Illumination

Jeremy Thorne

Emergency Dept Healer | Hattie's Dad
Messages
1,126
OOC First Name
Cyndi
Blood Status
Mixed Blood
Relationship Status
Single (Looking)
Age
8/2013
Crack. In the darkness of the night, a man exited one of the many alleys that dotted the industrial district of the North Island. He looked both ways as he did, as if he was looking for trouble, but none was to be had. The streets were deserted and the man briefly wondered if he had apparated to the wrong place. Nope, he thought to himself as he passed a sign for Jones Road, the very road he was looking for. Listening carefully, the man could hear a faint bumping in the night. With a smile, his steps quickened as he moved towards the sound. Rounding a final corner, Jeremy Thorne hit a massive line. Leaning against the wall, Jeremy knew that he should have left his house earlier, and he would have to if he hadn't fallen asleep. When he'd finally woken up it was nearing midnight. Luckily, his ability to apparate more than made up for the time he'd wasted. Watching a girl in front of him as she used her phone to call someone, Jeremy wished he had thought to bring his. At least it would've given him something to do while he waited. The line was moving but only inch by inch. At this rate, he wouldn't get in until the place closed...

Nearly an hour later, Jeremy finally stepped through the doors of the club. The music was still pumping and he could feel the bass in his chest. It was an odd feeling. Scanning the area, Jeremy didn't spot any of the people he was supposed to meet up with. Most of them were fellow Healers-in-training, second and third years just like him. The others were friends of his co-workers. Jeremy knew that he should've invited someone, but he'd forgotten. He was pretty sure Faxen would've enjoyed a place like this though. With a final scan, Jeremy headed to the bar to get himself a muggle drink. That was no easy task either, but within a few moments he had managed to push his way to the front and placed his order. As he waited, the guy's blue eyes roamed again, this time falling on his group. They were seated at a private table up on the second floor. Jeremy grinned and saluted the Healer he was closest to, a man by the name of Swann. The group looked to be having a grand time and Jeremy couldn't wait to join them, maybe get some dancing in. It would be good to finally have the chance to just chill out for a few hours. The Healers certainly didn't do that often enough. Grabbing his drink, Jeremy took a couple of careful sips as he made his way up the steps to where the group was seated. He lifted it in a toast to the group as he finally reached them, a broad grin on his face. "Looks like I have some catching up to do" he chuckled as he noticed the table that was littered with empty cups and half filled bottles.
 
Henri Keto was thoroughly inebriated. He had been drinking for he better part of an hour and he had gotten here later then the others. The group he was currently drinking with was almost like a mixer, everyone knew some-one, but they didn't all know everyone. Henri tugged at his necklace as he leaned back into the chair. He was going to give it some time before he started drinking again. He had already had three schooners in the last hour, he was a pretty good drinker, but even he would have to be taking a break soon. He probably could still apparate, but by the end of the night he was sure there would be a problem with his focusing. Maybe it was a good thing that he was surrounded by healers, at least if he fell into a drunken coma, there would be people here to look after him. He wasn't sure what the conversational topic was at the moment, but the guys were laughing so he figured it was something funny. "What are we laughing at?" He asked one of the guys, leaning forward to hear the conversation better. It was rather loud in here, which made sense considering the place he was in and the company he was currently keeping. The guy turned to him and attempted to yell in his ear about the laughing, but Henri couldn't hear him properly and so just started laughing out of consideration. He didn't know if it was really all that funny or not, but considering they were all drunk and Henri had an uncommon accent, he was sure they wouldn't notice. When he wasn't drunk, his accent was fine, it was the normal Finnish sound that was sometimes mistaken for Welsh, or even Swedish, which is normal considering Swedish was an official language in Finland. Most Fins either learnt Swedish or English as a second language, although Henri had learnt both, mostly because his mother was really serious about education.

Soon there was another addition to their group. Henri recognised him from one or two of the other outings he had attended. Henri smiled and held up his own drink in greeting. He scooted over and waved the guy around the table. "Hey man! Over here, it's a tight squeeze but I reckon you could fit!" He called out, taking a sip of the schooner he had been leaving on the table. He had intended to cool it on the drinks for a while, but now that there was another member of the group around, why not celebrate. "I think you might have too. Well, only these three are mine, but all those others have been drunk in the last two hours." He added shaking his head in disbelief at how quickly some people could drink. Of course, he could be like that too, which he normally was when he wasn't around Kellin, but tonight he wasn't in a drinking mood, of course, now he had some-one he could talk too, considering they had sort of broken into groups, he might be more willing to party. "Sorry, what was your name again? Jerome or something right? Jeremy?" He asked, taking another sip of his drink and looking at the guy from the corner of his eye. If memory served, he was another one of these Healers. Was Henri the only none healer here?
 
