"Barkeep! One more...no..just bring the bottle, I'm good with the bottle!" Other patrons looked his way, annoyed by how loud he was being, but Shane was far too intoxicated to care. The night hadn't started like this however. He and an old friend had been sitting around, enjoying a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks when Shane had suggested a real drink to follow up with. One had turned into two, two into three, and after three they had started with doubles. Now it was up to nine..eleven? It didn't matter, he was at the all so important point where he should probably stop but was having way too much fun! Where the heck was his friend anyway...? He had wandered off with some brunette a few minutes ago...he should be back any second.

The barkeep walked over to his table, half a bottle of firewhisky and a new glass in hand. He had the tightlipped smile of someone who had to put up with him just because it was his job. "Here you go sir...I'll just add this to your already rediculous tab.." the bartender mutters, setting the booze on his table. "Don't tell me what's rediculous! And where did my friend go?" The old man narrowed his eyes, motioning towards the front door. "Your 'friend' left with that young lady about an hour ago..he said you'd be picking up his drinks.." Shane sighed, shrugging as he snatched the bottle up and poured himself another glass before looking back up to the barkeep. "...That's all. Bye!" he says, an uncharacteristic amount of rudeness in his voice. Gritting his teeth, the older man turned around and walked off just as Shane spotted a familiar face. Unable or unwilling to contain his excitement, he waves her over to his table.

Jenna wandered aimlessly through Hogsmeade. It was getting late and the crowd was thinning out. She had a lot on her mind tonight and really just wanted to get out and get some fresh air. What better place than Hogsmeade? She was out of Hogwarts. Offically. And she'd never felt quite so alone. Sure she was living with Aaron, and that was great and all. But he had some master plan that would jumpstart his career. And then there was Jenna. That pretty blonde who was clueless for the first time in her life. The only comparison she could make to the way she was feeling right now was when she had first started at Hogwarts. It was supposed to be some exciting, life changing experience, and yet she felt swallowed and lost.

Sighing, she looked around, realizing that she'd ended up at the Three Broomsticks. A few drinks couldn't hurt, could they? The place was crowded, but that was only to be expected. Looking around for an empty spot, she saw Shane waving idiotically at her. A grin fell on her features immediately as she made her way to him, "Hey Shane!" She greeted glad that not only did she now have company, but it was with the person she'd wanted to see most. Of course, she realized that he had already had quite a bit to drink, and the concern was apparent in not only her features but also her voice. "How long have you been here?" She asked, glancing around momentarily.

Shane glanced around, grabbing a chair from a neighboring table and pulling it next to himself, gesturing for Jenna to take it. "Hey there gorgeous! C'mere, sit with me, have a drink!" He was quite drunk, but it didn't seem to have much effect on his speech...yet. Only time would tell if it had any negative influence on his judgement. It was already taking everything he had to contain his excitement; he hadn't seen Jenna since she graduated and had been wondering when he was going to run into her again. "How long? Well babe that's a very, very, good question...I'll say.." He pauses, his eyes flickering to the glass in front of him before smirking, looking back to her. "Long enough to miss you," he finishes, picking up his glass, swirling it before taking a long drink.

The look of concern on Jenna's face was obvious, even to someone in Shane's condition. He lowered his glass, swallowing without cringing. "Don't worry 'bout me, I'm far from a lightweight.." he says, a familiar mischevious light in his eyes. "Can't say the same for you however, I've yet to see you drink. I'll bet I'll be peeling you off the floor after three drinks," he jokes, tilting his head back and killing the rest of his glass before setting it back on the table. He leaned back in his chair, looking as relaxed as his style of dress that night. Shane had always had an appreciation for muggle fashion, and was sporting a rather expensive looking black buttondown shirt with a matching pair of black slacks. "Oh and you look stunning tonight by the way," he says, pouring her a short drink in a clean glass before refilling his own.

Despite the fact that Shane appeared to be ridiculously drunk, Jenna sat down in the chair he had pulled up. She couldn't help but smile when she was around him, even if he was completely drunk as he was now. Jenna laughed, "Well I'm glad you missed me, but perhaps you should take a break from the drinking for a little bit," She offered with small hopes. She wondered, though, if it was the alcohol talking, or if Shane really had missed her. She was secretly hoping that he had actually missed her.

