RP: New Year's Eve

[rar_angelina]

Date: Sunday, 31 December 1999 | Evening
Characters: Angelina Johnson, Cho Chang, Stephen Cornfoot, Dean Thomas
Location: Flat Party; South Vinewood
Status: Public
Summary: Angelina, Cho, and Stephen open up their flats for a flat party to ring in the new year!
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[rar_angelina]

Angelina rearranged the sweets on the table one last time. "There," she said. "Looks good now." She glanced around her flat. Had they forgotten anything? She tugged down her dress while she thought.

"Oh! Music," she said. She hurried over to the radio and switched it on. She picked it up to carry it outside when Dean showed up.

"Hey you," she said and smiled. "Just putting on the last touches."

[rar_dean]

"Hey back," Dean said, smiling brightly as Angelina stepped outside. "Hope you don't mind I'm a bit early."

He knew she didn't mind at all, really, but a part of him kept wondering if she was going to get sick of seeing him. After all, it hadn't even been a full day yet since the last time he'd been to her flat. It also didn't help that he had other thoughts about her, and about their friendship, running through his head that he was still trying to sort out.

"Anything I can do?" he asked, glancing around. "Looks like I've missed all the fun parts."

[rar_angelina]

Angelina rolled her eyes. "Why would I mind? Free labour," she teased. She smiled at him. "You look nice. Like you're going to a fun party." Then she winked playfully.

She looked around. "I think everything is ready. I was going to take the radio outside so people could hear it out there instead of leaving it in my flat. Cho and Stephen are around somewhere, there's still cold pizza slices in the refrigerator." Though they had tried, they hadn't been able to eat the large pizza they'd shared the night before. Not with the cupcakes she'd made him try, too.

[rar_dean]

"Wait, there's a party? Well hell, why didn't you say so?" he said playfully, looking down at his clothes and then around the area. "And here I was just going to try and steal a few more cupcakes."

Dean nodded at her mention of the music being outside as well as Cho and Stephen's presence. He'd known they would be around, but he was glad for the moment that they weren't around. He needed a few minutes to work some things out.

"Leave that thing out here, and let's go, then," he said, nodding at the wireless. Then he grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door of her flat. "I need cold pizza if you're going to use me as free labour."

[rar_terry]

Terry had been looking forward to this New Year's Eve party ever since he received the invitation. He always wanted to be around friends on New Year's Eve, and this year moreso than usual; he was a bit fuzzy on whether 2000 was actually "the millenium" but changing from the 1900s to 2000 seemed fairly momentous to him nonetheless.

At the appropriate time he walked next door to Lisa's house, whence they Floo'd to Angelina's flat. Ang was talking with Dean but otherwise it appeared that Terry and Lisa were the first to arrive.

[rar_lisa]

Lisa glanced over at Terry as they stepped into the flat, smiling. Last year she'd spent part of the party at Alicia's distracting Terry from his ex-girlfriend. This was much better, right down to Angelina looking suspiciously smiley as she chatted with Dean. She'd put money on something happening with those two eventually, if her friend's blushes over the topic were any indication.

"What do you say? Something to drink?" She grabbed Terry's hand and pulled him toward Stephen's flat, where she knew the drinks would be.

[rar_terry]

"Something to drink sounds great," he answered as Lisa pulled him out of Angelina's flat. "Scotch, neat, for me."

[rar_lisa]

"Hmm," she said, surveying the drink table as they came into the other flat. "Looks like they're holding out on all the good stuff. Beer instead? Save champagne for closer to midnight?"

Lisa poured herself a glass of wine. She remembered having the particular variety at Cho's before and liking it, so it would be a good start for the evening. Leaning back against the table as Terry prepared his own drink, she surveyed the party area. People seemed to be trickling in.

"I thought I'd had enough socialising to last the entire year, after everything at Christmas, but it feels good to be out," she said, sipping her wine.

[rar_ron]

Ron had been happy to receive the invitation to Angelina's New Year's Eve party. He was looking forward to hanging out with a lot of friends, but he especially liked the idea of kissing Eloise at midnight.

