, they were out for fun and not to wallow in each other's self pity. Though that didn't seem to stop the former Ravenclaw from thinking it. "I am drinking and fine, but don't I get to finish my drink first?" Wasn't that the way that drink purchasing worked? Well, except in the case females. That was where you half arsed drink and try to fill her to the brim with anything she wants for hopes of... physical activities. At least that was the way of the muggle films, there had to be some amount of truth to them. Though the odds of him trying it out weren't exactly very high. Even if the beast within was more then willing to find someone for physical reasons it was just something he wasn't keen on. Plus only God knows where such people have been prior.

"I didn't say you had forgotten." Brice subconsciously looked around to see if either of the women he had found a slight fancy for were still there. At the very least the brunette seemed to be, gaze lingering for a more then his general three second rule, and found sudden interest in his beer. The last thing that he wanted was Alistair catching on. There were so many other things that he had to deal with hopefully embarrassment as Alistair tried to shove him over to a random girl. Now that was something that he was forever a fish out of water over. The right words never did seem to want to come out of his mouth (if any came out at all) when it came to speaking to girls outside an academic setting. And there weren't enough words that Alistair could say about distractions to get him to take that sort of leap. Though there was one side effect to his nerves that did a good job in working to Alistair's favour and that was the disappearance of contents from Brice's pint. "Oh, look at that. I'm out. Did you say you wanted another one? I'll be right back." All of which was said quite rapidly, giving the other little to no time for answering before Brice was up and off to the bar. Irrationally the wizard was ever hopeful that by the time that he got back to the table that Alistair had forgotten that he had been looking at someone. If he even noticed. The answer really was unknown but still it was something that he didn't want to talk about not one bit. Not at all. And thus he was going to fight like mad to avoid it. "So, how's Quidditch practice been?" He asked upon returning to the table. Weak subject change but at the very least it was worth a shot.

Words;; 1,577
Tagged;; Alistair
Clothes;; Jacket, t-shirt, jeans
Notes;; Eh. I lost it towards the end, me thinks. Do your best. Brice was getting all scatterbrained on me xD
Lyric Credits;; Digital Summer's War Against Myself

[ALISTAIR ELIJAH MACMILLAN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-green.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] pacemaker, big bang what we doing where we going this night feel drunk already maybe drink got spiked but more like the other like i'm just a lightweight well i don't care i been drunk forever. Whatever Alistair did, he always threw himself into it head first. He wasn’t one to shy away from a task whatever it was; even ones that he didn’t particularly want to do, like chores at home. But he always did them to the best of his ability. Always scrupulously went over and over it, making sure everything was done correctly and fully finished. He was a perfectionist and could be quite obsessive compulsive as well and that was probably a large part of how dedicated he could become to tasks. Not that he saw tonight as a task, but the same principle was at hand. If he was on a night out, then he would make sure it was a night out; no half measures. Things would be done properly and Al was going to enjoy himself. He smirked across at his friend, letting out a soft chuckle as he watched him drink. Brice could act as if he was being forced into this but he knew that there was a small part of him, a part that was growing ever bigger Al was sure of it, that was quite pleased to be here. And even tomorrow, even if there was a hangover to suffer through for twelve hours or so, (Al had experienced hangovers that lasted for several days later but that was after drinking an assortment of beverages, a lot of them mixed up together) he would still be pleased at how the night had gone. It had to definitely be a welcome distraction from work and upcoming full moons. At least even if he was hung-over tomorrow, he’d only be thinking about how much his head and stomach were hurting rather than worrying and stressing over where his life was going. Which had to make a sort of pleasant change. Alistair didn’t offer up any suggestions about work because he didn’t have any. Later when the alcohol really began to kick in, Brice would probably get some drunken rambling advice that wasn’t much good with a few ‘I love yous’ thrown in as well. But currently, Alistair was completely dried up when it came to job suggestions for his friend. It felt odd not having anything to give, he was usually a plethora of advice, not all of it useful admittedly but he usually had something to say. So he nodded in encouragement, hoping that Brice would be able to find something that was suited to his needs and also served a bit more of a challenge. ”Good luck.” It seemed as if Brice didn’t mind talking too much, it was easy enough with a bit of a code and a meaningful look for Al to understand what he meant. ”Camping eh? I was never one for camping. No fresh water or beds for that matter.” Even though he knew Brice obviously wasn’t talking about a camping holiday trip, Al couldn’t help but still shudder at the thought. He was used to a rather luxurious life and that meant four poster beds surrounded by bricks and mortar not flimsy plastic. And therefore he most definitely wouldn’t choose camping as a holiday. He did not see how having to build your own room then cook and clean for yourself for the entire week was a holiday. Surely you went on holiday for rest and relaxation and to have other people waite on you hand and foot otherwise what was the point of going away at all? Brice however did have a valid reason for a camping trip. Alistair frowned at him, wondering where he was going camping and thinking perhaps he’d chosen Hogwarts’ Forbidden forest as his destination. Alistair was glad that his friend didn’t press him for further details. It wasn’t like they were girls who had to whine at each other, bitching about everyone else behind their backs and moaning about their problems. So that was perhaps quite stereotypical but whatever, the point was that was so not Alistair’s way of dealing with things and the other wizard was probably relieved that he’d been spared Alistair’s self pitying rant. Both of them won. Drinking was a much better plan. Al rolled his eyes at him, deciding not to answer in the hopes that Brice would subsequently speed up the finishing of his drink. As it turned out, he didn’t have to wait much longer. He watched with amusement, his sharp eyes not missing the quick glance the other male made. He snorted as Brice disappeared to buy re-fills and Al glanced over to the girls he had been eyeing up, giving them a small nod and a smile, his mind thinking nefarious things and wondering how many more beers he’d have to shove down Brice’s throat to turn him into a suave smooth talker. An employee came around to collect their glasses and Alistair seized his opportunity whilst Brice was still at the bar and ordered them four shots of firewhiskey. ”Cheers mate.” He grinned, unable to not look guilty as he returned to the table. Al took a long sip, nodding appreciatively and in response to the question that didn’t deceive the Ravenclaw as a change of subject. ”Pretty good yeah. Reckon we stand a good chance this year, working hard. First game in a couple of weeks, you should come down- Oh look, here are our shots!” The waiter returned setting the four small glasses down on the table and Al grinned at him, pushing two of them across the table towards him. ”Get them down you.” Al raised one to his lips, tipping it down and feeling it burning his throat. ”Dutch courage.” Nodding with a smirk towards the couple of girls. ”I don’t miss anything, you should know that. And that includes how slowly you insist on drinking. Now do you want to have a good time or not?” With a raise of his eyebrows and small smile playing alone his lips, Alistair picked up his second shot glass, holding it aloft as he waited for some kind of response. brice, 1008 words, It sucks I know and it took me hours to write! I can add if needs be.