She grinned at his challenege, she might not be much of a drinker herself, but she never backed down from a challenge. "Would you say that's a challenge Mr. Cross?" She said somewhat mischieviously, that competitive glint appearing in her eye. "Well i'm pretty sure that I'll last a lot longer than you think I can." She shook her head. Perhaps it was a bit of a stupic challenge to get herself into, but she had come here for a drink hadn't she? And having a little fun couldn't hurt, could it? It was just a bit of harmless drinking really. She took the glass that Shane had poured for her, downing it with a bit of a cringe. She didn't drink much, so the firewhiskey burned at first, each time she drank it. Surprisingly enough, though, Jen was not much of a lightweight herself. "Ah well thank you, I must say, you look quite fab yourself," She said smiling. She looked down at her own outfit, it was nothing to spectacular, just a pair of jeans and a somewhat low-cut green shirt.

Shane grinned ear to ear as Jenna took a seat next to him, laughing as she suggested he slow down. "You know..usually I would take that as an insult..but your opinion carries more weight than most," he says with a smile, pushing the bottle to her side of the table. "I'll take a break, for you." It was true, Jenna did mean a lot to him, although he could never work up the courage to tell her before she had left Hogwarts. She was a great friend and at the time he didn't want to risk making things weird. Looking back, he now wondered why he hadn't said anything, but that was probably the booze thinking.

"Why yes Ms. Wright, it is a challenge!" he answers, meeting her gaze. It of course, would be completely unfair to start a drinking contest now with Shane in the shape he was, but if he took a short break and let Jenna polish off a few drinks...that might even it out? "Ah well there's only one way to find out sweetheart," he replied, surpressing a laugh as she killed the glass. Shane wasn't much of a drinker either but the natural skill was inherited, as it seemed everything he excelled at was. Lucky for him, he ended up being more playful and flirtacious than a mean, violent drunk. "I could get you a butterbeer if firewhisky's not your style.." he teases, poking her in the side playfully. "Thanks babe," he says, grinning as Jenna looked down at herself. "And how many times do I have to tell you that you look amazing no matter what you're wearing?"

Jen smiled, glad that Shane was at least taking a break. She couldn't help but wonder how long he'd been here drinking. She gathered that he hadn't been here too long, he didn't really seem as drunk, just a bit more flirtatious than usual, and perhaps a bit louder as well. The smart to do would be to leave now and make sure that Shane got back safely. But she wanted to have some fun, and she was pretty sure that getting Shane to leave was out of the question. "Ah well thank you. I guess this gives me a chance to catch up to you then." She smirked playfully, taking another another drink from the bartender.

She looked at Shane, still grinning. "Well you should know, I'm never one to back down from a challenge. I'll stick to firewhiskey for the night." And with that, she took a rather big gulp from her glass, the drink still burning the back of her throat somewhat. That was one feeling she never got used to. She laughed at Shane's comment. "Well your flattery is what makes me feel good about myself.... so just about every time you see me?" She teased.

Cross smirked and motioned for the bartender. When the gentlemen approached, Shane asked for a water (much to the barkeep's delight). He had drained that last glass rather quickly, and was finally beginning to feel like he's had a little too much. He had once read somewhere that it takes less than a minute for alcohol to enter one's bloodstream, and after that last drink, wholeheartedly believed it. "Yeah looks that way..better get started, you're about nine galleons behind," he muttered, rubbing his temple with his right hand. It had been forever since he'd been this drunk, the previous episode ending with being asked to leave a club in Knightsbridge last summer and almost being arrested by muggle police. With Jenna here, he was not going to risk a repeat of that night.

