Outfit

10pm

A night out with the girls....It had been a last minute decision made at the end of her shift.  Things had been going fairly well lately.  She had been able to carry on a relationship with Marcus since June without too much interference.  Of course that was due to the fact that the relationship had thankfully not shown up on the tabloid radar.  That could only last so long though and when that phase was over it meant she would have what she suspected would be an awkward conversation with her parents about dating a much older man.

She entered the bar with the three other women, one was an orderly and the two others were also mediwitches.  They grabbed a high top table, settling in for an evening of fun and a round of firewhiskey was ordered.  There were a few others in the bar, some younger then the group of women.  She suspected some of them might be students who snuck out of Hogwarts for the evening.  If the Signature had been open during her time there the right person might have convinced her to try to run off for the evening.

She listened as the others chatted away.  Sometimes she missed those more carefree days before truly serious choices had to be made and destinies followed.  A waiter came, setting a short of the potent drink in front of all of the women.  They were calling for a toast and Moira smirked as remembered on her father always used to say.

"May the honest heart never feel distress!"

Before setting himself out into the world, Jax did his hair the soft blond curls forming around his slightly darker roots. It would not do, not for a night out. The shaggy less maintained look was for the pitch, when people in the stands were screaming his name. If he wanted to hear his name in a more animalistic gravely tone, he would have to dress the part, and that was not it. Taking out his wand, he trimmed the excess enjoying the look of a sleeker view. With a quick shower, he splashed on cologne and picked a winning outfit. The slacks were pressed, his shirt was casual, but as always he wore one of his many hats. Giving himself a once over, he found the reflection pleasing to say the least.

Jax was never without his entourage when he was out on the town.
A quick pop over to grab up Monique, a florist he met in Diagon Alley he was ready to go.  That night he was with a stunning blonde with a set of long legs which went on for meters, and the outfit she wore clung to all the right places leaving little to the imagination. The blonde clung to his arm, dripping with jewelery most of which he assumed was fake and only used to impress him. It wasn't working the outfit she wore was fine enough for an attention grabber.

 It was just what he needed to relax after a hard day of Quidditch and then drinking with his mates at pub not too far from their practice pitch. Once all was said and done, he decided he would make himself ready for a night of drinking and frolicking with the adoring public. Why would he leave them waiting. Looking for his friends when he entered the Signature, he brought the blonde to the bar ordering her up a drink as she whispered something in his ear. Chuckling loudly he barely paid attention to the people who were around him, not knowing for one moment the cause of past pain was near.

Downing the shot, Moira put the glass down on the table, laughing slightly with the others at the toast.  She was totally unaware of what was going on aware her, her back to the main entrance.  She fell into conversation Alice, the orderly she had gotten to know who was sitting next to her.  However, the gasp that Kendra, another mediwitch who was sitting across from her, let escape her lips caused Moira to look at her questioningly.

"Bloody hell, isn't that Jax Woolfolk?" the other woman asked.

She was sure the minute the man's name left her friend's lips the color drained from her face.  This could not be happening.  This was supposed to be a night out for fun, a relaxing night out with the girls.  No men, no worries about work, just the girls having a good time.  Somehow a run in with her ex was not planned for that evening.

She turned slowly in the direction Kendra was looking and she could hear her heart pounding loudly in her ears.  She had talked to him or seen him since she left for America and that conversation had not exactly gone well.  Stopping herself she knew that wasn't entirely true.  She had seen him, flying around on a broomstick during a Quidditch match she had attended, but that didn't count.

He was with a blond woman.  Tall, gorgeous and dressed like someone who was only after one thing...to be driving the animal instinct out of whatever man she was with.  She shook her head slightly, trying not to think about how much it figured he would be using his fame to have his pick of whatever woman he wanted.

"Yeah," she said, turning back to face her friend, "that's him.  Let me get the next round of drinks..."  She was going to need it.  Only problem was their waitress seemed more intent to chat with a cute guy at the bar then pay attention to her table.  After another minute of being ignored she turned back to her friends and said, "Be back in a minute."

Standing she nearly groaned as she realized to get to the waitress she would have to walk right past Jax and his lady friend.  With any luck she could move swiftly past them, order the drinks, and get back to the table unnoticed.  Striding towards the bar she had almost made it past them when a clearly intoxicated man stood from a hightop and  stumbled back into her.  While Moira was graceful on her feet, the force of the impact and the fact that she was wearing heels sent her sideways directly into the tall blond.

