Ocean Gypsy

[Delilah Richarde]

As the birds began to chirp and sun spilled through pale curtains it became clear to Delilah Richarde that she had drunk too much the night before. While it had brought on some good, which brought a smile to her lips despite a splitting headache, she had gotten out of control. She had said things that were harsh, said things that were meant to be kept inside, said things that were hurtful and some of them were to the person she had such a strong adoration for. He had lied, yes, and abandoned his uncle who she knew would never have done the same to him but he did it to try to impress her strict yet absent parents. She didn't want him to do that - she wanted everything pushed under the rug and ignored like it should be with her family and like it had been since her big brother, Zachary, had been born. The Richarde's never took anything on head first and they never worked through things, they just kept silent until death had caught up to them which always seemed sooner rather than later so it hadn't plagued her with fear that any feeling she could not share with Jay would bubble up faster than a malfunctioning cauldron. Although the witch was tempted to do the same with this, especially because of how ill she was feeling, it would be wrong to. Once she had egged herself out of bed, Delilah dressed but kept on last night's eyeliner and shadow which were hidden by large sunglasses.

Apparation, on a good day, was difficult for the dark haired girl but now with her stomach queasy she had to give herself a few moments of looking up above her head to settle it until she was ready to walk towards Jay’s beach side abode. As the need to apologize to Jay was on slightly stronger than the need to find a dark, quiet cave and die there and so she knocked on the door, flinching underneath her dark sunglasses. The new graduate waited, keeping her eyes closed as she did, trying to block out the loud sounds of the ocean that she normally loved. As she did that, it occurred to Delilah that she hadn't thought of what she was actually going to say but sorry. Surely, they had to talk about what had happened between them before she had started acting like a world class jerk or would that be pushed away because of what she had said?

Delilah could feel anxiety bubble up in her and she had it in her mind to keep this all for a letter, it would be easier, but she heard footsteps and there was little she could do at this point, whether it was Jay or one of his family members who answered the door. They had been gracious enough to congratulate her along with Jay in place of her own family who didn't care enough to join. Sure, Zachary had been busy with his several children who would be difficult to tow all the way to New Zealand so she understood that but not one had even written her a letter. At least not as far as she could tell, Delilah had been watching for a letter from St. Mungo's and that was all. Anything else and she simply did not care to read it, at least not until she knew she could focus on those letters without fretting over whether or not her application was denied and what she would do with herself in that case. She hadn't worked as hard as she should have, as she was capable of, during Hogwarts like Jay had. She'd been too busy being scared or trying to be witty to seem much more impressive than she was and now she feared it would bite her in the arse. Hopefully last night wouldn't as well.
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[Jay Bennet]

In the wake of the events that had unexpectedly unfolded last night, Jay Bennet had wished for nothing more that morning than to throw a pillow over his throbbing head and fall right back into the deep throes of sleep. However, with Fletcher away on Quidditch business, the newly graduated teen had promised his mother he would help out with his sisters today. The aftermath of the heady concoction of alcohol that had been consumed had certainly not helped the cause but one particular green-eyed girl sat at the core of Jay's yearn for recluse. The young man was no longer sure where he stood when it came to his best friend, not after their impassioned little rendezvous and certainly not after her frustrated outburst. The thought of the stance he had taken against his Uncle Izaak last night now filled him with bitter remorse but if only Delilah had known why he had been so eager to please. After seven years of schooling with her at his side, he could finally admit it to himself - he loved her, more than anyone ever could. So the emotional roller coaster she had thrown him into last night had bewildered the eighteen year old and cast a shadow of doubt over the affections they had shared last night.

Girls are so complicated, he thought bitterly to himself before his azure eyes swept over the elder two of his three young sisters, who had taken it upon themselves to each take one of his hands and promptly drag him to the kitchen. Jay was hard pressed to believe that Lexi or Aubrey, or even little Charlie for that matter, were capable of growing out of their unambiguous frames of mind. "Mum said we could have fruit loops for breakfast." Lexi remarked with calculated indifference as the trio reached the kitchen but her older brother was familiar with her sly antics. "I don't think she did, Lex," Jay smirked as his tired, blue eyes glanced up the hallway where his mother had disappeared to as she tried to calm the youngest Bennet's persistent wailing. Since Charlotte's birth, Leah had attempted to turn a new leaf in terms of the family's diet, meaning that the sugary breakfast cereals had been stashed away in the back of the pantry. "She did! I heard her!" Piped up little Aubrey as her dark features, most like those of her father's, drew into frown. The young man shook his head at his much younger siblings, a chuckle tumbling softly from his lips at their insistence. "Pleeease, Jay." the pair begged him, knowing their original plan had failed as their pleading eyes gazed up at him. With a playful roll of his own blue eyes, the young man reached a long arm up towards the top of the pantry and retrieved the box of sugary cereal for his sisters. With their eyes widening at the sight of the treat, Jay pressed a finger to his lips, "Don't tell mum." The pair nodded quickly, watching on eagerly as Jay poured them each a bowl and set them down on the dining table.