"Well I know that missy, one of the things I find most attractive about you.." he blurts, but shows no signs of regretting saying it. Alcohol was called liquid courage for a reason, and combined with the personal courage Shane already had, only time would tell just how much he would devulge before the night was over. Shane thanked the barkeep as he delivered his water, immediately taking a sip as Jenna took a big drink. He laughed at Jenna's remark, shaking his head before grinning at her. "Well you make it so easy, the compliments just come naturally..and if that's true maybe we should hang out more often..." he says, either making no attempt to hide the flirtation in his voice or just unable to avoid it. He was also unable to hide the fact he was beginning to slur longer words. "Speaking of seeing you, where are you staying now that you're done with school? It'd be hard to..spend time together if you live hours from Hogwarts." Cross took another drink of his water, mainly to mask the fact he was nervously awaiting Jenna's answer. It would be his luck that she was living in another country or something rediculous, totally blowing his chances.

Jenna looked over at Shane, it was beginning to look like the alcohol was finally kicking in for him. She wondered if it really would be a good idea to go. "Looks like all that firewhiskey is finally gettin to ya. Do you wanna go for a walk or something?" Jenna offered, If he was having a bad time of it, she figured that being in the Three Broomsticks wasn't really a good idea. She might have been challenged, but she could save that for another time. Going for a walk could be fun anyways.

Of course, Jenna grinned, she wasn't sure if the alcohol was talking, but she really hoped that what Shane said was true. "Well thank you," she responded. Perhaps a little lame, but she couldn't think of any way to respond to that. "Well I can deal with that. We should definitely hang out more often then, it seems only natural." At this point she could take that the firewhiskey was taking it's toll, but she couldn't help but grin at his words. She really did want to spend more time with him, and she was sad that she'd only just met him at the end of her seventh year. But hopefully they'd get the chance to hang out more.... "Well I don't live too far away. I'm living with Aaron Mains.... I dunno if you know him or not? But I can get to Hogsmeade pretty easily." She finished off her firewhiskey, not beckoning for another one for the moment.

Shane shook his head, immediately regretting his decision to do so. "Yeah I shouldn't have slammed that last drink...but I'm alright, we'll go for a walk in a bit..just let me finish this water," he replies, taking a rather long drink off his glass. Suddenly the warm, cozy atmosphere of the bar was a bit too loud, too crowded, and definitely moving too fast for his taste. Noting the skeptical look on her face, he smirks. "Seriously, I'll be fine, don't worry 'bout it." He'd never gotten sick while drinking and tonight would be no diffferent.

Perking a brow, he looked at Jenna as she just gave a simple thanks in return for his compliment. Obviously he wasn't being forward enough, but he would fix that tonight. "Well yeah it's natural..usually when two people have a lot of fun together, they hang out..and stuff.." He was planning on saying something else, but had lost his train of though halfway through his sentence. The alcohol in his system was definitely starting to have more of an effect on him; that last drink was the one that pushed him from having a good buzz to being really drunk. His eyes visibly brightened when she mentioned living with Aaron. "Yeah I know Aaron! That's great, that means we can hang out...and since Aaron's a friend of mine and full blown gay, I won't even have to get jealous.." he says with a laugh. He finishes his water quickly, changing his mind about sitting in the bar. Fresh air sounded good right now and walking with Jenna sounded even better, even if she did have to straighten his course out on occasion. "Know what, I'll take you up on that walk right now..let's go!" he says as she finishes her drink, taking her by the hand and standing up. Realizing he bought the rest of the bottle, he snatches it up and stuffs it into what's obviously an enchanted front pocket of his jeans. Making a weird gesture with his hand at the bartender, it must be some sort of drunken sign language for, 'I'll pay my tab when I'm back next' or something along those lines. Gently pulling Jenna out of her chair, he leads her towards the door.

Jenna managed to relax a bit, glad that Shane was now drinking water and agreeing that a walk would be good. But his reassurance also helped her to relax. "Alright. Well I'll just finish this one then and we can head out," she offered with a grin. She'd have to go out drinking with Shane some other night, just for the challenge. And of course, it would give her a reason to hang out with him again, "I'm thinkin I'm gonna have to take you up on this challenge another night. Besides it's not really fair on you right now, considering how much you've had to drink."