This was not going to be good....

It had been several years since his last term in Hogwarts. Many seasons of Quidditch, many girls have been loved and lost since then. Though none of them had left quite the same scar as Moira Randall. Maybe he was foolish to think he could drink, party, and sleep away the pain of that last conversation. Stupidly he thought they were meant for one another. It was a pipe dream, nothing more than a distant memory and pain which lingered in his brain.

A faint image of a night he tried to wipe from his thoughts, and for the most part he figured she was long forgotten. There he had stood with every intention of breaking family tradition of being set up with a betrothals and forced marriages. Jax had thought she was the one for him only to be dropped that very night, in the heat of the moment and in a blind rage he threw the box encasing the diamond ring at her feet vanishing from her view soon after.

Jax never forgave her. Ever. If there was anyone who could hold onto a grudge it was a Woolfolk, and namely the male Woolfolks. It was a blow to his ego as well as his heart. He had been a born cynic of love, thinking there was little it than what went on between one's legs. That was a lesson learned by watching his father marry someone who was far younger than his mother, and make a demon spawn in the process. There couldn't be love there, he was sure of it. That was what he saw as lust, not knowing love could hit him if he wasn't careful and it did. Right between the eyes he was struck with cupid's cruddy little arrow leading him down the dark path to self destruction.

That was long since over though, now he stood in the presence of a pretty blonde who wanted nothing more than for him to show her a good time and then eventually his flat. She made no qualms about explaining that to him from the word go, it was of course why he had asked her out when he saw her the first time. Their conversation had been going swimmingly until she got knocked forward spilling white wine out of her glass and onto his pressed shirt.

Anger sparked in his blue eyes as he looked over, "For the love of Merlin watch it!" He spat until he saw who it was. There like the ghost of relationships past hoping to drown out his own selfish thoughts, stood Moira Randall.

Jax could feel his lip twitch a little as the recognition of a much other former flame came to him. "Of all the clubs in all of United Kingdom... she has to walk into mine..." he pulled his wand pointing it to his shirt drying the wet spot groaning a little as he did so. His platinum date was completely dumbfounded by the events having almost fallen to the ground int he collision.

"For the love of Merlin watch it!"

So much for a smooth reintroduction.  Moira closed her eyes for a moment after she steadied herself on her feet again, trying to ready herself for the conversation that was now inevitable.  The man who had crashed into her had somehow managed in his drunken state to not only stay upright, but catch her around the waist.  She managed to remove his hands from around her, accepting his apology and hoping he would take the hint and go back to whatever it was he had planned to do before.

Slowly she turned her attention to Jax and the blond.  He was just drying and cleaning the white wine off his shirt.  From the look on his face she could tell he recognized her...why wouldn't he.  After all, she had hurt him more deeply then she had ever intended.  In the back of a drawer in her flat there was a small ring box with the ring he had intended to give her the night she broke things off with him.  She wasn't sure why she had kept it after all these years, yet it was still there.  She often wondered if she hadn't insisted on saying what she needed to say first if that night would have had a completely different outcome.  To this day she still didn't know if she would have broken up with him and gone to America if she had known that tucked in his pocket was an engagement ring.

"I'm so sorry," she said, more to Jax then the blond.  "I..."

She stopped for a moment, not really sure what to say to him.  She knew him well enough to know he probably still hated her.  She had tried to send owls from America, and she had wanted desperately to make things right.  Yet, she had also known the moment she broke things off it was too late to make it right again.

"Let me get you another glass of whatever it was you were drinking," she said finally to his date.  Suddenly, she felt a hand on her waist and a body close to hers.  Her new 'friend' had apparently decided not to continue on with his evening.

"No....it's my fault," he said, his voice slurred with the obvious intoxication of a combination of drinks.  "Let me...And what are you and your friends over there drinking gorgeous?  You know baby, your feet must be tired because you’ve been running through my mind all night.”

If the floor could have swallowed her whole in that moment she would have been a happy woman as she tried to once again break free of the man's hold on her waist.

