4:30 pm
outfit

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It was that time of year again, the time when Luc made his rounds, hopping from house to house.  The tradition started as a kid when he took up shop at his cousin's house for weeks at a time.  After he started Hogwarts, friends were added or subtracted as needed, but he didn't spend too much time at home.  Nothing against his parents, or sister even, everyone just did their own thing.  When they were little, Luc's family traded kids so often that his aunt and uncle raised him as much as his own parents did.  Well, left them in the care of his older cousin Dean, but you were still expected to follow whichever parent it happened to be.  Even now-a-days, Uncle Darryl found no problem is biffing him for doing something stupid, like last summer when he and Odette stole the car.  It might not have been a big deal, if he hadn't gotten pulled over and neither he, nor Odette had their licence yet.

This summer, the Flickwick house came first.  Luc hadn't been able to shake the weird feeling he got after he arrived.  It all still felt surreal, coming here.  This time last year it reminded him of the chaos that went on at his Aunt's house.  There were always too many people in the house, and Ramona treated all the extras as if they were their own.  Now, well, it just whispered memories of summers past.  Emily and Ruby were off discovering themselves, Sophie's father's band was on tour, and John was hardly ever home.  Sophie, Nana Flickwick, and the brood of dogs were all that remained.  At first, Luc had pushed Sophie to come back to Dublin with him, but as usual was overpowered by the pint sized will.  That and the magical phrase no supervision, of course.

What they planned to do with said freedom was still up in the air. The possibilities were pretty endless, and even if parties weren’t his thing, he couldn’t deny it make for a wicked night.  And Luc needed some no drama fun in his life right about now.  Between talking to Gracie and Livi shouting at him some more, he’d had quite enough of that on the train ride back to London. Maybe it was best just to stay away from girls for a while.  Sophie didn’t exactly count because Sophie didn’t make his head hurt.  No games, no complications, just baking and talking… well, Sophie was baking, Luc was skeptical about what he was doing.

"I don't get what's wrong with it," he poked the still wobbling cake again as if a creature might pop out of it at any moment.  It been a boxed mix, there wasn't too many ways to screw it up: oil, water eggs, stir… pretty idiot proof, right?  So, why was it not cooperating?  "It's been an hour."

She knew it was weird; it was weird for Luc and it would be weird for the others when...if they came. The house was different this year, for lots of reasons but the most palpable was the lack of Mama Flickwick's vibrant energy. When Nan had brought her home it felt like a ghost house; some frame work of a life that no longer existed. There were no spicy smells radiating from the kitchen, no loud laughter, no singing...just silence save for the dogs scurrying over the hardwood floors to whine at her. She had wandered room from room, trying to remember the way it was before, the idea of home. It would never be that way again she had to accept that. There was no way around it but through it; and unlike her father and siblings she refused to live a half life for the rest of her life.

The memories were bittersweet, they hurt because they were final - but it didn't mean you just stopped making memories all together. There could be no greater insult to Ramona Flickwick's legacy than to just stop living. So Sophie wasn't going to stop. She wasn't going to let her summer be eaten up by late night tears and too quiet dinners. She would do what she had always done, surround herself with the people she loved most and make it count. There was no greater purpose in life but to make the most of every situation, every second - even in the simple things like making a cake with her best friend who was apparently utterly hopeless at it. "Gordic's Garters, you're a Ravenclaw how'd you bugger this one up? You're hopeless," at least she sound amused as she peered into the oven and poked the glob of batter with a fork.

"I should know better by now than to let you do anything without watching," she looked up at him with a grin, glad that he had decided to come see her even if it was weird. Thor was sunning himself in front of the kitchen door but Gunner almost had his head in the oven inspecting "Oy, Poppet you're going to catch that lush hair on fire and I just gave you a bath. No," commanded the pint sized chef/general, nudging the dog's head away with her knee, before closing the oven and drifting back toward the little island in the middle of the kitchen. "You followed the directions yea? I mean you dump it in a bowl and..." she trailed off looking at the various measuring cups and also the bottle of oil that seemed more empty than necessary, then covered her face and laughed holding up one of the cups, "Oh tell me you didn't, how much did you use Luc"?

"'I did! I can read, Sophie," Luc huffed with an air of self righteous indignation, ruined ever so slightly by the smile threatening to come on at the corner of his mouth.  Defensive just didn't work in the face of adorable, there was a rule.  Or it might have something to do with the spiked juice he happened to be working on at the moment.  His Irish pride would argue otherwise, he was only on his first cup still. 