Jeremy slowly headed for the table that he’d been waved over to. It wasn’t a fellow Healer calling him over, but he did know the guy. They’d hung out together before when the group of Healers had gotten together in the past. The guy was very friendly and Jeremy had found him to be easy company. Glancing at the vast number of empty glasses, Jeremy’s eyebrows rose. Two hours? , he mused, a smirk on his face. It certainly explained why the majority of them were laughing their heads off. Surely, nothing could be that interesting. “I’d better get to work then” the man said, lifting his drink to his lips and draining it. He put the cup down along with the others on the table as he slipped in beside the man. Jeremy allowed the man a moment to try to figure out his name on his own, a nod and a smile coming when he got it right. “Jeremy” he shouted over the music. “Yours is…” his name had been on the tip of his tongue for a moment, but he’d lost it now.

“Damn…you’re going to have to tell it to me. Wait! Don’t. It’s…” the name came and went once more. “It’s something French sounding. I know that much” he added, a grin on his face. His memory was that poor and he’d only had one drink. He could only imagine what it’d be like after a few more. “Ok…tell me” Jeremy rolled his eyes, disappointed in himself. A loud cheer rose up in their section as a waiter came by with a huge pitcher of some kind of alcohol. Before he knew it, a cup was being shoved into his hand. The liquid was bright blue, even bluer than his eyes, and he looked at it warily. After a moment, he shrugged and took a cautious sip. It didn’t taste bad, but whatever it was, it was strong. He could feel it burning its way down his throat. “I didn’t know mug…drinks came this strong” the man finished, glad he’d had enough sense to stop himself. The muggles in the area probably would’ve just thought he was drunk and babbling if he’d uttered the word ‘muggle’ in their presence, but Jeremy didn’t want to take any chance. Looking around the place, Jeremy watched the people as they writhed around the dance floor. He could spot one of his colleagues in the mix, his arms wrapped around some co-ed. “This place is pretty cool” he shouted, wondering who had managed to find it. Jeremy didn’t frequent muggle places often, but he’d been doing so more frequently since he had begun hanging out with his colleagues. Many of them seemed just as fascinated about muggles as he was.
 
Henri smiled as Jeremy slid into the booth next to him. Henri didn't know much about him except for the fact that he was training to be a healer, or something. That was a pretty good job he was sure. If Henri could be bothered to settle down, he was sure he would like to be a healer, or maybe an auror, but he was not the kind of person to just settle down into one job. He was currently travelling around the world with his best friend. Though he had been in New Zealand for a while now, but that didn't matter, New Zealand was a pretty cool place after all. He'd met alot of new people that didn't seem to mind that his accent was hard to work out, though he didn't think it was that hard, of course to him, he didn't have an accent, it was just normal, but of course, considering that all the kids in his town were homeschooled, so he was not used to hearing other accents. Henri took another sip of his drink. He was about to remind Jeremy of his name, when he said he wanted to figure it out himself. Henri hid his smirk behind the bottle as he raised it to his lips again, not taking a sip, but simply to hide his amusement. It was kind of funny. When he had first gotten to New Zealand he had done nothing but complained to Kellin about the fact that New Zealand was too hot and that he had no desire to make new friends, or that there weren't going to be any good clubs to attend. A couple of weeks in he had met a guy and they had hit it off, eventually, the guy had introduced him to this lot and eventually to Jeremy, though since then, he had only met up with the group a few times. Mostly he looked after Kellin, making sure the part-goblin didn't get in over his little head. Some people thought it was weird that his best friend was small enough to be his son, and when giving him piggy backs, they's even been mistaken for such, but they didn't mind, they had been friends for such a long time, it was kind of normal for them now. As odd as it was. "I'm sure as soon as I tell you, it'll be like 'See, I did know that'" Henri mused, turning to see one of the group plop his head onto the table. Obviously he couldn't hold his liquor well.