A Woolfolk never forgets pain and rejection. Worse yet, he couldn't fathom why should would just drop him like a hot stone. Had he not been faithful, uncharacteristically so, had he not been there for her ups and downs. While his mates were dogging him for staying steady and fixed to one bird, he was under the impression that he was building a foundation for something stronger than a one night stand. Head strong he had believed that the choice he was making made the most sense, and yet she tossed him out like rubbish in a dustbin. There was no coming back from that.

Jax left her that evening and got loaded to the point of almost incoherent and woke up in the arms of some red-headed bar maid. For a brief moment it seemed to not hurt as much, and yet he realized she was a temporary fix. It would need to be more than one night to heal a year of chasing after nothing. What was in America that was better than him? Nothing he had figured.

"I'm so sorry,"

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah-huh sure whatever Randall..." his reply was cool as the blonde centered herself wrapping her arms around his waist. Jax caught her fixing her dress out of the corner of his eye before she piped up, "Who is this" her voice conveyed worry that Jax will lose interest in her to take up whatever drama this woman held. Apparently this was a new feeling for his conquest for the evening because she was clinging to him in all the right places, "No one you should be concerned about. A fly in the ointment and nothing more." Jax turned back to the bar tender who made he way to his direction with just a simple glance, "We have this... keep your money" he spat at Moira before ordering two fresh drinks.

When the bumbling idiot returned Jax's demeanor changed from furious to amused, "There you go Randall let him buy you a drink..." Chuckling amused he put the money as well as a heavy tip on the bar when their drinks came into view. Jax lifted his glass, "Two you both... fate caused quite the collision here." Smirking he took a sip as the blonde eased her clutch on his abs and took up the drink offered.

So indeed he did still hate her, that much was clear.  In turn that made her hate herself.  As he toasted her and he new drunk 'companion' she managed to push the other man off of her.  He looked a bit put off by that, and she could hear his friends jeering them from a table behind her.

"I'm just out for a night with the girls," she told the man.  "I've got someone waiting for me at home..."

He seemed to accept it for a moment, then taking some money out of his pocket he handed it to her and said, "Here's ten galleons.  Drink until I'm better looking then him, then come talk to me."

With that he walked back to his table, leaving Moira holding the money and feeling a bit dumbfounded for a response.  Shaking her head slightly looked back at Jax, trying to ignore the bleached blond who probably used more glamour charms then model.  Honestly, what some women would do to  appear more attractive to the opposite sex.

"Indeed," she said, raising an eyebrow, her tone also a bit cool.  "So how long has it been now Jax...about seven years?  Don't you think it's time you let go of that old grudge?  The chip on your shoulder must be a boulder by now."

Hate, that was such a strong word for how he felt for Moira. Despise, that was closer to his feelings on the subject. If he looked back on all the sore feelings he had when it came to the two of them, he could see where he went wrong. The turning point in their relationship was when he fell in love. Foolishly he allowed himself to think outside of the box, outside of the crate that was built around him, and he thought he could get a little piece of happiness. To have a relationship that was steady and strong would have been the clincher for him, instead she left him cold and he felt nothing but disgust for her from that point forward.

"Here's ten galleons.  Drink until I'm better looking then him, then come talk to me."

Jax snickered in his ale, "Best get to drinking there Randall, you have plenty to catch up on him." Looking at the other gent he just shook his head, there was going to need to be heavy drinking on anyone's part to make that bloke palatable, of that he was quite certain.

"So how long has it been now Jax...about seven years?  Don't you think it's time you let go of that old grudge?  The chip on your shoulder must be a boulder by now."

Her attitude caused a scowl to reform over his features, "Time is of no meaning for those of us with all the time in the world. Besides I hardly would have remembered you until you slammed into my friend Kimberly here..." The blonde snaked her arm around his neck before lacing those long fingers into his own blonde flecked locks. "If you could walk on your two feet we might not have had to talk for another seven and wouldn't that have been a more pleasant situation indeed." 

Just then the girl who was wrapped around him whispered something in his ear before kissing his lips and wandering off to powder her nose or whatever it was that birds did in the loo. Downing his ale he turned from Moira and whistled, the female bartender came running like a kitten after a string dipped in cat nip, "How about another beer and a shot..." his voice dripping with flirtation. The drinks came right up, Jax paid and did the shot before turning back to Moira. "You caused this chip..." his voice went from being smooth to cold once again as he brought her back into the pain she brought on him, "Not I. You did it."