Just as the girls were about to tuck into their breakfast time treat, a knock at the door resounded through the house. "Jay, honey, could you please get that?" Leah called out, clearly fighting a losing battle with little Charlie. Although he was not in the mood for making small talk with the neighbours or having to play host to another one of his family members, the eighteen year old trudged towards the door, knowing that his mother had enough on her plate as it was. However, Lexi had seemingly forgot about her breakfast and ran excitedly ahead of Jay with Aubrey following close on her heels. Expecting to see his uncle or perhaps their neighbour at the door as Lexi pulled it open, Jay baulked as he sighted the visitor's familiar brunette locks. "Delilah!" His sisters exclaimed in delight, confirming his suspicions as they then threw themselves at the older girl, clinging to her legs adoringly. Lexi had taken quite a shine to his best friend over the years, her younger sister merely following suit. It was rather peculiar considering Lexi's namesake was Delilah's late sister, although Jay was sure that his sister was not yet aware of that. An awkward smile crossed his lips as he reached the three girls, no longer sure how to act around Delilah. His heart began to beat erratically at the mere sight of her, feeling rather excited over the affection they had shared last night but the way the situation had been left put a damper on his feelings and his elation soon spun into anxiety.

"Hey," Jay exhaled anxiously, not able to gauge her reaction to his presence through the dark shades that shielded her eyes. There had been so much left unsaid between the pair, so many things that they now needed to air out in the open but that wasn't achievable with his two little sisters in tow. "Come in, we're having fruit loops!" Lexi exclaimed excitedly and began to pull his poor friend inside. Jay closed the door behind the three of them, shooting an apologetic glance towards his friend. "Hey Lexi, why don't you and Aubrey go finish your breakfast while Delilah and I talk for a bit." Jay smiled down at his sister, tousling her strawberry blonde locks and hoping she wouldn't kick up a fuss. But the girls merely nodded and skittered off in giggles towards the dining table. "Sorry about that." Jay smiled gingerly, giving a shrug of his tired shoulders but without the chatter of his sisters to fill the silences, the air quickly became awkward between the pair of friends. Jerking his head towards his bedroom door, Jay slipped inside the room with his friend and closed the door behind them. It perhaps wasn't the smartest idea, given their heated exchange last night but it was the only place he could think of that would give them some privacy. Plus, the dim lighting was kinder on their throbbing heads. "So..." Jay began, fiddling dejectedly with his hands as the pair of best friends glanced at one another from across the room.

 

[Delilah Richarde]

Already nauseous from drinking - the second that Delilah had knocked on the door she felt even worse. Anxiety got the better of her in a way that it had never with Jay. She'd always felt so comfortable around him but now was as good of a time as ever for that to not be the case it seemed. As she heard feet bounding towards the door, the witch attempted a grin which only grew into a wide one as she saw two tots open the door to her. She remembered when Jay's mother had first let her hold Lexi and how tiny she'd been and how despite herself she had cried and was overwhelmingly relieved that Jay hadn't been there to see it because of her complexities with feelings and how she preferred to be closed off. Leah had put an arm around her shoulder and pet her hair as she did knowing that everything was too much for a ten year old to handle. For that she was so thankful and even more that to this day it was only she and Jay's mother who held that memory. Delilah felt guilty that she played favourites to her friend's sisters but with a name like Alexis and the look of her too, she could not help but feel a strong kinship towards the child who was most likely unaware as to why this was. Aubrey was just as sweet, yes, and she was sure Charlie would be too but the girl who had lost her own sister before she'd had a chance to know her couldn't help being tied to this one. So despite a booming headache and nausea the dark haired witch pulled her face into a wide smile as she put her arms around her young friends. Busy with greeting the girls she hadn't noticed for a moment that the point of contention between the three of them was standing before her. When she had, her eyes widened nervously and her smile changed to match. "Hi," she sighed in return to his greeting. Even after a rough night of drinking and later fighting, there was no one she'd rather be with. She hadn't noticed that the two girls were watching them with wide eyes and that they would later titter on about how Delilah clasped her hands together anxiously and twiddled with her thing fingers. She didn't have long to do this as she was taken in each hand.