Jen laughed, "Well I guess we have a lot of hanging out ... and stuff... to do," she said, her flirtatiousness coming out a bit more. She'd figured that he'd get the hint. After two drinks of firewhiskey, she felt that little buzz that one only got from drinking. Being that she didn't drink much, the buzz easily came after a few drinks, especially with firewhiskey. "Well I guess that works out wuite well then," she said in response to living with Aaron. But for some reason she half wished that Shane did have some reason to be jealous. It was weird, and she couldn't really even explain that thought, Just as she'd finished her drink Shane was up and ready to go. She laughed, allowing him to drag her out of the restaurant. She only just managed to lay some change out on the counter, paying for her drinks. "So where are we headed Shane?" She asked, just plain happy to be out of the bar. She too had been feeling the confines of the bar, with it's noise and the crowd of people. Fresh air just sounded fantastic at this point.

A nod, this time much more subtle to avoid having the room spin on him again. "Yeah...the official Jenna, Shane drink-off will have to wait...and it's not gonna be fair next time either..you'll realize this too late I fear.." he says with a smirk, flicking his empty glass with his finger and tipping it over "...And then I'll have to carry you home, fend off your drunken advances, and suffer through never-ending apologies the next day...and that's not cool because it'll be hard to turn you down," he says, honesty masked as jest.

Shane grinned, averting his gaze for a moment to look at his fallen glass. "I'd like that..you know I enjoy spending time with you.." he says, finding it hard to meet her eyes while saying such a thng, even with the amount of liquid courage coursing through his veins.

Finally time to leave, he leads his gorgeous blonde friend towards the exit, not even noticing Jenna pay for her drinks. He does however, notice the stares she's getting. The Three Broomsticks was sporting a rather low witch to wizard ratio tonight, and much to Shane's delight, he seemed to escorting the prettiest girl in the bar out of the place. Apparently one of the bigger wizards in the place, nearly twice Shane's size at around six and a half feet tall and no less than two-hundred and fifty pounds, didn't appreciate this and when Shane attempted to move passed him, refused to make room. Not about to be punked out in front of Jenna, the gryffindor simply smiles, placing his left hand on the man's shoulder and with a show of effortless strength alien to someone his size, shoves him into the bar hard enough to shift the glasses on it. "Excuse me.." he offers to the guy now being snickered at by his friends, quickly pulling Jenna through the newly opened gap in the crowd and out the door.

The crisp night air helped him feel better almost immediately, although it was going to take a few moments to adjust to the darkness. "Hmmm..well I really don't care where we go..in fact if I lead the way I'm quite sure..we'll be very lost, very soon." Realizing he's still holding her hand, he takes a chance and intertwines his fingers with hers. A small, but meaningful gesture. "..'Spose we could head towards Aaron's?" he suggests, swaying just slightly as he stood by, awaiting her decision.

Jenna grinned. Shane underestimated, or perhaps he didn't, but it drove her competitiveness. She was determined to prove to Shane that she could drink and that she wasn't a lightweight. Of course, there was still the chance that she would make a complete and utter fool of herself. And yet, she really didn't care. But Shan'es version of the story made her grin. "Well then, I guess we're just gonne have to see how things unfold. But I think you underestimate me, Shane. But I suppose if that's the way things will pan out, well that wouldn't be so bad," She flirted in a joking manner. Of course she really wouldn't mind being carried out of a bar.... She shook her head, laughing.

At Shane's next comment, she looked up at him, grinning of course. There was something like hope recognizable in her eyes. "I'd really like that too.... Because I love spending time with you." She admitted, somewhat quietly, averting her gaze as her cheeks began to burn.

As they left the bar, Jenna was oblivious to the heads she turned. She could only grin idiotcally, as she looked up Shane, incapable of feeling anything but pure happiness. She was so glad that she'd run into Shane. She'd been so bummed out lately, but being here with him she was able to forget all that. She didn't notice, however, that someone was blocking their path, and she let out a little snort of laughter (perhaps not the most ladylike thing, but she found it rather amusing) as Shane pushed him out of the way.