Henri laughed when Jeremy finally gave up on guessing his name. "I don't know about french sounding, but it is definitely Finnish. Henri Keto at your service." He said, bowing his head slightly in mock greeting. Finnish tradition be buggered, he kissed no-ones cheek, though there was that one time when he kissed Kellin's little sister, but she was adorable, and five. Between adults, a simple nod of the head was suffice, of course if they were in Finland and they were greeting each other, a firm handshake and staring into the others eyes would be called for. Henri had always thought that was like being a loved up couple and had only done so when prompted by his mother, she was such a traditionalist. Henri took another sip of his drink and stifled yet another smirk at the sudden strange look to come over Jeremy's face. It seemed that he hadn't been expecting the strength of the drink. "Well, when you think about the fact that they have no magic, it makes sense, they need something to distract them from their mundane lives right?" He asked, shrugging and discarding his now empty drink in favour of another. He wasn't sure what this one was, except that it was in a brownish bottle. It was alcohol in anycase. "I've been here only once before. I was with those two." He pointed in the general direction of the two guys he had met the first time, though he had long forgotten their names, it would come back to him eventually, Steven or something, he couldn't remember. "The music is usually pretty good, the drinks are great and dancing is always fun. He said, winking at Jeremy and taking the first sip of his new drink.
 
The look of amusement was mirrored on Jeremy's face as he waited for the man to reveal his name. Henri had been wrong though. When Jeremy heard it, he had no recognition of the name. Still, he smiled. "Well, Henri. I'll be sure to remember it this time...or try to anyway" he mused. The man shook his head as he noticed one of the group members nearly passed out on a table. Since his face was covered, Jeremy couldn't be totally sure who it was but he'd put a couple of galleons on it being Patrick. That man was not as good as holding his liquor as the others yet he still insisted on trying to outdrink others. His girlfriend would probably come around in a few to get him home. It happened every time. The second sip of the drink went down a bit easier than the first. By the third, Jeremy no longer made a face. "True" Jeremy agreed with a nod. He didn't really think that muggles' lives were that mundane but he knew that some of the wizarding community didn't agree. Jeremy found muggles to be fascinating, especially in their use of methods to do things that wizards could do easily. Like using telephones. He knew better than to air those opinions around people he didn’t know well.

Jeremy continued to listen to the guy speak, enjoying hearing his accent. When he had first arrived in New Zealand, he had been the one with the odd accent. Some of his classmates who were native New Zealanders and even those who weren’t found it difficult to understand his thick New England accent. It had faded some with time but he still tended to forget his rs at the end of words. Looking in the direction that Henri pointed, Jeremy noticed that one of the guys had glanced over. He nodded his head to the man and then glanced at Henri again. The Healer could tell that his friend was right about two of the three things, and judging by the wink that he’d just been given, perhaps he should get to trying that third one. Jeremy glanced towards the end of the balcony, which overlooked the dance floor. It was crowded, a sign that people were enjoying themselves. Taking another swig of his drink, Jeremy placed it on the table. “Well, you’re right about the music and the drink. I may just have to give the dancing a try then so I can see for myself” he stood up, brushing off non-existent crumbs from his pants. For years, Jeremy hadn’t been much of a dancer. He still didn’t dance often, but when he did he was able to enjoy himself. “You coming?” he asked.
 
Sometimes Henri wondered how he was able to spend time with this group of people, he didn't have much in common with alot of them, all they did was get drunk and they were supposed to be healers, or healers in training anyway. Though he supposed if they got hurt they wouldn't have far to go, so that was always good. He took another sip of his drink and looked at Jeremy again. "Well, I will just have to keep reminding you, until you remember. Or make sure that you have some much fun, I will be impossible to forget, yeah?" He asked, grinning and shaking his head. Memorable moments were the best he thought and making things memorable was something he liked to do most of the time. He made sure that his visits to different places were memorable through doing all sorts of things. Parties helped a lot, meeting interesting people, and going to famous places, he liked to take photos, or rather Kellin did, but that was okay. "Well, maybe not that mundane, and I am sure they are really exciting when they want to be, but some of there inventions are really unsafe, like planes for example, how do those things fly? My friend Kellin and I came here on a plane, I was not impressed." He added, completely forgetting that he did not know Jeremy all that well, but then again, Henri was a very open and friendly person, he liked to talk about anything and everything. He had an opinion on every subject, of course it depended on who he was talking to as to whether or not he was open about the subject or not. When Henri noticed that Jeremy had spoken again, he turned to look at him and smiled. So it appeared that Jeremy agreed with him, that was cool. Henri was however a little shocked when Jeremy extended him an invitation to dance. He didn't hesitate to accept and placed his drink on the table.

