Scarlett lets her cigarette fall to the ground and stomps it out. “I wish I had the test results for the next three potions tests.” She didn’t need them, but she could put them to good use later. She just wanted to see if he was legit. And if he was she hoped he wasn’t foolish enough to think she’d stop at two wishes. “Pain is inevitable. At least you know what causes yours and when it will.”
George didn’t have time to lecture her about the implications of cheating. He could feel his magic start building up out of his control and he gritted his teeth. As far as wishes went, it normally wouldn’t be that bad, but his magic had to go into the future, grab the answers from three different time periods, and then materialize them instantly. Defying the laws of space time wasn’t something to be taken lightly. He groaned, clutching his head and doubling over, trying to take deep full breaths as the pain washed over him. One after another, a paper popped into existence on the ground of the ally, and once the final paper had appeared his magic dissipated, leaving George tired, panting, and in pain. “That sucks.” He said simply, with a cough.
Violet wasn’t actually sure she believed him. The whole night took on a darker tone if he thought this was a possibility, and it was a tone she understood too well. Hadn’t she tried to give her brothers the perfect last day back in 5th year? But at the same time, this had been her suggestion, and he had a point. It wasn’t his fault that the full moon had her emotions swinging wildly so she cared more now about the risk than she had back then. So she let it go and just wrapped her fingers around her drink.
“Spellcaster is a pretty good song. I haven’t listened to that much of their stuff, but it isn’t bad.” At the idea of something totally 90s, Vi paused for a moment, using her drink to think, before smirking. “Only if its All Star.” Hey, she wasn’t a total music ignoramus, everybody knew the Smash Mouth song. And it wasn’t like it was a favorite of hers or anything. But it was damn catchy. That was all.
George was grateful at the focus on the music now. He had said what he needed to say without explicitly having to spell it out. There was a possibility he wouldn’t come back from whatever he did, and she knew that. Non-verbally he had said goodbye in so many words, and that was good enough for him. “All Star?” George scoffed, and rolled his eyes. “That’s perfect, simply because it’s like one of those songs that were good but then got overplayed so now everyone groans when it comes on.” George tapped his chin “On that same vein of thought, why don’t I Rick Roll them?”
Charlie shrugged, a matching sad expression on her face. “I genuinely wish that I knew. I mean sure, I guess there’s the glory if you win, but I can’t honestly say I think it’s worth it. Not based on things like the Triwizard Tournament, anyway. The people who run those things don’t seem to care about the trauma they inflict on their participants; or victims, rather.”
“I mean, it’s not like they’re forcing people to join” George said with a shrug. “It’s just stupid. And if something happens to someone everyone will feel sorry for them and wish that it didn’t happen, when it didn’t have to to begin with.”
Dory repeated the motion, strangely finding it a bit familiar. It was the words that she hadn’t remembered. But she had them now, so she would be able to do the spell. “Yeah! We’ll be experts in no time!” With that, Dory cast the spell and watched as ice started crawling across the surface of the water. “Hey I did it!”
“Yeah awesome!” George exclaimed, watching the ice from both sides of the lake creep toward each other. “We should be done in no time, which is great because I really really don’t want to get caught.”
“Nope.” She listened with her head tilted. The bit about being a regular she believed, and as to the other part…it wasn’t that she didn’t believe, it was just that she wasn’t sure she would have ever recognized it. She tried to look around one more time before giving up and shrugging. “I’ll take your word on it. I think I’d have to actually look people in the eyes to be able to do that, and I don’t think my own count.”
But then he continued talking, and her drink froze halfway to her lips. Reaching out impulsively, she grabbed his sleeve. “Hey. Everything will be fine. Because if it isn’t, I’m going to bring you back from the dead so I can yell at you in person for fucking it up all right? I’ve been told I can be scary.” Not that he had any idea exactly how scary, even if he could guess. From what she’d been told, half wolfing out was not something pretty to see ever. But she let him go get the book, and she swirled her drink, absently rubbing at one of her arms and feeling the friction. As he returned, she took a quick drink before looking down at the book. “What’s your favorite song?”
George looked down at Violet touching his sleeve, and there was a moment of silence. He looked back up at her face, and furrowed his brows. He wasn’t sure how to respond, so instead he just sat there like a mute statue. He chewed on the inside of his mouth, and nodded. “I won’t die” he said, not really believing his own words. “And I’m not someone to be downer, you know me better than that, but if it comes down to that or someone evil getting hold of me, I think you know what option I’d choose.” He shrugged as if this was the most normal conversation in the world.