"The ratio's one and one, so one and one third cup each," Luc snagged a hold of what was left of his argument and grabbed the box in question.  Blue-gray eyes scanned the back of the box, his lips verged to point out victory, when he hit just the tiniest snag.  The box called for one and one third cups water, alright, but only one third cup of oil.  Damn it, he could have sworn there's been a one in front of that fraction an hour ago.  So much for ratios... and reading.  That's what he got for talking and drinking and mixing at the same time.  Apparently, trying to make his brain do too many things at once just resulted in slips in the cracks.  A lesson he should have learned long before this moment.  "Oh, bloody hell."

The entire cake would have to be binned and Luc was left to wonder why they didn't just go for the box of biscuits to begin with.  Things were always so much simpler in retrospect, apparently.  "I don't want to hear it," he narrowed his eyes on her, "I am not drunk."  More like, working his way to pleasantly tipsy.  "You were asking me questions, it's not my fault!"  Slumping back into his stool, Luc dropped his head onto a hand looking at her.  Didn't he get a pass for all the things that happened in a short amount of time?  "How did a one get there?  What is wrong with me?"

Sophie had to press her lips together to keep from laughing as he puzzled it out. She wasn't drinking yet; but it didn't bother her much. As vehemently opposed as she was to the way her father and brother drank it might have been hypocritical to not bat an eyelash when Luc raised the unlocked liquor cabinet. In her defense... Johnny and her father drank to forget; Luc didn't seem to have an ulterior motive at the moment. It was nice to just relax, to have someone in the house besides the dogs and Nana. Boosting herself onto a bar stood she held up her hands in surrender, "I wouldn't dream of saying a single thing. Though; if I were going to say something," she paused to grin at him a little, "I might wonder why someone who can design broom mods to melt your face off, off the top of his head no less - can't bake a sodding box cake".

Popping the top of her butterbeer off on the counter ledge she looked at him throw narrowed brown eyes, "That's your excuse then? I was talking at you. Really? That's weak, even for you Luc - I think the Rum's gotten to you," she was joking of course. It was an easy enough mistake to make; she hadn't ever made it and she'd been baking since she was a toddler but... Luc lost details. He tended to speed through life and lose sight of the things that could make the difference between delicious and disastrous. Point of fact, this actually explained most of his trouble with the fairer sex too. It wasn't as though Sophie had an excellent track record to lord over him or anything; between her one actual relationship and inexpiable attraction to boys that could not be had, she was no better equipped than he was. It was probably why they were such good friends.

"Now I know you're drunk," she nearly snorted as she scoffed at him. The idea of Luc Norwood being off girls was like the idea a Choco Frog could become Minister of Magic. Luc was crap at relationships but he was addicted to them. There was always someone to fancy - lately it seemed to be a never ending string of Slytherin pretty girls. She didn't have anything against them, she wasn't jealous. She and Gracie had gotten on alright and she adored Neely (she didn't know how Luc felt about Neely but still), it was more Wiedman that was the current problem. Sophie saw it a mile off, especially when Luc started acting dodgy about her just before the end of the year. He was moonstruck - which was the first phase with him.

Sophie didn't grudge him any of it - Merlin knew plenty of people had told her about Devlin before he hurt her and she knew what a mess the thing with Fig was... she didn't like to think about that or the fact it still hurt a little he hadn't even tried to talk to her after her mum died. Letting her hair down from it's ponytail she shook it out before looking at Luc seriously, "I just don't see why you're being such a glutton for punishment. It's not an all or nothing thing you know - maybe the problem isn't girls, maybe it's the type of girls you're on about. You can't tell me you really thought going cow-eyed after your ex's best friend would end well for anyone involved, not even you are that dense". Only maybe he was, maybe love made you that dense. Shaking her head she held her arms out to him for a hug, "Come on then, tell us all about it".

Despite Sophie's conviction on the matter, it certainly did feel like an all or nothing deal at the moment.  O.W.L.s might have gone a whole lot better, and he not be waiting to hear he'd failed History of Magic.  Richard Norwood would just love that.  Plus, it hadn't been entirely on purpose, the whole fancying his ex's best friend.  The combination of bad timing and bad circumstances and a dash of deceit had landed him dealing with not one pissed off girl, but two.  If he couldn't somehow fix this mess, then maybe he was just better off focusing on something other than girls for a small while.  It didn't really seem to be paying off for him as of late, as if he'd lost his game somewhere in between the break up with Gracie and now. 

From anyone else, the dense comment might have had him retreating in on himself and locking the gate behind him.  It wasn't hard to get him defensive over something so minor, but it couldn't be helped either.  Being smart, or not being smart was a bit of a sore topic for Lucas.  Everyone expected things of him and he couldn't always perform and when he failed at something, it was just confirmation he wasn't nearly as smart as people liked to believe he was.  Being just another dumb jock festered inside of him, and he certainly didn't need someone pointing out his own fears to him.  In the case of Sophie, well, Luc sat up and put his arms around her small body.