"Hell yeah, let's go!" Henri called, walking out from the booth and walking to Jeremy, there wasn't much room on the dance floor, but as Henri scanned the room, he found a nice little spot in the centre that would give them plenty of space. Henri pointed Jeremy in that direction grabbed Jeremy's arm, intending to pull the guy over to the place. The music was a god beat, something Henri could have fun with, it was some sort of pop song, similar to the kind of music he listened too when he was younger. It made him want to jump around, which was always fun. There were a lot of girls and guys his age dancing around him, also a few couples. Henri thought that was funny, they were grinding on each other, but Henri was sure it was not the dancing they were concentrating on. Henri looked at Jeremy and gestured with his head to a blonde couple, "I somehow think that dancing is the last ting on their mind." He laughed, moving into the middle of the dance floor and moving to the music in a similar way to the dancers around him.

I don't think it is much of a godmod, but if you want me to change it, just let me know. :)
 
As Henri spoke, Jeremy remembered why he’d liked the guy during the previous times they’d hung out together. Unlike some of his colleagues who spent the evening getting wasted like their careers were on the line, Henri was a talker. “Yea, I guess that’d work” he smiled. It wouldn’t be difficult to have fun in this place. Jeremy was pretty sure of that. As he continued to listen, Jeremy realized that Henri might not be one of those prejudiced wizards. He seemed fairly interested in muggles and spoke of traveling by plane. The guy did express some disdain, but Jeremy had a similar disdain for planes that was mostly due to his fear of them. And this was coming from a guy who actually enjoyed jumping on a broomstick and flying around yards above the ground. He just didn’t get planes no matter how many times someone tried to explain it to him. It defied logic in his mind. So, it was with earnestness that Jeremy nodded his agreement to Henri.

Glad that he wouldn’t have to head to the dance floor alone, Jeremy grinned and followed Henri who seemed to be scanning the area. Jeremy was already distracted, looking around at the men and women who were circling the dance floor, limbs flailing as they bounced to the beat of the song. As Jeremy glanced at a couple, he was surprised to discover that one of them was the other Jeremy from St. Mungo’s. He was busy dancing with a muggle woman. She was so close to him that it was difficult to see where Jeremy’s body was in contrast to the woman’s. His colleague gave him a grin over the woman’s head and then resumed dancing. Jeremy rolled his eyes and shook his head just as Henri pulled on his arm. The guy had managed to find an open space and Jeremy eagerly headed that way. He leaned in closer as Henri seemed to be saying something. Catching only the last few words, Jeremy had to piece together what the guy had been saying which was easy to do when he glanced over to the blonde couple. What his colleague and that girl had been doing was nothing to what this couple was doing. It was almost obscene. “You think? I’m just hoping we won’t get a display of what else is on their mind right her” Jeremy said with a scoff, his blue eyes filled with laughter. As Henri started to dance, Jeremy found it strange that he was dancing without a partner. The Healer was much too shy of a person to ever think of doing that. He moved his eyes from his acquaintance’s dancing form, pleased to discover a brunette not too far away who was staring at the two men before nudging someone who had their back to the dance floor. Wanna dance?, he mouthed to the woman, a grin crossing his face when she began to make her way over.

It was fine to me. :)
 
Sorry this is late. I didn't realise you had replied xD

Henri let the sound of the music wash over him. The beat and pulse of the underlying tunes allowed Henri to move his limbs in a comfortable array of twists and turns. More then once he felt hands or legs in places they ought not to be, but being an adventurous kind of guy, he left it alone. He could still see Jeremy over the heads of some of the dancers, if Henri reached out, he could have probably grabbed Jeremy's arm they were that close. It was nice to be able to get out like this. To just let go and forget any troubles the mind may have been fretting over. The lights began to flicker and a spread of yellow and red lights started dancing through the crowd. Henri smiled as he and his dance partner, he wasn't sure who they were, were suddenly bathed in a brilliant golden light. This was one of the reasons that he really liked this place. They certainly knew how to get a guys blood pumping. Henri looked over at Jeremy and reached his hand out to brush the guy shoulder. Eventually, Henri was going to have to weed himself out of this mosh-pit of tangled bodies and righteous dancing. He was starting to work up a sweat and whilst he didn't mind it, the smell of salty flesh was beginning to make him think of the salty sea air of a beach, he didn't really like beaches. Having lived in Finland all his life, beaches was not something he was really comfortable with. Of course they had beaches in Finland, some of the nicest ones in fact, but seeing as it was, on average, rather cold, beaches were seldom full of people. In Winter, one of the beaches in Helsinki actually froze up, and you could walk about five kilometres out over the water before it started to get dangerous. Henri had done that once. Ended up with hypothermia, but fun none-the-less. He grabbed hold of his dance partners, a blonde guy, hips and gently nudged him away. Slowly he would create a path off of the dance floor, and when he did, he would great-fully collapse into another booth and cool down.