Finally he sighed, and shook his head, flipping through the pages of the book though only half looking. It took him a moment to realize Violet was talking to him again, and he waved his hand at the book. “Well, that would have to be “Spellcaster” by Rock ‘N Roll Nifflers, they’re hella awesome.” George said, brightening up again “but muggle music? Maybe something totally 90s. Mmm Bop?” He laughed.
Vi watched as he accurately predicted what each person was going to do. She was getting better about it, but obviously she had nothing on him. Maybe it wasn’t only the aurors in her life that could teach her how to be a better functioning human. “How did you do that? I mean, I sort of see it, but…not really.” But at his compliment, she instinctively looked down, tracing her finger around her drink. She wasn’t sure she deserved it, or that she was that special kind of person. But she couldn’t explain why without going into more secrets than anyone else knew, so she just mumbled a quiet, “Thanks.”
It was easier to talk about him, so she gave him another quick look. “It’s not like it was really an option for you to graduate back then. But I guess I understand feeling stuck. Still, even if you know broom making is what you want, most people don’t respect someone who hasn’t graduated Hogwarts at least. They’d try and take advantage of you and shit. So its like, getting your degree to spite all the fuckers that would be a dick about it. Or you could see it as one last year to relax and be whoever you want before you have to live your life by the galleon and the time clock.”
George laughed and tilted his head back. “Would you believe me if I said that I guessed and that I fully expected to be wrong?” He took another sip of his drink and placed it back on the table. “But seriously, I mean, I was kind of guessing but also... sometimes people have these looks in their eyes when they’re about to do something they’re scared of doing, or something scary is about to happen. I’ve seen that look more than I’d like to admit. Also, I’m a regular here so I kinda cheated.” He flashed her one of his signature George half smiles.
He shrugged, his smile dropping momentarily. “Well, if I make it that far I mean...” He paused and took a deep breath. “I’m meeting with a Seer later in the week. Going to try to get a straight answer about things, but if I can’t... I’m going to do what you suggested. I figure everyone here is flying blind, but I can’t go on living with this, you know? It wouldn’t be so bad if I could control it.” He hadn’t expected to talk about his curse, but in the back of his mind he knew that it would come up eventually. It was one of the reasons he’d asked Violet out, kind of an impromptu goodbye in case things went sideways. “But that’s a problem for another day. Hold on.” He got up and went over to the karaoke book, bringing it back to the table. “What should I sing tonight I wonder.”
“Hhmmmmm….” Dory hummed, reaching into her mind trying to find any spells that that were for freezing things and, sadly, coming up empty. “No. I don’t.”
George told her the spell and then smiled. “Well it’s a perfect time to learn Ms. Dory. Just wave your wand like this” He said, doing a wave and then a jab. “then just hold your wand still so it has time to cover the whole lake. Now the lake is big so I know it’ll take a while, but hey, good practice huh?”
“Always so full of jokes. Ha ha.” Aladdin shot back with a shake of his head. George’s sense of humor was the best part of him and hearing his jokes only made Aladdin realize how much he had missed him. Following George into the shop, he stuck close to the older boy. “Wouldn’t want a street rat like me dirtying up all your brooms huh?” He joked. “Better keep a close eye on me or else I’m going to sneak away some of these little broom oils. Or maybe this trimmer.” He held up the small pair of scissors he had palmed with a devilish grin.
“Hey, it’s what makes me, me.” George said simply, leading him toward the back office of the shop. His dad, Patrick, was sitting at the desk and George waved at him. “Hey dad, can we have the office for a bit or are you busy?” Patrick looked over at him, a grin on his plump face. “Eh, little of this ‘n tha’ but I needa break anyway” He said in a thick Irish accent. “Have at ye boys” he said before getting up with a groan and trudging out the door.
George plopped down into the chair and put his feet up on the desk. He shuffled some papers around and took out his wand, tapping them. Plans began to form beautifully and he smirked. “Hey! With tricks like that, you should be using them for good instead of evil” he laughed.
“A genie,” Scarlett repeats, not sure whether to believe it or not. She was surprised, to say the least. It’s not every day you meet a genie. She didn’t think he would lie about anything that causes him physical harm, but she didn’t trust anyone. “Prove it.” She wasn’t going to just let him have her information until she saw him grant her a wish. Scarlett puts her hands on her hips. “If you can grant me some stupid, simple, wish….I’ll possibly talk. Take it or leave it.” She smirks. “Also if you are what you say. I want more than one wish.”