"I get the code, y'know.  I just didn't think it be so big a deal." 

Well, he didn't quite get just how important the two girls were to each other until they shoved it in his face, like a bad dog and a wet spot.  He'd known, arbitrarily, that Gracie and Livi were friends, maybe even close... but Gracie always felt like this self-contained force where as Luc had always dismissed Livi as just another mean girl with pretty clothes Caity wanted.  Studying with her, or maybe the failure to study in favour of talking about anything and everything, might be when the switch happened and he started to really pay attention.  The seed been planted and even through their dismissive behavior as it all fell apart, it was hard to not want to know more.

"It got so fucking big and I didn't mean to make it worse," by now he was more voicing his own thoughts then actually telling Sophie any relevant details to the situation.  "Gracie's still chatting it up with Ward and it's none of my business, but I'm the bad guy.  It was just a stupid kiss."

Sophie made a soft humming sound of sympathy in the back of her throat, wrapping her arms around the much taller boy's neck. He was still much bigger than she was, even on the heightened bar stool but she was good at stretching. She wanted to be able to tell him that it would all work out alright. She wanted to be able to explain to him the intricacies of female friendship - but Sophie often didn't understand them herself. It was a real problem for her actually. It had caused part of the big row between she, Devlin, and Fauna. Sophie and Luc were alike in a way, the way of just doing things without always thinking through to endgame. It got them into trouble, it made life messy... but it was a part of who they were. She didn't see it changing for either one of them any time soon. She was more cautious than she had been...but what had the whole Devlin thing really taught her? It hadn't kept her away from the mistake of Flickaphix.

"I know," when she finally spoke her voice was muffled by his shoulder, small hands gently stroking the back of his head. "We never mean for things like this to happen...they just do," she sighed a little, it was harder for Lucas to admit he was wrong. He didn't like having to backtrack. She also knew she was the only one who could imply he was being stupid (or in some cases outright say it) without him completely losing his shit. In some ways it was a wonder that they hadn't ever taken that jump - except that she'd seen how spectacularly he failed when it came to being a boyfriend. He was just so... possessive, to the point of insecurity. It wouldn't be any different with Liviana Wiedman. If he managed to sort the mess out, if they managed to actually form some kind of relationship... he'd drive her away the same way he had Gracie and every other girl before that (including his own sister). Sometimes she was almost certain he did it on purpose.

However, the hurt that was written clearly on his features despite his best attempts to hide it told her nothing could have been further from the truth. Letting her cool fingers rest against his neck she pulled back to look at him, "Gracie being mad at you... I don't think is really about you; you're just an easier target than her best friend," Sophie and Slant were not exactly close. They had gotten along fair enough when she and Luc had been together and after they still talked. They weren't the sort of friends that ran to one another when life got hard. It was a passing fun friendship at most... but Sophie tried to see things from all sides (except when she was in the middle of something and lashing out because she felt trapped). "I mean... ok, it's like this - I don't want Figaro back right? Like we were awful for each other and it stopped being fun and he was super jealous of all my guy friends - and admittedly maybe he had reason to be when it came to Chance," she paused and bit her bottom lip, "even though I don't want him back..." she trailed off.

What she was about to say was sort of breaking girl-code. There were some secrets you just kept to yourself, especially when you pretended to not be like most girls, "Even though I don't want him back? A part of me wants to believe that he still wants to come back, that he still misses me. Of course I know this isn't true because I was never his first choice... god I was like his third or fourth choice, and that hurts". She looked down then and gave a shrug, "The reality of what's fair and logical doesn't work when you mix in feelings. Gracie is moving on with her life sure, but everyone - I think even boys honestly, have this thing in them that always needs to still matter even when it's over. When you got involved with Wiedman," she paused gagging a little on the name, "you basically not only rubbed it in her face that she didn't matter anymore but that her best friend was the best replacement". Lightly touching his cheek she laughed a little,  "It wasn't just a stupid kiss Luc, if it had been you wouldn't be fucking up a box cake".

While they'd never been the same height, hugging Sophie didn't become truly awkward until the past year or so, when he'd gone from a respectable five seven, to his current nearly six foot frame.  Luc generally made up for it, by pulling her up and off her feet, because he'd be damned if he was going to hurt his back just because she decided to stop growing after fourth year.  He dropped off his stool a little to help the situation, and even still, Sophie ended up pressing much of her upper body onto his to achieve the right hold that wouldn't have her tipping all the way off her own stool.  Luc half expected her to squeeze him, making an awful joke and let that be that, but she didn't let go right away.  She pet his hair and listened and when he'd grown quiet, she filled in blanks.