Henri wasn't sure how much time had passed, but as he looked out over the great expanse, well, the dancers, he saw that he had really not moved that far away from his original position. Well, I guess that was to be expected. He wasn't sure why he had expected any less, he had been in a few of these mosh pits in his time. Kellin had even been in one, though Henri, after a while, had to put the part-goblin on his shoulders, to discourage people from stepping on the poor guy. The simple thought of that brought the ghost of a smile to Henri's slowly drying lips. He was definitely drunk then, his lips tended to get dry when he drank, he wasn't sure why, but it was a funny little quirk. He had lost sight of Jeremy in all the commotion and began to look around in earnest. If he was going to leave the dance floor, he couldn't leave without at least telling Jeremy what he was doing. Then maybe he would get a water. Water was always good. Spotting the other boy close to where he had been before, Henri made his way over to him, grabbing his shoulder and bending down to speak into his ear. Better to speak and risk not being heard, then to yell and blow out Jeremy's eardrums. "I've had my fill of dancing." He spoke slowly, taking care to ensure that he would be easily understood. "I'm going to the bar to get some water, I think I have used about half of my body weight." He laughed slightly and turned from Jeremy. He had to admitt, he had the slightest feeling of jealousy toward the girl that was with him, but it was nothing he hadn't felt before in conjunction to an attractive guy, or girl, which ever he felt most attracted to at the time. He looked around for he quickest route to the bar. Merlin, was he thirsty.
 
Every moment that he was out on the dance floor, Jeremy felt the crowd gather closer until they were just a mass of arms, legs and torsos gyrating to the beat of the lights and bass. Looking down at the girl he was dancing with, Jeremy realized that she wasn’t the girl he’d first been dancing with. That girl had been lost in the great shuffle of bodies some time ago. The guy didn’t mind though. It was all good fun, and it wasn’t as if he’d gotten to know the woman though they had been dancing awfully close. Somehow, in all of this, he’d managed to get a glowing necklace placed around his neck. A laugh escaped his lips as he realized that he’d had no idea when it had been given to him or by whom. As he continued to move, Jeremy felt a brush on his shoulder and turned in that direction, his face breaking out into a grin as he realized it was Henri. Despite the teeming mass of bodies and the constant revolving door of people he was dancing with, Henri had managed to stay near enough that Jeremy continued to feel comfortable on the dance floor. Much like his own, the guy’s face was glistening with sweat. Jeremy wondered if the guy had been meaning to tell him something, but before he could mouth anything, he felt a tug on his arm. With a sheepish smile, the Healer turned away from his friend as he was pulled deeper into the crowd. How he was able to move at all was a miracle that he couldn’t even begin to understand nor was he about to try. Jeremy had resolved himself to just going with the flow this evening. He didn’t even know who had pulled himself in the first place, but before he knew it, Jeremy was sandwiched between a group of ladies, unable to do anything more than move with the crowd. It was an exhilarating feeling to be among so many people who were enjoying themselves, but Jeremy was beginning to get to the point that he would need to get himself a drink. His throat was parched, but he refused to drink out of a bottle that was making its way around the crowd. Who knew what was in that bottle? Jeremy, for one, had no plans on finding out.

Feeling a sudden grab on his shoulder, Jeremy was about to turn when he heard a voice in his ear. He recognized it as Henri’s and quickly nodded at his words, though he could only hear about a quarter of them. The man’s intent was obvious though, and Jeremy knew that this was the opportunity he had been looking for to get off the dance floor himself. Not wanting Henri to leave without him, Jeremy grabbed hold of his friend’s arm. He yelled out, hoping Henri would hear him though he was sure it was pretty futile. “Wait. I’m coming too!” Jeremy squeezed himself away from the group who quickly filled the space and began dancing once more as if he’d never filled the space. By the time he’d done so, a group of people had already gotten between him and Henri. Arms reached out to grab at him, but Jeremy was quick to ignore them. He took a step and then another closer to Henri, glancing around for a clear path. Spotting one, Jeremy pushed his way through the crowd and nudged the Finnish man with his elbow. “This way” he yelled before indicating with the nod of his head which direction he planned to take. Snaking his way through the crowd took a while, but eventually he found himself at the far end of the bar. Here too was extremely crowded and Jeremy knew it would be several moments before he managed to get the bartender’s attention. He hoped he wouldn’t die of thirst before then. Turning, Jeremy looked for Henri, a smile coming across his face as he spotted the man. “That…that was something else” he chuckled. “I think I’m good with dancing...and drinking for about a year” he added with another laugh.
 