George had expected as much, it wasn’t like telling someone you were a genie would be met with utter believably. “Okay fine, I’ll give you a freebie. Just a simple one though, please.” This wasn’t so much a negotiation anymore, he had to have that information and if he had to grant a few dumb wishes to get it then so be it. “And fine, you can have two, but like I said they really hurt me and I don’t want to do much more than that.”
“Thanks.” Vi took her drink with a grateful smile and toasted him before taking a sip. She loved the slight burn of whiskey as it slid down her throat. Just sitting there she was starting to relax, even if it was such a strange location for her to be in. It wasn’t so bad. Not yet anyway. “Nope, no one’s singing. Though I think one of those girls might be pushing her friend into doing it pretty soon.” Vi pointed out the girl she was talking about with her glass before looking back at George.
“Work’s been good. Gardner’s been helping me fill in a lot of the gaps that came from, you know, going into this without any kind of training.” Gaps like teaching her how to stand up to the Imperius Curse, even if he had to use her insecurities to do it. But you know. Same thing. “Other than that, it’s mostly been pretty quiet. A few pick pockets and a small gang of thugs that wasn’t hard to break up. How’s Hogwarts this year?”
George looked over where she was pointing and spotted the girls. They were jostling each other and laughing, motioning toward the stage. “Nah, I know that look the girl is giving. She’s about two drinks away from actually singing.” He scanned the room, and spotted a young man alone at a table. “That guy on the other hand, he looks like he’ll get up in about thirty seconds. I guarantee he’ll sing something slow and soulful.” George could probably explain how he knew that, but right before he got the chance the man got up. George grinned and turned back to Violet, listening to her talk.
George knew that talking about work was one of Violet’s favorite subjects. He loved the way the light danced in her eyes when she was talking about something she was so passionate about. “I think it’s so cool. Your job that is, I don’t know if I’ve ever told you. It takes a special kind of person to be so helpful to complete strangers.” George took a sip of his drink and continued “Anyway, school is alright. I feel kind of--- stuck. I know I need to finish, but I don’t know if I really want to finish, if that makes sense. I already know what I’m going to be doing when I graduate, and I’m not sure a diploma is really going to matter... but I’m still going on principle I guess.” He shrugged “I should have just graduated last year instead of leaving like an ass, but sometimes I don’t make the best decisions.”
With the information Scarlett had given him about the Seer, George headed out of the shop for the day. He had wanted to pursue the lead right away, but even he had to make sure that he actually finished school this time. He had already skipped a few days and gotten detention for them. He was silently kicking himself for being so aloof this school year but he couldn’t help it. He already knew what he’d be doing after he graduated, and it wasn’t like there was some secondary wizarding college he would end up at. Still, the Ravenclaw in him insisted that he graduate this time, he had never really forgiven himself for the sabbatical he had taken earlier in the year.
His mind drifted over to the last interaction he’d had with a Seer. It had not ended well to say the least. He hoped that this new Seer was nicer, and would actually be someone that George could depend on to help him find a cure for his curse. He couldn’t go the rest of his life being scared of every figure of speech! Besides, one day someone would say the wrong thing... wish the wrong thing... and George would be powerless to stop it. Hell, some of those had already happened. He shuttered, thinking about the toe he found in the field that time, and shook his head. “Positive thoughts, Georgie” He said to himself, packing his rucksack.
It would be a long broom ride over to the Seer, but George was used to long broom rides. He would at least be back this time before class on Monday, so that was a bonus. He let his mind drift over to Violet and their karaoke night. It had been a lot of fun, and she knew what he was going to be doing this time. He half wished that she were coming with him, but George felt like this was something he had to do on his own.
When Scarlett first told him about the Seer, George thought it was a joke. It wasn’t the kind of person that usually exuded Seer qualities. Most Seers he knew about wore lots of layers, were shunned by society, and generally were kind of... scary. This one on the other hand...
George mounted his broomstick and adjusted his backpack. It would be a several hour ride over to New Delhi, but he was looking forward to it for the most part. Flying on a broomstick always made him feel more free and calm. Finally, with a last look back at his apartment, he was off flying through the air and going over and over in his mind just what exactly he would say to Mr. Deitrich once he got there.