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[BRICE PAUL BECKETT]

"I didn't do much camping until a few months ago. Its not really that bad but I'm sure no amount of magic could make it like where you're use to living." Brice replied, not meaning his comment to be sharp in the slightest. There was merely simple truth in the fact that camping was nothing like what Alistair would ever be use to. At least, that was the way that the older wizard felt. While he had never actually seen where the Ravenclaw lived (and odds were he never would), it just seemed common enough for a pureblood family to have a large, expensive home with at least one house elf for a servant. The whole thing was hardly tough living. Even if that was slightly bitter of him to think of it in such a manner it was hard for the wizard to feel any differently. But not everyone was lucky enough to be born of a family with loads of money. It was just like muggles, some were rich and had everything their hearts could ever desire and then there were those like the Becketts who never had been the richest of people. Life was surely still able to be worse, there was little chance that he was going to say that things couldn't get worse. It was just the way things worked. To a degree, he and Alistair really were cut from two different decks and yet somehow they managed to form some sort of a friendship that was made of pretty strong stuff considering he hadn't quite gotten around to informing his family of his condition and yet Alistair knew. Still there were times Brice could not help but imagine things just going all wrong and the last thing he really wanted to be was alone, even if Alistair was endlessly trying to force drinks down his throat. At least someone cared.

The only thing that Brice was more then hopeful over was that Alistair wouldn't be in the process of trying to hook him up with someone. Yes, there were a few girls that he had spied that were quite nice and his mind had wandered but he still could not tell himself enough that there were so many things that could go wrong with that concept. And he hated speaking to random girls. Nothing ever came out right it was just a nightmare. It was just something he wasn't good at. For some reason or another his nerves just got the better of him and everything just did a complete down slide from there. Sure he had, had a few girlfriends through the short dating time that he had but nothing ever lasted and he liked to think that it wasn't because he panicked sometimes. Honestly, he didn't know the reason, odds are though it didn't help that he did put more focus on his studies then he did relationships in school. Now, of course, he didn't want anyone to get close enough to learn about his terrible secret. As much as he didn't want to be alone (which was something he still didn't want to tell Alistair) it was just not worth the risk of having his life ruined farther if whomever it happened to be reacted badly and ran off screaming 'werewolf' through Hogsmeade. Though odds were, there wasn't a single person currently in the bar that was looking for any more then a quick roll in the hay. The trouble was the wizard was more then slightly disappointed in himself over the fact that there was a part of himself that thought that seemed such a lovely idea. And that was one thing he didn't want to let himself do.

It was all for unknown reasons, as to why he had the strange aversion to having a little fun. That sort of fun that he hadn't had in a good while. There was nothing really wrong with the whole thing either and that was the puzzling part. It was perfectly natural and normal enough as things went. Just for some reason he didn't like the idea and it was that thought among others that did well enough to float through his head as he headed off to the bar for two more pints. Hopefully Alistair wouldn't question who or what he had been looking at and things would just go calmly back to what they were. Less headaches that way and far more pleasant. Brice took a deep breath, returning to the table and using quidditch as a good excuse for a topic change even if the sport had never even slightly appealed to him. It was better then talking about the women he happened to be eying up, at least that was what he thought when the waiter just so happened to bring them a couple shots. The wizard gave his friend a look when two of them were pushed towards him and his mouth fell open. "I... I..." He stammered, looking between the shots, the girls and Alistair. "Are you taking the piss? -- Sure I wanna have fun but... come on." Really, that was the last thing he wanted to do, talk to the girls or taking the shots. They were on an equal level that was for sure. It was all unpleasant and not what he was looking for. Still he knew that Alistair was not kidding and odds were he was still going to have to speak to the girls he had been looking at. He stared at Alistair for several moments hoping that his friend would prove him wrong. Proclaim it a jest but of course that was something that didn't come. "Fine." He muttered sourly.

Begrudgingly, Brice picked up one of the glasses, tipping it back and coughing several times. He himself being unaccustomed to the burning sensation brought on by the aptly named fire whiskey. Really he was starting to wonder what in the hell he was getting himself into. It was far from something he considered to be fun but either way Alistair would get his way. Brice repeated the process with the second shot glass, knowing full well that Alistair wouldn't leave him alone until he had taken both. "No more." He finally said, hoping like hell that his liver would do well to process what he had taken in quickly so he didn't end up in the condition that Alistair was hoping for. But at the moment, he was too busy trying to figure out how many beers those shots equaled.

Words;; 1,090
Tagged;; Alistair
Clothes;; Jacket, t-shirt, jeans
Notes;; Brice is so not happy with me right now.
Lyric Credits;; Digital Summer's War Against Myself