Henri looked 'round when he felt a grab for his arm and shook his head with laughter when he noted, with some delight, that it was Jeremy. He was acting as if Henri was going to leave him behind. He would never do that. Not in this horny crowd. Jeremy might have been unlucky enough to lose more than a few items of clothing. He had seen it happen before and it was not a pretty sight. He leaned a little closer to his friend and whispered back into his ear. "Relax, I won't leave you. Not here." He then turned back and was about to continue walking when he lost sight of Jeremy who had obviously lost his grip on his arm. He had undoubtedly been pulled back into the throng of dancing bodies. Dear Merlin. He looked around for his Healer friend and spotted him making his way back towards him. Henri smiled at the sight of him and was more than a little pleased. In fact he was downright delighted.

Henri felt Jeremy elbow him, albeit lightly, and looked in the direction he was indicating. Henri nodded back and the pair began to move their way through the crowd of people. Occasionally, Henri lost his grip on his friend and had to push his way through groups of people to get it back. It was rather tiring, but the promise of liquid to sooth his parched throat was enough to urge him forward. He lost sight of Jeremy once more, before finally making it through the crowd and closer to the bar. Jeremy was already there and seemed to be waiting for the bartender's attention. It was at places, and times, like these that made Henri wonder why they did not simply employ more people, or make it a self-serve. Those had done extremely well back home in Finland. He had enjoyed more than one of those self-serve bars. Though Kellin had never been allowed. No one believed his true age. It made Henri laugh just to think about that particular trip with his tiny part-goblin friend. Always getting himself into some sort of trouble. It was rather funny.

Henri made his way over to Jeremy and planted himself next to the man. He was not moving from this spot until he was ready. Which would probably be a long time from now. He was tired. Too tired to dance anyway. Henri nodded. He definitely agreed. "You don't have to tell me," he said laughing, "I was there, remember." He shook his head to accompany his laughing. He liked Jeremy, he definitely didn't regret coming out here tonight. Making new friends was always a great way to spend the night and Jeremy was fun. Henri had thought he wouldn't be interested in this type of thing, but he seemed to be able to let loose rather well, and that was always a fun thing to explore. "Well, I am done with dancing for tonight. But I could probably go for some more drinks. Maybe only a couple of light ones though. Possibly best not to be around me when I'm drunk. I can be overly friendly." He nodded turning his head away to hide the fact that he had gone slightly red. It was not something he liked to admit. But he thought it only fair that he warn Jeremy, just in case. Besides, he was probably safe, so far it only happened when he was with some one he found attractive, although... Henri looked over to Jeremy again and quickly looked away. Yep, Jeremy was attractive. Dammit, those eyes! Great. Never mind. No drinking for him.
 
OOCOut of Character:
Jeremy is so oblivious :p
Jeremy chuckled as Henri spoke. Now, he could easily see why Henri often came out with the Healers. The group as a whole was very hearty drinkers. When Jeremy had begun training, he had been surprised to discover how heavily some of the Healers drank. Now that he’d been on the job for a while, he understood. Healers dealt with a lot, so when they were given the chance to have a spot of fun, they took it without question. Jeremy didn’t know what Henri did for a living, but he figured that perhaps he felt similarly. As the man stated that he would only have a few drinks, Jeremy leaned in closer so he could hear him better. His eyebrows rose up in surprise as he wondered what Henri meant by ‘overly friendly.’ He opened his mouth to ask and then realized that Henri had reddened slightly at the comment. Closing his mouth quickly, Jeremy’s own face reddened and he let out a nervous laugh. Surely, it was because he didn’t want to find out what his friend meant. Blue eyes drifting away, Jeremy saw an opening and squeezed into the space that had just been abandoned by some guy. “Water…please” Jeremy croaked to the bartender before looking over his shoulder to find out what Henri wanted. After the man had placed his order and the bartender had returned with both of their drinks, Jeremy moved over a few inches to give someone else space. The bar had filled up even more in those few short seconds that Jeremy had been ordering and he was forced to stand shoulder to shoulder with Henri.

Finishing half the bottle before he came up for air, Jeremy became more aware of how sweaty he still felt. He brushed back his short hair and took another, smaller sip of water. “I’m thinking of heading out for some air” he yelled over the jungle beats that had begun to play as he nodded his head towards the doors. His blue eyes drifted in that direction, wondering if he could actually make it there. The crowd was writhing and moving with abandon, and Jeremy realized that the only way to get through would be to dance through. It really was too bad that he couldn’t just apparate out of here. “Are you going to stay?” Jeremy asked, a smile on his face. He was a firm believer of leaving no man behind, unless of course someone wanted to be left behind. He’d gone out with the Healers long enough to know that some of them enjoyed more than just dancing with muggles though. Jeremy knew that come tomorrow in the break room, he’d certainly be hearing a story or two.
 