The hours went by with George listening to his favorite music while flying. It was an uneventful but long flight that left him feeling both relaxed, and a little bit happier. He landed on the outskirts of the city, careful that no muggles could see him, then collapsed his broomstick, putting it in his backpack. The time had come, but he wasn’t there quite yet, he still had to make his way through the crowd and to the Deitrich Industries building.
The building was a huge skyscraper, reaching up into the clouds. George couldn’t even see the top of it due to both the clouds, and the haze of pollution that permeated the over populated city. People were rushing in and out of all the doors, and George looked very under dressed. With a sigh, he entered the building, grateful that pretty much everyone was ignoring him. Looking around, he spotted the bathrooms and made his way inside.
A minute later he emerged again, his backpack now a briefcase and himself wearing a suit and tie. Even his hair looked well oiled and slicked back. Going into a place like this, you really had to look the part or no one would ever let you inside, especially to talk to anyone important. He looked down at his shoes, glad that he had shined them so expertly. He definitely looked like he belonged now. Once again he was ignored as he made his way to the elevators. Mr. Deitrich was at the very top- of course- and there was no way that George would be let up to see him easily.
The elevator ride was long and annoying. It made many stops and lots of people got on and off over and over again. What should have been just a minute ride quickly turned into ten as the doors finally opened and let him out on the top floor. There was a secretary waiting for him, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Can I help you?” She asked, shuffling some papers around. George noticed her hand hovering over a panic button on the desk. She was a really paranoid secretary, that was for sure.
“Sorry to bother you Miss, but I have an appointment to see Mr. Deitrich.” George said confidently, knowing that he totally did NOT have an appointment at all. “Name?” The secretary asked, her finger finally moving away from the panic button. “George Smith” He lied easily, flashing her one of his famous grins. She relaxed a bit and smiled back at him, looking through the computer for his name. As expected, she didn’t see it, and she looked back up at him, her hand slowly crawling toward the panic button again. “I’m sorry Mr. Smith, but you’re not in the computer. If you’d like, you can leave your name and number and I’ll have Mr. Deitrich get back with you?”
George shook his head “Just tell him that Mallum sent me.”
The secretary’s eyes widened, as if that name meant something to her, and she hit the intercom button. “Sir. There is a George Smith to see you.”
“Tell him to go away, I’m busy.” A voice floated back over the intercom. George recognized the accent immediately as American, and he was a little surprised. He thought in a city like this he would be talking to a man of Indian decent, but apparently not.
“I’m sorry sir” the secretery added “but he says he was sent by a Mallum.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the intercom, but then the man’s voice sounded a bit more guarded, yet open when he finally replied. “Alright, send him in. Also, Janice, you’re fired.” George’s eyes got wide and looked at the secretary, sure he was about to see her burst into tears. However, she looked a lot happier than she had when George had first entered the room. She quickly began packing up her belongings, not sparing him another glance.
Shocked, George walked away and went to the big office located just behind her desk. He knocked once, and then entered, closing the door behind him. “Don’t fire her” George said to the strange man “please, she was just doing her job.”
The man shrugged and got back on the intercom “Janice, uh, forget it, you’re not fired.” There was a pause and then the woman’s voice “Thank you sir.”
The man was clean cut, wearing a suit, and looked a little distressed. He motioned to the other seat, and George sat down. “What can I help you with, Mr. Smith?” He said, his voice a little shaky.
“Well, see, I wasn’t exactly sent by a Mallum, it’s just that Scarlett gave me your name, so you can relax you’re not in trouble or anything.” The man’s face turned to a scowl, but he did visibly relax. “Give me one good reason why I should have security throw you out right now.” He said, his hand going toward the intercom button.
“Well, I mean, you could do that if you want everyone to know that you’re a Seer. And trust me, I don’t think they’ll take very kindly to your cheating. An investment banker? Seriously? That’s hardly fair.” George grinned, raising his hand up and messing up his hair on purpose. He liked it better all floofy anyway.
The man moved his finger away from the intercom and sighed “Not like they’d believe you, but okay. I’m curious. It’s obvious you’re not a muggle, so at least I don’t have to worry about that nonsense. So, I take it your real name isn’t George Smith huh? Well, my name is Neo, but don’t tell anyone that. Just call me Neil, that’s what I go by here.”
George decided that even though this man was a little rough around the edges, he still seemed pretty much okay. “My name is George, that was true, but it’s George O’Callaghan. My father and I own O’Callaghan Brooms in Hogsmeade.”