Being the easier target didn't necessarily make him feel a whole lot better, but it did give a voice to that nagging part of him that didn't want to take the entire blame.   It been bothering him, because being thrown under the bus sucked no matter how you reasoned it out.  He didn't just imagine the whole thing, Livi been just as much a part of the situation as he had.  Yes, friendship was important.  Yes, he probably should have squashed the urge to tell Gracie, but that's what being randomly morally did for you.  If he'd learned anything it was that morality was relative and perhaps he should just stick to his own sandbox and stay out of others.

When she mentioned Sellaphix, an annoyed noise fell out unchecked.  It didn't really matter how Luc felt about the guy before he dated Sophie, because good opinion just didn't survive a Sophie crying fit.  No, not just crying... outright sobbing, sobs so big he'd been sure that her tiny body would simply shatter from the inside out.  Being awful for each other might be a huge understatement in his opinion.  Luc might have issues with jealously, but there was a huge difference between Sophie and Gracie and Figaro never could figure out the difference.  Sophie was adorable, and Luc would be the last to try to deny it, but she didn't do things on purpose.  Gracie hanging out with Huxley wasn't just a friendly sort of situation.  Gracie knew exactly how to flirt and how to use it to hurt him.

He wanted to argue with her, but she did make a point.  He might not want to be with Gracie, but he didn't really want to see her end up with Ward either.  It be a bit like a slap in the face, really, that his suspicions would turn out to be true.  Being right wouldn't feel good, it just be painful.  Eventually it would fade, he told himself, eventually it wouldn't bother him anymore.  Eventually none of this would matter and they could all have a good laugh about his tiny little fling with Livi.  He'd fake it till got there, but Sophie wasn't letting him shrug it off.  She'd pulled back a little, enough to look at him with big brown eyes and remind him that she could see the bits he'd rather hide. 

One would think Luc might learn his lesson, given the circumstances, but one would be terribly wrong. It started innocently enough, he aimed to give her a kiss and a squeeze and go about finding some sweets in the house.  He kissed her cheek alright, but he didn't pull back all the way.  With their faces so close together, his nose brushing hers just the tiniest bit, he found himself sucked into a moment for the second time that week.

It hadn't been so different the first time it happen, the kissing. It was the one night she let herself be really broken up about Fig, right before everything else... She had been talking about how she would never measure up to girls like Fauna or Mysti, denouncing any argument Luc made because he had to say those things. She cried because of Fig, but she cried more because she could see the long stretch of her future and the never really having what she wanted or needed. It hurt because it opened up the old wounds of Devlin and the jealousy she felt over Chance... it made her not like herself and that was like salt in the wound. It shouldn't be construed that Lucas had taken advantage of her, he hadn't. It was just the closeness, the way he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry herself out until she was puffy and splotchy... and then one kiss turned to two to three and so on until she was dizzy breathless and her heart hammered hard in her chest.

Then when they were rational they both agreed that it was a very enjoyable activity it should not happen again because they were too important to sentence themselves to implode like all their other relationships had. Then her mother had been attacked, then she'd gone home, then she'd come back to school broken on a whole new level for a whole new reason it was not the kind of broken that needed relationship drama. He had been her rock in a different way than Chance. He had brought her back to normal, he had let her be sad but never too sad. He was the person that pushed her back toward some semblance of herself. He let her sing, he let her joke, he expected nothing of her in terms of grief or healing. It had been a relief, she knew that he hurt. She knew that he missed her mother. She knew that he had to come to terms with it in his own way... he never forced his pain upon her by trying to get her to open up. It had been, perhaps, an unintentional gift but a gift nonetheless.

Standing on the footrest of the stool, tiny frame leaning into his her goal was to offer comfort. Honestly and comfort because he needed to hear the truth and know that he could lie to anyone in the world but her, but he also needed someone to tell him that all the world's ills were not his fault. Of course he also needed the reality check that just because he'd been thrown under the Knight Bus he couldn't be a mopey bastard. He had played a part in his own demise. Reminding him of his shortcomings and keeping his ego small was her job - it was just hard to kick him when he was obviously already so upset. She couldn't bring herself to do it, and instead found herself hugging him a little tighter. Her brain caught somewhere between screaming about her bad life choices and total paralysis. Shew knew what was coming, the way his face hovered so closely. She started to say 'we shouldn't', but she didn't. Instead, with very little consideration to the fact they had just been talking about another girl he had kissed she tilted her head just enough for her bottom lip to brush his.