Henri nodded at Jeremy, more out of a need to do something, then any actual reason for it. He had noticed the Jeremy had blushed at his comment, though he wasn't actually too sure on the reason for the blush. He eventually decided that it would be in his best interest to simply forget about the blush and return his attention to what he had originally been at the bar to do. He looked around and noticed that Jeremy had gotten closer to the bar, able to order a drink and he gave his order of water to Jeremy, who then relayed it to the bartender. There were so many people stacked up against each other reaching for drinks and each other that Henri had to dodge more then one set of hands. This was one of the down sides to coming to bars, but Henri did enjoy it so. The atmosphere was very interesting to him, he liked the way the lights looked on people, the smell of the alcohol was also rather intoxicating. It was great, sometimes. He leaned over Jeremy to reach for his water and turned his head away to keep the fact that his face had gone red again as secret as was possible. He hoped he could write it off as a natural flush that occurred when one had been drinking. Well, maybe Jeremy wouldn't notice which was another thing he could hope for. Would he look good melting into the crowd to be forgotten? He didn't think so and he didn't really want to find out, If he were wrong, he would look like a moron just disappearing like that. He took a sip of his drink and turned to stare at his shoulder as he and Jeremy became pressed together like Sardines in a can.

The more the crowd moved, the more difficult it became to be able to move his arm up to his mouth to sip at his water, which was gradually becoming less and less. He grumbled slightly and nudged one of the guys pressing into him out of the way. When he moved off to make out with the girl he had been trying to pick for the last ten minutes, Henri found sweet relief as he moved away from Jeremy. The thought of remaining so close to Jeremy weighing on his mind as the man began to speak. He wasn't quite able to hear him, but he had made out enough of the words to piece together a decent sentence. Jeremy wanted to leave and he was asking in Henri was going to go with him. Henri actually had to think about it all up of about one microsecond before he downed the rest of his water and placed the empty glass back on the counter. Whilst he did enjoy a nice jaunt on the floor with the muggles, he was not looking for any action tonight. He had thought it would be a nice night out with the guys, but he had been wrong. At least he had been able to spend some time with Jeremy though, that was entertainment enough in his eyes. He looked towards the door and came to the horrible realisation that they were going to have to dance their way out. How, non invigorating. Henri was already tired of dancing, but he supposed that a few more moves were not going to kill him. He winked at Jeremy and grabbed onto his wrist. "Were going to need to stay together if we want to get out of here. It would be just like me to lose you in the crowd." His voice got lower the more of that sentence he spoke, until the last part was almost a whisper. This was going to be a very interesting dance indeed.

"Come on Jeremy, try and keep up and don't let the crowd separate us or we will never get out." He was sure he almost sounded desperate, but right now he didn't really mind. He was more then slightly drunk, in fact he was sure someone had slipped something into his water, obviously it wasn't enough to do any permanent damage, but it was knocking him around a little. Probably spiked with bourbon or something, which considering he hadn't tasted it, was quite a feat. He began to move through the crowd, a little less graceful then he was used too, but that was not a problem, he was too tired to worry about impressing anyone, least of all Jeremy. When they got outside that was when he would worry about that. Eventually reaching the door, he threw it open and almost hissed as the cool night air hit his sweltering skin. It felt great and he stood there for a moment and let the night do its magic. Looking down at his hand, he realised it was still attached to Jeremy's wrist and he proceeded to remove his hand and look away, an embarrassed shake taking his shoulders as he decided that the moon was the most interesting feature of this night. "Definitely cooler." He whispered, leaning against the bricked wall and closing his eyes.
 
A definite downside to being in a popular club was the inevitable pressing together with a number of human bodies. Jeremy wasn’t typically claustrophobic, but being inside of a club at peak time nearly made him reconsider his feelings about being so close to others. It was only during times like this that Jeremy itched to use his wand to create some room for himself. He never would, of course, but thinking about it made him feel just a little bit better. Jeremy wasn’t sure if Henri could hear him despite how close they were. He waited, ready to move as soon as he got a reply from the man. It seemed that he had heard something because he glanced towards the doorway. Jeremy did too, his blue eyes taking in the mass of people separating him from the doorway. While he wasn’t eager to dive back into that crowd, he was eager to get some fresh air.