Neil shrugged as if that didn’t really matter. “So let me guess, you want me to tell you if your brand will take off? If you will become rich and powerful? If one day there will be an O’Callaghan broom on every broom rack? Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t work that way. At least, not for free.”
George shook his head “No actually, it’s a lot more uh... complicated than that. And I know that you require money, but I already took care of that too. If you help me, your debt to the Mallum’s will be completely nullified. I’m basically taking over your contract... kind of. It’s hard to explain.”
“I find that hard to believe. What are you... 17 or something? There’s no way you can take over the amount of money I owe them.”
“I’m 19, but whatever, just trust me because what I’m about to tell you is going to blow your mind.”
There was a pause as George gathered up his courage. He wasn’t a Gryffindor by any means, but he could be brave when the occasion called for it. “Okay so, basically, I’m a genie for lack of a better word. I have to grant wishes, but it hurts me physically to do so. I need your help to get cured. I figured since the last time I found any evidence that I could be cured was from a seer, then logically another seer would be able to either give me something less vague to work with, or some other clue. I hate this curse, it’s awful and every time someone makes a wish I wonder if it’s going to be something homicidal I’ll have to do.”
Neil was shocked, but he wasn’t a man that believed things blindly. He crossed his hands on his desk and leaned closer to George. “I wish for a glass of my grandmothers home made special recipe iced tea. Right here on my desk in one of her fine china glasses. The ones I was never allowed to touch.”
George jumped up from the seat, feeling his power start to surge forward. He should have known that this guy had to deal in facts, but he still wasn’t happy about it. He clutched his stomach and doubled over, grimacing against the pain in his mid section. Then with a pop, all his magic dissipated, and right there on Neil’s desk was a sparkling glass of iced tea. “At least you didn’t wish for something huge or annoying.” George spat out, clearly upset. He sat back down in the chair and waited.
“My grandmother’s been dead for 20 years” Neil said, taking the glass and sipping on the tea. He closed his eyes, thinking about all the memories of his grandmother and how much he missed her. “All her fine china got auctioned off when she died. She had no will, and the banks took everything. It’s what pushed me to become an investment banker. I try to help out people with my abilities and make sure they leave a future for their children.”
He finally opened his eyes and looked pointedly at George. “You don’t want to help people with your abilities? Give a dying child their last wish... cure cancer... give a homeless person a house? Why in the hell are you not saving the world with this?”
George looked down at the floor, feeling a sense of guilt. It had crossed his mind more than once, but... “The risk is too high.” George said, tapping his fingers on his knee. “What about when I’m found out and the wishes for nuclear war and zombie apocalypses start? What do I do when someone wishes that someone they hate would go fuck themselves? I can’t live like that. I can’t be some experiment locked up in a cell at the beck and call of any type of evil mastermind... at least, not again.”
Neil nodded, fully understanding the risk involved with this sort of power. He sighed, and stood up. “Alright. I’ll help you, especially since it’ll make my account with the Mallum’s clear. I won’t ask what you mean by your last statement, just be careful. It’s not going to get cured overnight, at least, that’s the feeling I’m getting. Come here.”
George stood up, and walked over to Neil. Neil got out of his chair and held his arms out. “I know this is awkward, but give me a hug. I do better with readings if there’s human contact.”
George didn’t mind hugging, in fact, he felt like he really needed one at this point. He walked over and embraced the man, not even caring how weird this must look to some outsider. A 5′7″ teenager hugging a 6′3″ middle aged man.
Suddenly, he was pushed away, and Neil’s eyes had glazed over. His pupils had vanished, leaving only the whites of his eyes. He began to mutter, and George rushed to the desk grabbing a pen and paper.
“A curse to dispel
A bond to break
Travel to hell
your soul to take.”
George was angry. Why the vague bullshit? He ran over to Neil and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him violently. “TELL ME SOMETHING USEFUL GOD DAMN IT! WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?!”
Neil, eerily calm, his pupils still missing, turned toward George slowly. A voice came out of his mouth that was not his own. It was raspy and dark.
As George pointed out the quiet tables in the back, Vi couldn’t help but perk up slightly. She was still uncomfortable in crowds, especially with her new senses, but it was so much better to be able to have her back to a wall. At least that way she could see any attack that was coming. Even better, the corner booth was still open. “Um, an Old Fashioned I think. I guess I’ll be waiting at the corner booth? And thanks.” She offered him a slightly awkward smile, still not sure how to handle all the attention and consideration before walking towards the back of the room.