[ALISTAIR ELIJAH MACMILLAN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-green.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] pacemaker, big bang what we doing where we going this night feel drunk already maybe drink got spiked but more like the other like i'm just a lightweight well i don't care i been drunk forever. Alistair gaped at his friend's comment which although wasn't said in much of a bitter tone, the implication was still there. He snapped his mouth shut before he started resembling a goldfish too much and decided to let it pass which was unusual for Alistair who would generally use any excuse to pick an argument with someone. But then Brice wasn't just someone and they were supposed to be having a good night out not sitting and arguing over comments that in all honesty, Brice was entitled to make. It did annoy Al though. It wasn't like he had meant for it to come across as stuck up as it probably did now he thought about it in hindsight. It wasn't just that he was used to living in the lap of luxury and found it difficult to imagine living any other way, but those were just his views and it wasn't like he could change them. He could understand any resentment his friend might have, after all Alistair was sitting here with his whole life still in front of him, filled with opportunities not just because he was curse free but because of his family’s status. He didn't have to worry about fearing for his life because of this so called Dark Lord or if he would be able to get a job once he finished school. He was a pure blood and his father had his office door open at the ministry if Alistair so wished to take that route. Which was unlikely; the thought of working for his father was not a comforting one but it was an option none the less. One more option than Brice had. Really, Al had to stop taking his life for granted; he was lately realising just how much he did. Really, Al liked to think he was good at everything but of course nobody is and although in his head he had all the witty banter and charming smiles that made girls weak in the knees the reality was he sucked at chatting girls up. He didn't think the he did, Merlin no, in his head he was God's gift to women but unfortunately for Al a lot of his luck with the opposite sex had something to do with his surname, alcohol, the cash in his wallet and the fact that he wasn't too bad to look at and because of those things, girls tended to overlook his bad pulling skills. So although Al was going to give his friend dating advice, Brice probably shouldn't take it. But confidence was something of a turn on so the fact that he had little fear (of course he did get quite nervous he had been shot down brutally on several occasions but you didn't get anywhere in life without trying) of going up to random women in a bar and introducing himself it probably also worked in his favour. He knew how Brice could get however and although he also knew how much the older male did so not want to do it, Al being Al was going to tell him the ropes anyway. More in hope than expectation. So the Ravenclaw downed his second shot; the action saying louder than words that no he was not taking the piss. The stuff burned his throat as it passed and although he would never get used to that, the taste of it he really quite liked and he was intent on ordering a second batch for them whether Brice approved or not. He snorted at him as he watched him patiently making sure he did indeed drain every last drop. "Smooth mate, very attractive." He teased, flattening his hair subconsciously as he watched his friend splutter over the firewhiskey. He leaned forward in his seat, eyes wide with anticipation, ready to give his all important words of wisdom. ”So I know you probably think you’re a bumbling idiot when it comes to talking to girls but the trick is to use that to your advantage.” Alistair clapped him on the shoulder, keeping his hand there as he continued to preach “advice” ”Those girls will drink it up, they love a guy who’s shy and mysterious and never gives anything away.” Alistair grinned, finally removing himself from Brice’s personal space and resting his elbows on the table. "So here’s what you gotta do, walk past them and stumble into them “by accident” “ He made little air quotes with his fingers, ”and profess how clumsy you are, introduce yourself, tell them you’re not very good at this and bam, you’ve planted the seed early doors and they know not to expect too much from you. It’s adorable and to them, attractive.” He leaned back in his chair, holding his hands out either side of him in the air as if to profess, ‘how good am I?’ "What do you mean no more?" Al complained, already beginning to feel light headed due to how quickly he had been drinking. "I'm ordering more and you will drink it because you can't waste it, its expensive stuff." He stated matter of factly and then proceeded to click his fingers at the nearby waiter, holding up two fingers and pointing at their empty shot glasses. ”So if you need another drink to get yourself psyched up, I just ordered you one.” brice, 894 words, sorry for the wait!

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[BRICE PAUL BECKETT]

There were a few times that Brice found himself challenged for lack of a better term to keep his feelings of jealousy in check. It was weak at best in his eyes to feel as he did about his friend's wealth and things of that general nature but it seemed that after his condition's appearance it had become that much harder. He guessed it boiled to the fact that his fuse had gotten considerably shorter and more times then not he fought to keep whatever rage or cruel thought in his head from becoming action. After all, nothing else really did make sense. There were times when he was in school that he felt a little green over somethings but never to the point that he was currently feeling. All of it was completely pointless, anyway. Wasn't like there was some magical cure that he needed money for, it didn't exist. And Brice liked to think that if there was a cure that Alistair would at least try to help, even though, the older wizard would surely be spending years after repaying that debt. So there was no reason for his feelings. There was nothing that money could fix. Still a part of him could not help but think of his mother's words the more that he thought about it. The idea of a person not judging another by their cover was surely at the top. Sure it seemed like Alistair had a lot but they never did talk about family maybe the household itself was a complete nightmare. Odds were that being pureblooded, that had to be the case at least a little bit. Not that he wished anything like that on his friend but there was more then a small grey area in that part of his life. Honestly, Brice wondered more then once since he had known Alistair as to whether or not his family even approved of muggleborns. Sure there was a chance that they didn't mind the difference in blood but then again Alistair might have formulated his own ideas. Still it was wrong of him to ask about such personal things in the current setting but he would remember it for later.

Though even if he did want to ask, the desire disappeared nearly as quickly as it came the more that he thought about talking to the girls at the near by table and was driven even farther away by the shots that Alistair was quite keen on seeing him drink. The fun really was fading away in the older wizard's eyes but it was still better then being stuck at home doing the same boring things over and over again because he had nothing else then that to do. Things even went as far as him trying to keep his co-workers at bay (even though most of them were hardly gifted at magic) just so there weren't any questions asked and just in case things did go pear shaped at least he wouldn't be missing anyone. Still that was the whole reason as to why he was out with Alistair instead of doing something that he preferred to do. He simply had nothing else then the younger Ravenclaw at the current point, the whole thing was sad in its own right if not for the fact that it was self created. Those things and others were the reasons that he allowed the burning liquid to slide down his throat in the first place. As much as he said he didn't want a loss of control, he did want a break from reality. From the emptiness in his life, the go no where job he was doomed to have and the frightening fact that when parents brought young children with them into the store, all he could think about was how edible they looked. Yeah, that sort of thing, like their flesh stuck between two pieces of bread with some sort of sauce for extra flavouring. Indeed, he needed a break from that. Even though his conscience was telling him to stop and there was that simple truth that he really didn't want anymore shots due to his lack of experience with the drink, at least he could choose something for a change. God, he was a train wreck.