Glancing back to Henri to see if he had any good ideas that would bring them in contact with the least people, Jeremy was surprised when Henri grabbed him. His wrist rested limply in the man’s grip, his eyes growing curious at what the man was going to suggest. Jeremy caught the beginning of Henri’s sentence and gave a resigned nod. The end of the sentence was lost to him as a new song began with an obnoxiously loud riff. Drinking the last of his water for some added courage, Jeremy glanced at the empty bottle before placing it down on the counter. That last sip had tasted a little odd, but Jeremy quickly dismissed the idea as he turned to the crowd. Henri was speaking once more, but other than the “Come on Jeremy” he heard nothing. Stumbling slightly as Henri tugged him forward, Jeremy followed close behind. He kept bumping into people, but Jeremy was too tired to keep up with the usual manners he abided by. After the first apology escaped his lips, he simply kept trying his best to avoid stumbling into others but not caring too much when he did. Finally, the man could feel the breeze from the doorway and within moments they were outside. It wasn’t a chilly day by any means, but to Jeremy’s overheated, sweaty skin, it was beyond perfection. His eyes drifted shut for a long, long moment as he simply let the breeze hit his skin. Henri seemed to have had the same idea because Jeremy felt no movement beside him. Opening his eyes, Jeremy rubbed his sweaty neck with the back of his hand and then quickly wiped it on his pants, only then noticing that his other arm was still in Henri’s grip. He cleared his throat and looked away as Henri seemed to realize the same thing and quickly let him go. When he finally looked back, Henri was leaning back against the wall of the club. He looked like one of those clothing models that Jeremy often saw in magazines in the break room. He often admired the clothing that the men wore in those magazines. Deciding that he wanted to be more comfortable too, Jeremy also leaned against the wall, tipping his head back as he gazed up at the sky. He could still feel the vibrations from the club beats, but they were thankfully muffled.

The moon looked especially large this evening and Jeremy stood silently watching it, not minding the quiet at all. “Merlin, this feels good” he stated in an overly loud, hoarse voice as the breeze picked up once more. Realizing how loud he’d been, Jeremy shook his head at himself and pushed himself off of the wall. Now that he’d had a few moments to rest, Jeremy was certain that he was ready to make his way home. Aside from the club, nothing else was open in the industrial area and he knew that he could quickly make his way around the corner and apparate home. “I think I’m going to head home” Jeremy began, his voice deeper than usual, as he wiped his clammy hands against his pants again. “It was cool hanging out with you. We’ll have to do it again sometime. Maybe somewhere less… loud?” he chuckled. Jeremy thought that Henri was the kind of guy that he’d enjoy going to a quidditch game with and he’d already proved himself to be a fun bar and club kind of guy. The man had lost touch with many of his school friends, and he wasn’t particularly close with any of the Healers. They were friendly enough, but they worked together, and Jeremy liked to maintain some sort of professional distance from them.
 
Henri was painfully aware that Jeremy was beside him, even allowing for the fact that his eyes were closed. He didn't need sight, to know that Jeremy was leaning against the wall in much the same way that he was himself. He didn't know if his eyes were closed, but just remembering the other guys eyes made him shake his head. Regardless of his alcohol consumption, there was no need for any of this. Poor Jeremy probably wasn't even interested in men, let alone Henri. Though, Henri was no expert in these matters, he liked to think he was pretty good at picking out other people. Yet Henri was only too aware that he had no preference for himself. He only required someone he found attractive, in whatever manner that posed. He once dated a girl from his hometown that wasn't particularly pretty in the usual sense, but she was very intelligent and Henri had enjoyed that. Unfortunately she had also been a muggle, so the relationship had sizzled out after about a month, they did remain friends though. Of course she didn't know about him being magical. They never got to a relationship serious enough to constitute that. Henri had dated many different people, but he was still no expert.

Movement beside him, alerted him again to the fact that Jeremy still existed. He smiled to himself slightly before opening his eyes at the sound of the other man's voice. He nodded. He was in complete and total agreement of course. After all, he too planned to head off home to his apartment. He looked up at the sky and wondered exactly how long they had been in the club; he couldn't remember the time he arrived. He shrugged. "Yeah. I do believe you have the right idea there, Jeremy. I intend to head home as well." He said as he stepped away from the wall. "It was great getting to know a little more about you. We'll have to do this again sometime. Though I do agree somewhere with people less likely to grope us." He added as he laughed lightly at his bad joke. "I'll see you sometime then." He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and scrawled his number messily on the back. "Here, if you ever wanna go to a game or something, just text me or whatever." Many things could be said about Henri, but he really liked muggle communication devices, they were pretty cool.
FIN!




 

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