As Shane intertwined his fingers with hers she could feel her grin get even wider. She squeezed his hand gently, moving just a little bit closer to him, their shoulders just touching. "Hmmm.... Going back to Aaron's seems like a good idea." She was sure Aaron wouldn't mind, particularly seeing as Shane and Aaron were friends. And with that, she lead the way to Aaron's, knowing the path quite well at this point.

OOC: Due to the fact that I have very limited computer time before I'm stateside, this is gonna have to be really short. Plus if we keep replying back and forth about stuff that's said in the bar, it's gonna be weird to have us show up at the house and still somehow be flirting in the bar. :P



The conversation in the bar had been pleasant to say the least, and had done nothing but bolster Shane's confidence and put him in an incredibly good mood. Between the heavy amount of flirting going on, the cool night air, the quantity of alcohol in his system, and the girl practically on his arm, he was on cloud nine. Grinning ear to ear, he returns the squeeze and begins walking with Jenna. "I know it's a good idea..I said it," he teases, pulling her a little closer and bouncing her gently off his shoulder as they walked. Leaning in to talk softly, he allows his lips to brush her ear. "..But you're sure you can make the walk without me carrying you, I mean, you did have two whole drinks to yourself.." The time for being subtle was over; Shane had been getting nothing but good vibes every time they had hung out and now with the booze egging him on, it was about time to show Jenna exactly how he felt.


OOC: Short, I know, but I gotta run and have no idea if I'll be on anytime soon. Oh and hope you enjoyed the lakehouse :P

OOC:haha it's all good :) plus, that makes sense. Convos get confusing that way..... And the lake was good :) it was a good break from lake. Although I'm somewhat sunburned at this point O.o

IC:

Jenna too was on cloud nine. She'd been so down earlier, but running into Shane had completely turned around her mood. At this point it was completely impossible for her to stop grinning. The night was perfect, in the sense that it was gorgeous out, but also with the way things seemed to be turning out with Shane. She laughed at his comment, "Oh that's right, I'd forgotten. You're never in the wrong," She teased. At this point she almost didn't want to get back to the house, it was gorgeous out, and here it meant that it was just the two of them. AS he leaned in to whisper in her ear, she felt a tingle crawl down her spine. "You know, I'm not so sure. Those two drinks have really hit hard ....." Jenna whispered back, surprised even by her own lack of subtleness. Of course, she was perfectly capable of walking, but who cares?

Shane grinned uncontrollably, hearing the words he had hoped he would. Without warning he lets her hand slide from his, his arm snaking around her back and his left coming up behind her knees to quite literally sweep her off her feet. He lifts her effortlessly, thousands of hours of exercise paying off as he continues to walk without any evidence of being hampered by holding her. "Hmm..well I think I've been wrong once or twice..who's counting though?" he jokes, giving her a light squeeze. Looking forward, he realizes that not too many people are out and about in Hogsmeade on this wonderful night, which was a relief since that made them almost alone. "So beautiful, you still want me to carry you home or you got some other place in mind?" he asks, having the same opinion about heading straight to Aaron's. The alone time with Jenna was bliss and had no reason to cut it short by throwing Mains into the mix.


OOC: I managed to snek on real quick, but leave tomorrow morning so I probably won't be on for at least 3 or 4 days. I'll try and stop in once in a while!

Jenna was taken by surprise as Shane effortlessly swept off of her feet, literally. She had assumed that he'd just been playing around and that he wouldn't really pick her up, but ahe wasn't going to complain. Why would she? But as lifted her off the ground, she let out a small, but playful, squeal. Of course, she was laughing. At this point it seemed that all she was capable of when around Shane was grinning and laughing. She wrapped an arm around his neck, somewhat surprised by the ease at which he carried her. "Oh well, just once or twice, no one's counting those," she teased back. She pondered his question, feeling like he'd been reading her mind. Why go home when they could be outside and alone. "Well I suppose we could stay out here a bit a longer. . . I mean it's such a nice night ...." She was dropping subtle hints, hoping he'd catch on. They were pretty much alone out here, if they went back home, well they really wouldn't be alone then; besides that, the night was amazing.

OOC: Ight, well have fun! :D and sorry it's so short I was having issues with this one O.o