Brice had to admit, however, that he didn't expect Alistair (even though he really should have) to try to give him advice when it came to speaking to the girls a few tables over. Honestly, he didn't want to talk to them one way or another. It just wasn't his thing and the plan that Alistair had seemed filled with holes. Indeed, it just wasn't going to happen despite anything that his friend wanted to tell him. The wizard frowned giving his friend a look of disbelief and glancing at the girls once again. "I-- I'm not doing that." Brice replied, unable to help the fact that he still had more then a few nerves over the idea of approaching a table of strange women let alone even speaking to them. No, it was just not done it was not his thing. "And I don't see how that would work... no, I'm not doing that." Though odds were that was a reaction that Alistair or anyone who knew Brice even a little bit would be surprised of. That was among one of the larger things in which he maintained he had no ability in. In some twist of fate, he never did manage to outgrow his awkward teenager that looked at girls like they were some unknown species that he could only hope to understand. The wolf within himself seemed to maintain that understanding them was unimportant when it came down to what was really desired out of the deal. And that was something he didn't want to stoop to even if there was a place in the back of his mind that gave him the desire to take both of the girls for himself, but that really was unacceptable.

"Like you worry about money." Brice retorted grumpily with a look to match. Not once had he ever gone as far as commenting on his friend's family's wealth though whether brought on by the influx of alcohol in his system with a low tolerance or the full moon that was going to be making an appearance in less then a week, it was unknown. What simply was, that he couldn't keep himself from saying anything now. On more then a few times since he had known Alistair there had been several moments of jealousy, burning just below the surface of the older wizard's pleasant expressions. It was wrong and weak without a doubt in his mind but there were times he could not help but feel at least a little envious. It all was made worse now by the recent events. Sure the so-called Dark Lord that was on the rise and running all anti-muggleborn over the population did manage to have him a little worried but that really was small potatoes compared to his curse. That was the worst part of everything; had the tables been turned, Brice would have bet a few galleons on the younger wizard's family would be there to make sure that he was taken care of. Pulling a few strings to make sure that he at least got a decent job. Yeah, that sort of thing. He wasn't that lucky. Still there again things often looked better when looking on the outside but the longer he sat there the more light headed he became and along with that followed his lack of caring. His self control was doing well to disappear and while odds were he was going to regret a few things in the morning, now was not the time however.

Brice ran his fingers through his hair, annoyed, taking a drink of his beer. The light-headedness was doing well to not help matters as the wizard watched his friend his mood going sour in mere seconds. "Honestly, I've had enough." He half growled, for some reason he found himself unable to let go of the fact that Alistair had the nerve to complain about the cost of the drinks. Though had his mind been working properly he would have noticed the whole thing was nothing more then a jest and not a literal meaning. Brice got to his feet, casting his friend a look. "Thanks for the nice time, mate." And off he went, doing his best impression of an angry person walking at least until his foot caught something and he fell right into a table and then the grimy floor. "Oww. That hurt." Brice stated the obvious rubbing his throbbing elbow and failing to notice that he was laying on a very dirty floor which was surely for the better. Though everything got just that more interesting when happened to notice that the table that he ran into just so happened to be the one that those girls were sitting at. "I-- I--" He stammered when one asked if he was alright, his use of words seemingly disappearing. Had Brice not known any better he would have bet that Alistair had found a way to trip him. Oh, this was going to end well and with that thought he started to get to his feet.

Words;; 1,564
Tagged;; Alistair
Clothes;; Jacket, t-shirt, jeans
Notes;; I'm not real happy with this post but I might just be OCD.
Lyric Credits;; Digital Summer's War Against Myself

[ALISTAIR ELIJAH MACMILLAN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-green.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] pacemaker, big bang what we doing where we going this night feel drunk already maybe drink got spiked but more like the other like i'm just a lightweight well i don't care i been drunk forever. The drink was really beginning to affect Alistair now. He could feel his head spinning slightly; his whole body felt particularly light and that addictive buzz was thrumming through him. All he wanted to do was keep drinking so that he could keep feeling this alive. Why wouldn't you want to continue? That was the question. He downed the shots with aplomb looking at Brice as if he was crazy. Because Al really did find his reluctance bizarre. His reluctance to do anything at all was bizarre and in his opinion would ruin the night if he didn't get his act together soon. Alistair couldn't help but think that his friend refusing to stop being a boring old stick in the mood was becoming incredibly old and he really needed to stop worrying so much as jut let his hair down and have fun because it would do him the world of good to relax for a change. Alistair was just about to say all of that out loud because the alcohol was making his mouth run away from him but Brice spoke first. And of course it was the response he had been expecting if not the one he hoped for. It gave him all the more reason to want to say what he had just thought but now he'd had a moment to reflect he figured he should hold his tongue. He could tell that the older male was becoming more and more annoyed and instead if holding back and calm Alistair down, it just added fuel to his fire and all he did was roll his eyes in an amused fashion. "You won't know unless you try it will you?" he replied stubbornly. "Don’t doubt my logic, I'm never wrong." The usual Alistair arrogance as you could probably imagine shined through even more due to the influence of alcohol. It was a wonder he had any friends left after a night out because he could really become insufferable. Especially if he didn't get his way. He stared across the table at his friend, his expression just one step away from a glare. It was clear that they both thought the other was ruining their good natured night. As far as Al was concerned, Brice needed to realise that in order to keep friends around you had to go with their ideas however ridiculous they were because it was all just a bit of fun. The younger wizard was beginning to realise that fun might not be in Brice's dictionary. Or at least they both had very different definitions for the word. His glare wasn't getting him anywhere. In fact if anything it was probably making the situation worse. But not as worse as the other male's next comment. Alistair's mouth dropped open in shock once more as he took in the fact that it was Brice Beckett his close friend of many years that had just made that snide comment. Al had never imagined anything aimed at him like that would ever come from him, especially in that nature. He snapped his mouth shut again, the anger in his expression evident because of the glare that had returned with a vengeance. It was through gritted teeth that he replied. "I didn't mean it like that and you know it. Stop being such a grouch!" he snapped possibly for the first time ever at the guy he considered one of his most easy to get along with friends. "Why don't you at least try and have some fun for a change and stop acting like the world owes you a favour." As soon as he spoke he realised that perhaps he'd gone a step too far but he was mad so he didn't particularly care that much. Besides right now that was exactly what he thought so it was best he heard it sooner rather than later. Not to mention that Alistair felt wounded by his wounds and he wanted to respond with something hurtful himself. But his anger only increased tenfold when Brice declared that he was leaving. All he’d done was make a joke or two and try to get his friend to let loose for once in his life and this was how he got treated in return? No, he was not having it. Of course, the influx of alcohol in his system was not allowing him to think clearly and on another given day he would be reacting completely differently but Al was in a volatile mood now and really wanted nothing more to do than pull out his wand. He gave Brice the worst dirty look he could muster and shook his head, making it clear just how let down by this reaction he was but it seemed that the older male did not care because off he turned and went. What happened next though, even Alistair could not have predicted. Somehow, what Alistair had told Brice to do had happened. You couldn’t make this stuff up. Al laughed, rather cruelly as he watched the other male fall to the ground. He found it to be somewhat therapeutic not to mention an ounce of revenge. He then watched, slightly shocked as the table of girls started to converse with him and Alistair couldn’t help but to applaud himself. Genius. Absolute genius. He watched his friend’s reaction with a smirk for a long while before deciding that this was perhaps the perfect opportunity to take advantage. He did slip out his wand but not with the intention of hexing his friend, just with the intention of making him drunk. Because he was trapped, he had to talk to those girls now and Alistair was going to give him a little helping hand. Either Brice would make a fool of himself and Al would feel justified for his overreaction or he’d actually score and he would be able to say he was right all along. Win, win. Alistair stood up slowly taking his time in joining Brice, wanting to give him as much alone time as possible. He grinned at the lot of them as he arrived, clapping Brice’s shoulder in a ‘I know you hate me but I’m so going to rub this in your face’ kind of way as he spoke, ”So, who can I buy a drink? Here’s yours mate.” He said with a salacious grin, shoving the pint glass Brice had left behind towards him. The bar looked quite busy, Alistair was sure he could make it a long visit leaving the older wizard alone with them for as long as possible. Make sure Brice’s drink never emptied, that was the name of the game. brice, 1114, ...make of it what you will? i can add, i wasn't sure how much to write.