It was easy to slip between the tables, no one bothering to glance at her as she made her way back. After all, she’d made a habit out of being invisible even in crowded spaces, so it was easy to fall back into that pattern. As soon as she reached the booth in the corner, she slid inside and let herself look around the room. The place was mostly full, which made sense for a Saturday night, but it wasn’t too crowded. No one was singing at the moment. But maybe that was just because it was early in the evening and no one was drunk enough yet to have the courage. A group of guys in their twenties were jostling each other at the bar, as several paris of girls walked in, giggling. Vi looked around and fidgeted, just waiting for George to get back.
George nodded and watched Violet as she walked away. He sighed, hoping that this night went well and that Violet would have some fun. George wondered if Violet had a lot of fun on her off time. If he had a job like hers, he would probably go crazy if he didn’t have some time to just goof off and do something dumb. He ordered their drinks. George ordered a shot and a rum and coke for himself, and the Old Fashioned for Violet. Once his shot came, he took it down already. Liquid courage is what his father would call it, but George never felt more courageous when he drank, just... more relaxed.
With each of their drinks in hand, George weaved through some of the crowd and made his way to the table that Violet had chosen. “Nice choice” he said, sitting down and sliding her drink over to her. “Anyone singing yet?” He asked, craning his neck to see the stage. “I’ll go first if someone doesn’t sing in five minutes. I don’t mind breaking the ice so to speak.” He looked over at Violet “how’s work been going lately?”
Vidia shook her head. “Mop boy doesn’t have the right ring to it. Although you might need one to mop up the tears when I beat that ass.” She rarely let the chance slide by when the opportunity presented itself to shit talk. Next to her speed, her shit talking was her best talent.
“Why the wait?” She fluffed up her skirt. “I can fly in this.” She didn’t have her broom but that wouldn’t take much time to get since it was stored at the pitch.
“Because” George said, a smirk coming across his face “anticipation makes the feelings stronger, don’t you think?” He was teasing her, but he was always teasing someone. It was the George way. “But alright, if you’re so eager to lose, let’s go.” He began walking, glancing over at her. “You would think after the last quidditch season you would have learned when to give up.” He hadn’t actually paid attention to the last quidditch season, so he had no idea how she or Slytherin had done- but she didn’t know that.
George. Dory made note of his name and hoped she’d remember it later. “Sure!” she said enthusiastically, rather pleased to be asked to help. “I’d love to help. What are we doing?”
“It’s not something that I’d look into anytime soon. I mean, I had so many detentions from not attending mandatory flying lessons at school.” Winona’s accident wasn’t something that was openly talked about. Even her parents didn’t know the truth about what happened. As far as anyone knew, it was an accident and she fell.
“well whatever, it was just an idea” George was starting to feel bored. He’d had a long day and he was still feeling a little offended. “I’m going to go though, talk to you later?”
“He’s the best, of course he’s smart,” Vi said, slightly indignantly. She didn’t see how anyone could not know who Andrew Gardner was considering his amazing track record for catching dark wizards. She could have been stuck with some idiot, but she had become the luckiest girl in the world. She idolized him enough that she felt slightly compelled to defend him. Even if it wasn’t really a slight. He was just the best.
“I’ll think about it. But you can get first round.” If she was quick enough, she could get second and then it wouldn’t really be him paying for everything. But this way, they wouldn’t have to start with a big fight or anything like that, especially since it seemed so important to him to do at least this much. “Why thank you kind sir,” she said, only mildly sarcastically, and then she walked inside. And immediately stopped to stare around at everyone. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
George let the subject of Gardner drop. Violet seemed to really care about him, and even though George was sure it was more of a boss/employee relationship, he still felt a pang of jealousy. He shook his head, trying to clear it out. So what anyway? It wasn’t any of his business. He didn’t even know if Violet liked him that way, it wouldn’t be fair to get jealous. Hell, George didn’t even know if Violet liked HIM that way.
“Alright, fine” he conceded, walking in behind her and looking into the back corner. There were a few tables open, and George pointed them out. “How about those back there?” He was afraid they would be taken, but he had spoken with the bar owner the day before about possibly clearing out any people sitting there, but it looked like George wouldn’t need to do that. “I’ll let you pick the darkest and most isolated one!” He said with a chuckle, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’ll order the drinks if you like, what do you want to drink?” George didn’t like ordering for other people, it made him feel like he was trying to control them or something. He had a hard enough time controlling himself, let alone someone else, even if it was good intentioned.