Ron and Eloise arrived fairly early in the celebration. He saw Boot and Turpin, as well as Angelina and Dean. Were those two going out now? He'd have to ask.

[rar_eloise]

Eloise hadn't managed to bring any food to the party, but did pick up two bottles of wine. After setting them down, she and Ron glanced around, eying the other guests. Ron's eyes settled on Dean and Angelina for a moment, leaving Eloise to assume whatever was going on there, if anything, was fairly new seeing as Ron and Dean were friends.

"So. Drinks?"

[rar_ron]

"Drinks would be great," Ron said. "Let's go find some. Unless you want to open those bottles of wine you brought."

[rar_eloise]

"Hmm. I think drinks now, wine later." She smiled and they went off in search of drinks and more conversation.

[rar_katie]

Katie ran up the steps to the floor above and slipped into the flat. Of course, the first person she saw would be Dean. She ignored the wretched feeling in her heart and instead began to set up the spinach dip next to all the sweets, then realized it looked out of place. After a quick perusal, she found the other foodstuffs in Cho's flat and retreated there.

She was ashamed of how she felt, but Merlin, Dean hadn't ever replied to anything she'd sent him. At least she knew where she stood with Ang and the others. With Dean, she was flying blind. She'd just have to try and avoid him. She heaved a long sigh and then went into Stephen's flat and found herself some butterbeer.

[rar_stephen]

Stephen was refilling his glass when Bell walked into his flat. She grabbed a butterbeer, and if he was reading her correctly, she seemed a bit flustered.

"'Lo Bell," he said, sipping his bourbon. "Haven't seen you in ages."

He didn't even feel the familiar pang of nervousness. Perhaps he'd already had too much to drink. He felt relaxed. Or perhaps it was Cho's presence and the realisation that they were heading in an exciting direction.

[rar_katie]

Katie squeaked when she heard someone speak behind her.

"Oh, Stephen," she said, her hand over her heart, "you startled me. Sorry, my mind was elsewhere." She gave him an apologetic smile.

"That's right, I've been busy with work and volunteering but that's a shoddy excuse. I'm sorry. How have you been? Have you been on any exciting dives recently?"

[rar_stephen]

"I didn't mean to startle you," he said, "but it's my job to remain unnoticed in most situations, so at least I'm moderately good at that." He smiled at her.

"Not lately," he answered. "Work has kept me busy, and the holidays are usually full." He sipped his bourbon. "Where are you volunteering?"

[rar_lavender]

There wasn't anywhere else that Lavender wanted to be on New Year's Eve. Home was feeling less like home and more like somewhere she was just sleeping. Most of her belongings had been packed up and sent over to James' parents' house in Sydney; they were going to be staying there until they found their own place closer to where James was going to be working. James himself had gone to Australia a couple of days ago and would be seeing the New Year in over there. Or, she realised, would have already seen it. Still, he would be back later in the week, she reminded herself resolutely, and then she would be leaving herself next weekend.

Oh, Merlin.

Angelina's flat was the first one she ventured into and she grinned when one of the first people she saw was Dean, almost launching herself on him in a big hug. "Hello, handsome."

[rar_dean]

Dean had just ventured over to the sweets table to see what sorts of impressive things Angelina had put out there this time when he was practically tackled in a hug. He grinned as he realised who it was.

"Hey, beautiful," he countered, giving her a big squeeze before letting her go. "How have you been?"

[rar_lavender]

Lavender pulled back, still smiling. "Not too bad," she said softly, realising that she was bound to get emotional no matter how much she drank tonight. Having come off her mood-balancing potions earlier in the month, she was planning to indulge, because when else was she going to get this opportunity. "Been having a quiet, family sort of Christmas."

"What about you? You look really well."

[rar_dean]

"Me, too. Except that nothing with my family is actually quiet," he said, laughing.

"I'm really well," Dean said. He couldn't help glancing back over his shoulder toward where Angelina was chatting with another party-goer. The answer would have been the same regardless of those developments, but it certainly didn't hurt. "It's really hard to complain when so many things are going right, you know?"

Then he remembered something else. "Have you talked to George lately?"