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[BRICE PAUL BECKETT]

Control had always been a part of Brice's life, it merely was just who he was and nothing more or less then that. Never had he been a control freak towards other people instead he directed that sort of behavior toward his own conduit. More then a few times it had been commented that he was a stick in the mud or was aging faster then he should have in his lifetime and yet for some reason the wizard found himself unable to break the pattern that had been created from as long as he could remember. Perhaps his parents were what could be considered unfun and that was where things stemmed from. It was hard to tell but he had always been the way he had been. Keeping a tight rein on himself and focusing on things before him; his studies, more then anything. That was just the way things had always been. That was what was most troubling about being out with Alistair in the first place, while he had agreed to join his friend for a change. There was perhaps a part of him that continued to override. Telling him time and time again that what Alistair was saying was not the way that he should conduit himself, that such behavior was not tolerated, and other things of that nature. Letting loose as it were was harder then he could have possibly ever imagined it would be. All too often he was use to fighting against what he considered the more wolfish part of himself and now he was just trying to find some ability to have what Alistair claimed to be fun. And there very much so lived in the wizard something that had the ability to have fun but it was buried far beneath tightly connected gears of control.

Each time the wizard classified something as 'fun' it seemed that his mind did well to come up with at least a half a dozen ways to shut down the idea. Mostly, more then anything it was the basic idea that there were things that could go wrong and that was something that Brice couldn't handle. Indeed, it was hard for the wizard to override so many years of what was simple conditioning and it was easy enough to tell that the younger Ravenclaw did not understand that. Though as much as the wizard wanted to accuse Alistair of that, he knew that such things would get them no where. Neither of them seemed keen on what the other wanted to do and that was simply how things were for better or worse. Perhaps over time such outings would have the ability to be fun but that was something that was yet to be seen. However, when it came to the girls that his friend seemed oh so keen on pushing him toward, that was another matter entirely. Brice had never been at ease around the female sex outside of the academic world. As much as he wanted to say that his curse was what was currently holding him back, along with the general fears that went with that, that was not the reason at all. More then anything it was his own inability to speak to the lot of them that did more to hinder him then anything else. He always used other things as excuses as well to avoid his own fears; lack of time, studies being more important, work, curse. They were all things that kept him from having to deal with his weakness. Though there were still high odds that Alistair would keep pushing until he got what he wanted.

Even if it was for his own good in the long run, Brice had to admit that he was well aware that the only reason he was pushing in the first place was to prove he was right. And then maybe came the fact that he didn't want the former Ravenclaw to be alone and there was always that whole idea of building confidence. Though the order of that was unknown. Still, the wizard very much so wished the whole thing was on his own terms (even if, if that were the case the odds of anything actually going into motion was very slim) or maybe instead if his friend would just leave him out of it all together. But that was simply not the way that Alistair worked, that was something that was more then known by now. If only that fact wasn't true. The wizard rolled his eyes at his friend as he continued to push. Honestly it was only a matter of time before the Macmillan ego was going to make an appearance. "I remember how that third year Defense Against the Dark Arts exam went, Alistair, trust me, you can be wrong." The reply came out lightheartedly, harbouring little in the feelings of bitterness toward his friend. The softened smile that followed, however, gave forth a little window into a taste of the wizard's feelings of superiority. Despite the thoughts of many there was an ego living somewhere within Brice Beckett's being. His Defense Against the Dark Arts abilities was the one thing that he was better then Alistair at and it was going well to be a bit of an equalizer now. In a simple matter of words, of course, more then anything did merely gave the former Ravenclaw a boost where he needed it, being a fish out of water as he was.

Though something snapped in the wizard at the mere thought of more drinks and Alistair's jest about the cost of the drinks. The evening was taking a turn for the worst with Brice's snide words and the glares that the two wizards gave one another. Indeed, this was the first time that he could remember of such an event coming to pass but there was a first time for everything. The wizard stared hard at his friend at Alistair's retort, he was practically seething with rage. That darker part of himself wanting nothing more then to tear the other limb to limb at his words. Perhaps, only because there were some truths to those words; simple words that cut better then a knife. Figurative as the damage done was, Brice had, had more then enough of Alistair's ideas and anything else for the night and so he simply walked away. For both their sakes, he told himself. Maybe he'd go rip a hole in the sofa himself just to vent some anger. Even that didn't seem in the cards as the wizard found himself on the ground and face to face, after a fashion, with the very girls that he had been eying up most of his time there. All thoughts of Alistair disappeared, even the anger hightailed it out of there when the girls spoke. His mouth went dry in an instant, the night really had taken a turn for the worst that was for sure. Even though there were more then a few people in the world that would have said that things had gotten better. Honestly for the life of him the wizard could not manage to think that way, not now. Not when he was so much happier just watching said girls.