As fruit loops were promised, as good as having food might seem now, Delilah was keen to deny the offer to speak to her friend who she glanced at briefly from the pair and back again. "Does your Mum know you are?" Delilah asked tauntingly, remembering babysitting with Jay the same two girls and how they'd attempted to con her into giving them sweets. She would have winked at them if she wasn't still protecting her eyes from the bright light in the house as it streamed in through the window pains. Instead she was saved by her best friend who she looked at, smiling as he made a suggestion. Also clear to speak with her while in other days he would have been right with that suggestion and possibly figuring to go out for a swim before the allotted time one must have between the two activities. He was a rebel, that much was certain to her.

"They're sweet," Delilah responded dismissively at Jay's apology for his sisters. He knew how much she liked his family and got on like a house on fire with them. There were times, of course, where the dark haired girl felt uncomfortable around his parents and uncle because she knew that in her sister's last years they had known her more than she could ever have. She could only assume that they felt similarly in an unspoken way as kind as they were to her on any given occasion. Even last night they had been so welcoming to her, perhaps out of pity as they noticed that as everyone separated into groups with their proud families to show off their accomplishments she was left alone, and congratulated her and cheered her on as she had picked up her own diploma. For a moment she'd wondered if Jay had also noticed that there had been a few empty seats reserved for her parents and had told his family to do whatever they could to make it easier for her. To make it less humiliating. Whether that was the case Delilah knew that in no way could they actually be approving of her sordid relationship with her Hufflepuff friend who she followed to his bedroom in much different circumstances than the night before when she'd let him into her room. Once the dimly lit room was shut, she took her sunnies off and put them in the pocket of her high waist shorts and looked anywhere but directly at Jay until he had trailed off. Mimicking him, "So... I just came to apologize for last night." It was her hope that he would know that she did not mean to apologize for making the first move after it having been delayed for so many years. With a soft look to her normally abrasive features, Delilah could only hope that he would forgive her and that it wasn't the alcohol on his tongue that had made him affectionate. "I was awful; I'm a complete jerk. I... I never should have said that to you," the Californian added. "Your family... They're just a whole lot nicer than mine and I don't know." In near memory Delilah had never spoken so much at once and if she had she had never been so ineloquent so she shrugged and looked down at her feet nervously, making the smarter choice to not talk anymore. At least not until Jay said something.
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[Jay Bennet]

Jay waited with baited breath for Delilah to fill the silence between them, praying that she had not come to tell him that last night, and their kiss specifically, had been a mistake. The memory of her lips, plush against his own and how she had felt beneath him was something that, amidst the confusion he had awoken to this morning, he could not seem to shake from his mind. It were as if they were stuck between two frontiers, with no way to reverse the kisses they had shared last night and seemingly no way to advance on them as a result of all that had happened after. The young man was not sure if it was one sided, as he stood there twiddling his thumbs, but a suffocating tension hung thickly in the air between the pair of friends. As her voice gently rang through the quiet, a silent breath of relief escaped Jay. Although as her words began to process in his mind, the rims of his azure eyes distended slightly and his mouth fell open, ready to protest her apology. His thoughts still circled about their kiss, the heated words that had left her lips last night seemed a far off memory. So it was not until Delilah's next string of words that Jay's mouth promptly shut, assuring him it was not their rendezvous she felt remorse over. The graduate's lips pressed tightly together as Delilah spilled her heart out to him, more so than she usually would care to anyway. But she needn't apologise so profusely and so, Jay shook his head lightly as she continued to speak. He had acted a fool last night, he had readily demeaned Izaak and for what? He evidently had not changed her parents' minds. He should have known better. Yes, perhaps Delilah had been somewhat curt with both him and her parents but if he had been in her position, he would have acted a whole lot worse.