The blond slipped away towards the bathroom and Moira fought the urge to roll her eyes as Jax downed another drink.  Honestly, he was worse then a woman in the drama department.  Things always worked out for the best, she knew that, and there was a reason she had gone first that night they both had something they needed to say.  They weren't supposed to get married...if they had she would have never learned to be her own person.

"You caused this chip...Not I. You did it."

She nodded slightly, although not in agreement, "I hurt you, I admit it...And I tried to apologize for it.  But, I didn't force you to hold on to the anger and resentment.  You did that all on your own.  For Merlin's sake, Jax, we were kids.  It was practically another life time.  I can't do anything other then say I am so very sorry I hurt you..."

With a sigh she thought back on the girl she was back then.  That girl was unsure and easily swayed.  She wasn't sure what she wanted from life, let alone if she was ready to get married and settle down.  She would have always regretted giving up the chance to find her own way and she would have only come to resent him and the marriage that could have been.

"You would have regretted it more if you had asked me to marry you and I had said yes," she told him after a moment, stepping up to the bar and leaning against it slightly.  "Trust me....Not everyone gets to live happily ever after with their childhood sweetheart.  That fairytale stuff....it's just for kids."

Once upon a time she had believed in the happily ever after.  Her parents managed to find it, she had thought she would too.  And maybe she would someday, she just knew she wasn't meant to find it at seventeen.

The bar tender approached and she remembered the money in her hand.  With a slight sigh she said, "Firewhiskey, please, and send a round to my friends I was sitting with."

Jax figured out a long time ago that if he had been meant to marry Moira he might have gone off and become some plump stay at home father without any ambition.  It would have been a fate worse than death, in his eyes. So instead he was alone, and he took it for all it was worth, enjoying life to the fullest. This albatross, this weight around his neck, this burden he felt now was knowing he almost lost all of his freedom for her.

For this woman who barely gave two batted eyes that she broke his heart and kicked it in the dust. "The only thing that I feel any hurt or anger over was that I wasted anytime on that relationship. Sucked what little bit of life I could of had my seventh year," he spat a little bitter when he finished the statement.

They wouldn't have made it, Jax knew that for a fact. Looking at her now, she was still pleasing to the eye but that was hardly a reason for him to throw away his career and the bevy of bouncing birds who came strutting in and out of his flat. What he had was utter freedom, no ties, no strings, and no girlfriend. It was sweet sweet sanity he could only enjoy with the tossing aside of old burdens. "Obviously that doesn't happen, I should have figured it out sooner. If I had, I wouldn't have made myself look like such a fool when you dropped me without warning. That however is my pain, don't let it ruin your little girls night." He sneered at her, as the blonde made her way back from the bathroom. There was little change to his dates face, though powdering their nose was generally a ploy to go out and talk about the men who brought them.

The blonde found her arms around his neck once more and whispered something dastardly in his ear. Snickering a little a glint shined in his eyes. "Shouldn't you be going," he tossed back at Moira absent-mindedly before the blonde kissed his ear.

"In case you missed it, I'm waiting on a drink," she snapped at him.

His date was utterly pathetic to Moira.  Clearly a fame seeker without anything to be famous for.  She was the type to push their way into the life of another, using their notoriety to get their own fifteen minutes.  She wasn't sure she was entirely surprised though to find Jax with such a woman.

She tried to imagine what she would have been like after seven years of marriage.  It would have spared her of somethings certainly, in particular a Muggle stalker, although thankfully she hadn't heard from him since June.  It seemed Marcus' warning had worked, and hopefully would continue to work.  She had managed to move past everything that had led to her return to London, and for the first time in a long time it seemed most things were going right in her life.

The bartender set a shot in front of there then and Moira downed it before speaking again, "You know Jax, just because you're constantly surrounded by people doesn't mean you're attitude isn't going to cause you to lead a very lonely life.  One night stands with easy blonds is great, but is there anyone who's really going to be there for you when you need it?"

The bartender, as if sensing she might need another shot had refilled her glass, and with a smile Moira set the money down for him.  Reaching to pick it up she had ever intention of turning and leaving Jax and his blond tart alone again.