"I-I'm fine." Brice finally stammered out as he fought to get to his feet, taking into consideration for the first time that he had just fallen onto the floor of a bar. The mere thought was enough to cause him to shiver, let alone actually having done said act. There was no doubt the wizard felt that he could have felt more so clean then he did right now had he fallen into a pit of mud. Perhaps he was exaggerating more then slightly but it was not taking away from the fact that he could swear that he could feel the germs crawling on his skin. Burning his clothes, held more then a smashing idea at the moment. He was just so dirty. But even that fact took a backseat when Alistair clapped him on the shoulder. He continued to have a growing fascination with anything but Alistair or the girls; the table, the floor, his shoes. Even as his friend spoke, capitalizing on what had just happened and making Brice's stomach do somersaults in the process. "Oh, thank you." He replied, taking back his beer from Alistair. Glad for the drink as he took a hearty drink from it. Despite the alcohol in his system currently it was still no where near enough to prepare him for what was going on. He was practically shaking as he stood next to Alistair who was brimming with confidence. "Yeah. M--make up for my -- clu-clumsiness." Brice agreed, stammering and sputtering the whole way, making brief eye contact before looking to the table again. Calling him a fish out of water, really was a very large understatement as the seconds passed. He was making a great fool out of himself that was for sure.

Brice still had heavy doubts over the plan that Alistair had came up with in the first place, even though things had gotten as far as they currently had. Still, he maintained that girls did not like any of the things that the Ravenclaw had come up with, though, there was little to no knowledge that the wizard had on females. And Alistair did know, but that was something that he didn't want to deal with right now. As much as he wanted to leave it just wasn't worth being that rude to the girls, he had just done his best job at taking out their table, after all. "Alistair, I'll get the drinks. Alistair." He spoke frantically trying to get out of the current bind he was in when the drinks were agreed upon but things seemed to be going another way. A way that he did not like. Without a doubt his friend seemed to be adopting the sink or swim method of talking to those girls which was something that he cared little for in the first place. He couldn't swim to save his arse in the water and odds were things wouldn't be any better on land. He joined the girls' table as asked, drinking long from his pint again. The strange feeling of lightness and warmth that came from drinking was by far preferable to the paralyzing fear that he was currently feeling. The two were quick to introduce themselves, the blonde being Sarah and the brunette Aster. "Brice." Was the only audible thing that came from his mouth, doing well to embarrass himself farther, making himself feel more and more like some sort of caveman. Simple sentences and nothing more then that. The whole thing was feeling more and more awkward by the second, he couldn't seem to say anymore then he had and he could only seem to find the ability to look at his pint and to see if Alistair was back yet.

As much as it seemed normal for most of the population to speak with stranger women, Brice was starting to think that part of his brain was missing. All that seemed to come to mind was the history of Hogsmeade, or various spells, the fact that he needed to go shopping for some new clothes. Everything that was poor for conversation was flooding through his mind. For some reason, nothing was forming, nothing was there, he had never been good at such things. Reading was something he was comfortable with, not this, never this. In all honestly, the wizard was starting to panic, unsure of what to say or do. He was drowning.

Words;; 1,950
Tagged;; Alistair
Clothes;; Jacket, t-shirt, jeans
Notes;; Poor Brice is having a panic attack. Feel like I didn't give you much to work with and I'm sorry. I just can't get him to do more then that. Alistair needs to come to the rescue or something xD
Lyric Credits;; Digital Summer's War Against Myself