For a moment, as she hung her head, Jay fixed his gaze upon her, a puzzled expression sweeping across his features. Never had he seen his best friend look so dejected or wounded with remorse. It was far from what he had expected on their first encounter after last night. He had thought she would still be seething, not ready to so much as look at him, let alone talk as she was now. His lips puckered into a gentle pout but Jay quickly thought better of the situation and wiped the expression from his face. Jay was sure that the last thing Delilah needed or, moreover, wanted was his pity. "Del..." Jay began, taking a small stride towards his best friend to close the gap that felt so void between them. His hand gingerly reached out for her, curling around her upper arm and rubbing softly at the skin there as if to coax the remorseful feelings into leaving her body. "You don't have to apologise to me for anything." His blue eyes reached out for the duller than usual green of his friend's, delving deep into them. He was merely relieved that she wasn’t harbouring her anger for him. "I would have done exactly the same, if not worse, if I had bottled those feelings up for that long too. I can't believe how your parents take you for granted." The young man paused to shake his head. "You're incredible, Delilah. If they can't see that, then it's their loss."

Jay paused to draw a small breath of air into his lungs; his eyes tended carefully to her every move. "And I should be the one apologising and maybe it should be to Izaak. But Delilah," he paused, closing his eyes briefly as he formulated the words he wanted to convey to her in his head. The beater was in over his head now but he refused to allow the deepening water to submerge him. "The only reason I said what I did was because I, um... I like you. Like, I really like you and I didn't want your parents opinion of me to jeopardise that." Silence filled the air between them once more, only the squeals of little Charlie and the chattering of Lexi and Aubrey could be heard although it seemed to go unnoticed by the teenagers. Jay's eyes fixated intently on Delilah's, his heart thudded thickly with anticipation in his chest. All he wanted to do was close the distance between them and pick up where they had left off last night but he couldn't simply assume that she felt the same way. So with his breath held tightly inside of his chest, Jay awaited her reaction.

 

[Delilah Richarde]

Quickly after Delilah had spilled everything onto the table through her apology did she see Jay's mouth open from what she could only assume was in shock that she wasn't being stubborn but when she explained herself more she saw the tension leave him and she could only wonder what he was thinking as with most times. The blond Beater was certainly confusing to her especially as he shook his head. Her eyebrows pressed together as she continued speaking, hoping that it would be clearer soon.

Uncomfortably shrugging off pity was what Delilah always did when it came to her family. No, she wasn't ashamed that this was what she came from, but because she said something didn't mean that it was supposed to have any reaction other than understanding. It affected so much of her life and would continue to do so for as long as she lived, or as short if she went by the standards her sisters left for her to follow. Jay, however, knew enough about her to know this and did his best not to. Still, if it wasn't for the calming hand on her arm she might have wished to not have said anything. Being told that her apology was unnecessary made her shake her head, if there was going to be anything in between them good or bad it shouldn't be because vodka and Firewhiskey took over her good sense. "Jay," she said quietly in protest it was not right for her misdoings to not be accounted for because she'd hardships. Everyone seemed to and despite being a former minister of magic's daughter she was not any more special than anyone else. Delilah was just a girl with a complex that would continue being there even if Jay denied that she acted out of the ordinary. Still, she couldn't help but smile as he called her incredible. "Thank you," she responded too nervous to say the same.

While the night before had allowed the dark haired witch was not alone in having unexplored feelings for her best friend. Everything was simple by moonlight but so much less clear once it was day which only wrought Delilah with confusion for her blond friend, whose lips and hands she could not stop thinking about, and so it was only shocking that he could say that he liked her. Enjoying his company was what made her happiest and it was nice albeit surprising to hear that he seemed to feel the same. If it wasn't for the teeth that were piercing into her full lips she would have smiled plainly at his words. Delilah's eyes brimmed with adoration for Jay. He was sweet to try where others might not have and taken the out she'd given him. A challenge like her didn't scare him off for some reason and that in itself was commendable but the young witch didn't speak of it. Instead she moved in closer until there was nothing but a sliver of space between the pair of hungover graduates. Delilah kissed the blond's cheek and whispered into his ear, "If it wasn't clear, I really like you too." She kissed him again before she fell into a small fit of laughter. The girl could continue kissing Jay until her lips were raw and still come back for more but she was very happy like this too; especially now that she felt significantly less queasy after everything was settled. What this meant for the two could be decided or figured out later and she was sure they would.
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