[ALISTAIR ELIJAH MACMILLAN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-green.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] pacemaker, big bang what we doing where we going this night feel drunk already maybe drink got spiked but more like the other like i'm just a lightweight well i don't care i been drunk forever. Alistair was more than used to getting what he wanted. It was safe to say that as a child he had been spoiled. It was made clear to him that he was lucky to have whatever he wanted but that didn't change the fact that his parents gave him whatever he desired, pretty much whenever. He'd been taught that it was not acceptable to demand huge, expensive gifts constantly, those sorts of presents were for Christmas and birthdays only but if there was something in a shop he wanted then his parents were more than happy to supply him with it. It wasn't just objects he had been spoiled with but getting his way in general. If he didn't want to go to bed yet, then his parents would give him half an hour more. If he didn't want to finish his meal then it would be thrown away and he'd still be allowed dessert. Mr and Mrs Macmillan had missed a trick somewhere along the line in that they taught him manners, etiquette and that it wasn't polite to be spoiled and demanding and then pandered to Alistair and his sister's every whim. It meant that in these current circumstances, Al was far from impressed that things were not happening the way he wanted them to and that Brice was not playing along fairly. Especially by bringing in past exam results. Although admittedly Alistair had brought it upon himself by declaring that he was always right. Usually he was unable to back down from a fight but he simply glared at his friend, the back of his neck burning slightly as he remembered how terribly he had done in that examination. The written side had been fine, pretty excellent actually but the practical had lowered his grade. He'd had to fight a boggart which, as Alistair knew it would, turned into a pool of blood on the floor. He turned pale, then green and swayed on the spot, had a moment when he thought he was going to throw up but instead fainted. He'd returned to the common room still pale faced but stronger after some medicinal chocolate and recounted the tale to Brice who had been a lot more sympathetic back then than he was being now. There was a moment, a brief one but a moment none the less, where Alistair thought that Brice was going to physically attack him. It was the first time since discovering that his friend was a werewolf that he saw a flash of the beast within and he'd almost taken a step backwards except that Brice had turned away and left first. Not only did he hang back for as long as possible to give the older wizard some alone time but because he was slightly fearful of the reaction he might get from his friend if he came back into contact with him too soon. But he need not have worried because it seemed Brice had turned into a bit of a bumbling idiot and bloodthirsty violence seemed to be the last thing on his mind. So Alistair made his way over with a smile. Well this was an interesting turn of events. It seemed that Alistair did always get his way after all, case and point. He stood, grinning like an idiot for a little while, taking the whole scene in and admittedly revelling in the fact that Brice couldn't have felt any more out of place than he did currently. Alistair considered it payback for the fight they had just had and was in no rush to return to the table with the drinks. He could be nice about it and smooth over his friend's awkwardness and help settle Brice down a bit but Al was still feeling a little vindictive and he couldn't help but want to find satisfaction in embarrassing him a little bit. Perhaps he would then learn to be able to talk to women. From his view at the bar, the Ravenclaw could see that the conversation wasn't exactly flowing and Brice, in an attempt to cover up the silence was drinking more and more. He reckoned returning with another drink for him might only cause problems and so he surreptitiously pulled out his wand and re-filled the glass from afar. If he got caught in this act he was likely to be in big trouble but he was past caring now, the alcohol giving him further courage. He eventually returned with the girls' drinks, and they swapped introductions as he handed them over, even stealing himself a kiss on each of their cheeks. He could tell that they had had a few drinks already as well and that was absolutely ideal, it meant that they wouldn't care that Brice was making a fool of himself and by the way the brunette was eyeing him up, Al could tell he was on to a winner. He felt like rubbing his hands together excitedly. Instead he smiled again, all the while keeping an eye on Brice's glass and filling it up whenever the contents dipped below half way. ”I trust you’ve apologised for your clumsiness, Brice?” Alistair asked of his friend, placing a hand on his back briefly. When intoxicated, Al became rather a lot more touchy feely. ”He doesn’t make a habit of rolling around on the ground ladies, I assure you. It’s just he gets a bit nervous around beautiful women such as yourselves. He’s working on it.” He finished, giving him a small wink. ”But it’s really rather sweet, I’m sure you agree? Just roll with it and he should start talking again soon. He’s an interesting guy. Honest.” He stopped then, considering that patronising enough and hoping that Brice might intervene and perhaps back himself up. Though that might be asking too much. brice, 972, i am incredibly sorry for the wait

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[BRICE PAUL BECKETT]

Brice had lost track of the amount of beer he was consuming the longer he sat there doing his best to tread water and hopefully survive long enough for Alistair to return. Indeed, the evening had taken more then a slight turn that was for sure. Never would he have other wise wanted to be in the current predicament that he was in. It just wasn't his thing but maybe there was a certain level of truth to the things that the younger Ravenclaw often said, considering his plan did seem to go off without a hitch even if it was unplanned. Honestly, the wizard still had no idea what it was that he had tripped over in the first place. But that was perhaps something that really didn't matter at the moment either, for better or worse he was stuck at a table with two very attractive women. Oddly enough they seemed to grow more and more beautiful by the second but that was surely just the liquor talking. It did cause more then a few things to happen anyway and making people just that much more attractive was a common side effect. Though very little of that information seemed to register wit the wizard. Despite the fact that his glass never seemed to dip down too far (and he was very much so using that as a gauge as to how much he was consuming) thus as to why he was feeling the way he was, left a certain puzzling feeling. Though he had taken in far more in the world of drink then he normally ever did. Quite a bit more. By the looks of things however, he was not the only one that had found a certain comfort in drink tonight and if he was honest with himself, there was a part of him that was pleased by that fact. And it was indeed, for the wrong reasons.

Time passed in between the various amounts of idle conversation normally started (and sometimes even ended) by the girls. Despite his best attempts most of what seemed to come from the wizard's mouth was more or less stammering sentences or one to two word answers. Indeed, the whole thing was less then attractive the way that he himself saw it but the two of them had yet to try to come up with an excuse to get away from him so odds were that they didn't mind all that much. Which was somewhat of a relief. Not so much from the side of him that liked control, as that was fading fast with the influx of alcohol that was coursing through him, but the side that he often referred to as the wolf. That part of him that had never been that strong until the day he was used as a chew toy, all it really wanted was the simple things. Animalistic things. The two females in that case did have the capacity to take care of one of those needs and thus why he wanted them to stay. Even if he really didn't want to admit to himself exactly why he was so interested despite everything he had told himself and the way that he was acting. Without a doubt it was so much easier for him to say that he was only there because he had ran into their table but there was more to it then that. There was always more. The only trouble was that the underlying desires had no effect on his lack of ability in speaking to the opposite sex. Though it was true enough to say that not everything worked in one's favour. The wolf would just have to learn to make due. At least the girls didn't seem to mind.

There was some relief that came to pass when Alistair returned with the drinks he had gone to fetch. At least that was what Brice was hoping for. However, something unexpected came about, something triggered by the most minute thing. The wizard felt warm under the collar the moment Alistair held the nerve to steal a kiss from each of the girls; without a doubt he was jealous, angry and who knows how many other emotions at once for a brief second. Blinking away the feelings, stuffing them away, calmly sipping his beer on the outside but on the inside wondering what in the hell was going on with him. Honestly, he didn't care for the answer that he came up with. It all being those wolfish feelings coming forth, not liking the general idea of sharing what he had just found with the likes of anyone. Failing to take into consideration that what he was seeing was the way the younger Ravenclaw was and pretty much always had been. While Brice had never been fond of the parties that he had been talked into going to, he did however keep an eye on what was going on. Stealing various amounts of affection was very much so common for the likes of anyone but even then it didn't mean that he had to like it. The only saving grace the wizard could think of was that he had enough sense not to act on anything that he had been feeling within those moments. Though that was still not enough to get him to put down his beer and call it quits. No, for some reason he was slowly losing his ability to give a damn about it, or really anything for that matter save what was at the table they were sitting at.

Though even if he had been interested in things that were beyond the table, he couldn't help but focus far more upon Alistair (mostly because he was talking) then he could anything else. "No. Guess I haven't." Somehow through it all he had managed to forget that he was suppose to say something in the first place but there was a chance that paralyzing fear had that effect on a person. No matter. It wasn't like anyone really went anywhere in the process, now did they? Brice leaned hard on his elbow, looking at the brunette, as she just happened to seem closer to him then the blonde. "I'm terribly sorry about that not even sure what I tripped over." The stammering and inability to speak had successfully been replaced by a slight slurring to his words as he spoke to one way more then the other but it was an improvement at the very least. Things with Alistair on the other hand remained nearly the same as the younger Ravenclaw did well to patronize (or was that helping in some sort of way? It was hard to tell) him in what was a humorous manner. Whatever it really was, Alistair sure did seem proud of himself and the girls were more then humoured by it. Perhaps it all was a bit of a win-win, if only he didn't seem like some sort of fool that trips over his feet a lot in the process of walking but it was a little late to make things seem any different then that. Maybe that was just a little pay back for the fact that it had taken oh so long for Brice to even agree to such an event.

"Hey, now. I don't trip all the time. Like I said I don't even know what I tripped over." He spoke in general to whomever happened to be listening ever so slightly his volume control was a little louder then normal. But even with the lack of sober thoughts he knew better to comment anything about the large amount of stammering and speech loss he had on what maybe was a second basis with the female sex. It had never been a strong suit and odds were it never would be though the large amount of drink that had been going down his throat did seem to help more and more by the minute. That did indeed, have some bonuses to it. "Though they are both lovely, aren't they, Alistair?" At least he was speaking in sentences more then going for the one word caveman routine but who knew if it really was for the better. "Guess I am quite interesting." He got around to agreeing. "Very interesting. How 'bout you, ladies? You the interesting sort?" There remained a certain lack of grace as he spoke, gentle slurring of his speech and drinking more then his fair share. But on the bright side, he had managed to forget about his troubles and about looking like a fool, so that perhaps was ever so slightly what the evening had been about. Letting loose. Though without a doubt, this was just the start.

Words;; 1,462
Tagged;; Alistair
Clothes;; Jacket, t-shirt, jeans
Notes;; My muse kinda died toward the end if you can't tell.
Lyric Credits;; Digital Summer's War Against Myself

[ALISTAIR ELIJAH MACMILLAN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-green.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] pacemaker, big bang what we doing where we going this night feel drunk already maybe drink got spiked but more like the other like i'm just a lightweight well i don't care i been drunk forever. As the two of them were standing there and chatting away to these girls, well Alistair seemed to be doing a fair proportion of the talking (as usual), he couldn't help but wonder what it might be like if Brice actually hooked up? And not just had a one night stand but what if he got into a proper relationship with one of them? It happened more often than people thought, meeting someone on a night out and having it actually turn into a proper relationship and that was the thought that was drifting through him currently. And now that he was thinking about it, he wasn't sure whether he liked the idea or not. Sure, Brice was a good friend and Al wanted only what was best for him and so ever since being bitten, well for him to be in a place where he felt like he could be with someone romantically, that would be a huge step forward for him. And Alistair would be over the moon if he felt like that because he did want his friend to live his life as normally as he possibly could. But then something else was nagging at him. Al was the relationship one. It was like his "thing." And if Brice ended up dating this girl, surely that would hinder his quality time with his mate considerably and it wasn't like he saw him very often anymore as it was. The Ravenclaw couldn't help but feel selfish about it on some level. He wanted Brice to himself. He didn't want to have to book him in, to only be able to see him when he didn't have plans to see his girlfriend and to come to Hogsmeade and not be able to drop in an visit him because she was around; that's probably the notion that hurt him the most. Then again, the idea of sitting there and telling him 'I told you so' was quite an appealing notion as well so there were ups and downs to it. Though he had to admit, his smugness would be brief compared to the... Was it jealousy? He suspected Brice would be amazed to know that for a change, Al was jealous of him. Alistair was starting to get fidgety. He did love just sitting with a group of people in a bar and drinking and talking but he always seemed to reach a point of drunken-ness when sitting still just didn’t satisfy him anymore. He wanted to get up and move about. His body was buzzing with energy and it felt like a really good idea to go running. Or something else that would involve one of the members of the opposite sex that was here with him. Or dancing. Dancing seemed like a good idea. He remembered over the summer going to muggle bars and clubs. Yeah their music was weird as was some of the dancing but when you were drunk that didn’t matter. Unfortunately there was nothing like that in Hogsmeade or probably for a long distance since they were in the Scottish highlands. And Alistair didn't fancy raining on Brice's parade, however attractive he was beginning to find the blond one, and however jealous he might be of his friend, tonight did have to be about putting Brice first. So it was with reluctance that he hung around. Though hopefully there was enough alcohol in everybody's systems now that something would happen imminently. Honestly, Alistair didn't know how his friend wasn't already snogging her face off. She kept touching him; leaning closer and closer and her friend kept giving Alistair the 'we both know what's going on here' look. Unfortunately for Al, she didn't seem to be all that bothered about him and stubbornly kept her distance. This really was an interesting turn of events. Sure she was being polite and laughing along with his jokes but only the funny ones and Alistair, although ridiculously drunk by this point, could tell when someone wasn’t interested in him. He honestly felt quite let down and once again, jealous of Brice. He supposed however that playing matchmaker wasn’t that bad. He had said to himself all along that that was what he was here to do, not be bothered about himself for a change. And he was honestly quite surprised at how well he had succeeded. Not because he thought Brice to be unattractive but because he knew him to be stubborn as hell. This was an Alistair: 1 – 0 Brice. And considering that, Al was quite intent to move the situation along. He had continued to keep Brice’s pint above the half way mark but he stopped doing that now, keen to get him to finish the drink completely. He downed the last few dregs of his own. ”I’m done.” He announced, setting it down on the table and licking his lips. He was blinking quite often because he was losing focus on the scene. In fact his head felt quite heavy and although he was still thrumming with energy he could also quite happily lie down. ”Shall we have another one or shoot off somewhere else?” He made it quite clear that he was talking to the three of them, lacing the 'somewhere else' with a twitch of his lips. ”Yes they are, Brice and I am sure you’d agree that they’re very welcome to join us.” He tried to hide the smirk on his face because he could tell that Brice was interested and this could be the moment to display just how much he was. brice, 931, there we go. finally.

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