Stopping in to say hello...

[gryffndean]

Date: Wednesday February 13
Time: about 4:45pm
Location: Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Hogsmeade
Rating: PG?
Characters Involved: Dean Thomas, Hannah Abbott, and Ron Weasley

Since his afternoons and evenings were now (forcibly) freer than what Dean was used to, he'd decided to take advantage of his newfound free time.  After leaving the office, he apparated

Comments

[about_abbott]

Hannah felt a twinge of guilt as she headed back to pick up her cloak. She was grateful for Ron's nonchalant attitude about it and wasn't quite sure she could be so flippant if Hermione just up and showed her face in the shop.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she waved at Ron as she headed over to where Dean stood. Just a month ago she'd have been so giddy about this outing possibly even threading her own arm around Dean's. But for now, a simple walk and talk would suffice. She had so much she knew she needed to tell him while wanting him to open up with an explination and major apology first. "To the Three Broomsticks?"

[gryffndean]

"Sounds perfect," Dean replied as they stepped out into Hogsmeade. There were quite a lot of thoughts swirling in his head, and not all of them were really the best ideas for conversation topics. However, he knew beyond a doubt that he needed to start with an apology.

"Hannah, I-" Dean began, glancing over towards her as they walked. He had second thoughts, though- was this really something he wanted to chat over walking to the pub? No, better to wait until they were seated, and he could look at her.

"Just, thanks for coming. I know I've been a prat lately," he said, shaking his head.

[about_abbott]

Hannah fiddled with the fringes of her cloak as they walked toward the pub. She had no clue what they should talk about and was glad when Dean began to speak. Then he stopped whatever it was he was going to say. When he did she glanced from the road ahead over to his profile and waited to see what he would say instead.

You can say that again she thought though in reality she didn't know how to respond to his statement without either jumping at him or putting herself in a vulnerable position. "Thanks for the invite," was all she could muster.

[gryffndean]

Hannah seemed just as disinclined to conversation at this point as Dean was, so they walked the rest of the way to the Three Broomsticks in silence. He held the door open for her when they arrived, entering just behind her as they walked in and found an empty booth. The pub seemed to be filling up quickly, and Dean was happy they'd managed to grab seats when they did

[about_abbott]

Hannah watched as the waitress walked back toward the bar to complete their order. She then turned to face Dean and thank him for the outing but he spoke first. When he called himself out she wasn't sure how to respond. Her nature was one to avoid conflict but she wanted him to know how badly he'd hurt her. Should she just verbalize it or give him a bit of his own medicine?

She didn't say a word in response, she just stared at him with the same look she'd given her father when he'd placed Dean on the spot the night she'd invited him for dinner. She kept the silence until the waitress returned with their drinks. It wouldn't hurt to make Dean sweat it out for a bit.

Finally, they had their drinks and she addressed Dean in the same manner her father had. "So, during all this time have you decided upon your intentions?" she asked flatly trying to hide the anger and pain he'd caused her.

[gryffndean]

It was easy to see that Hannah was upset, and Dean knew that she had every right to be. Still, that didn't make enduring her silent glare any easier, though he was aware of how richly he deserved it.

The arriving drinks provided a bit of a respite, as Dean glanced up to thank their waitress. But when he looked back at Hannah it was to see the same hurt in her eyes, and to hear a rather direct question coming from her lips.

After a second of blinking thought, Dean cocked his head to the side and nodded.

"As a matter of fact, yes," he began, looking straight back at her. "Last week, when you told me that you were going on a date." Dean continued, his voice more confident than he'd ever imagined it could be when put under such pressure

[about_abbott]

It took all of Hannah's strength to hold the silence as long as she did. She hated that time had allowed them to grow apart. She wanted nothing more than to tell him how she'd longed for him to come to her again. How she'd spent endless nights thinking of him and wishing he'd have committed to more than friends. She'd wanted him to look at her the way Shawn had looked at Jillian, the way Seamus looked at Charlotte, the way she imagined Ron looked at Hermione

[gryffndean]

"Ron?!?!"

Dean barely heard the rest of Hannah's explanation, though some of it was somehow registering in part of his brain.

Ron. The bloke that he wanted to hex, whom he had been thinking of creative jinxes for since last week, was Ron. Yes, he'd noticed them flirting at the store, but it had somehow not occurred to Dean that Ron could have been the one to ask Hannah out.

Realizing that he had been staring (and fuming) for several long moments, Dean shook his head and tried to form some sort of cohesive response.

"Hannah, I-" he paused. What could he say that he hadn't said a million times before? 'I'm sorry, I work too hard, I'm too busy'? That obviously was not cutting it, nor should it have

[about_abbott]

When he snapped Ron's name, Hannah jumped slightly in her chair. She hadn't been expecting him to have that strong of a reaction. She had been certain that he had picked up on it while at the shop, or at least their ease in dealing with each other. Seeing how Dean reacted, she now relalized this wasn't the ideal time to have mentioned it. Too late now.

As he formulated his reply to her Hannah thought of how much she wanted to tell him she had been waiting for him to speak those words. Each time they spoke though, he seemed to promise a bit more of his time to her. Yet, to this point he hadn't been able to come through on any of his words.

"You're going to have to prove yourself," she lifted her drink to her lips and watched for his reaction.

[gryffndean]

"I know," Dean said simply, sighing a little. He realized that this was not only another chance, but his last chance- if he screwed this up, he was sure that Hannah would just walk away and not look back.

"Apparently, I was working myself to death without realizing it. My bosses seem to think I will be of better use to them alive, so I won't be working as much, although I still have to study quite a bit," Dean explained, taking a sip of his drink. "But not all the time." The exams were important, yes, but not important enough to drive himself crazy over.

"I'm so sorry it took me this long to wake up, Hannah."

[about_abbott]

Hannah wanted to tell him it was alright, that she forgave him. Yet, weakness wasn't something she wanted to show at this moment. She was still a loyal Hufflepuff. Even when spending time with Ron, her thoughts had always jumped back to Dean. Everything Ron had done was compared to things Dean had done. Did she dare tell Dean that she'd thought of him more than she could remember thinking of anything else? No, all he'd spoken of was how it was his job that had prevented him from seeing her. Nothing about whether or not she'd tugged at the corners of his mind. If anything, she wondered if his sudden change was because he really wanted her around or if he was spurred on by the sudden competition with Ron. Would he stay around if there was nothing to fight for?

"Are you willing to follow through on weekly plans like we disscussed before?" she asked wondering if he even remembered that conversation.

[gryffndean]

Dean wanted to sigh again at Hannah's reminder of all the things he hadn't done when he'd had the chance. Instead he just buried his head in his hands for a moment, taking a deep breath before looking up at Hannah again.

"Absolutely, yes." He said, his eyes sorrowful and apologetic. "And I want to see you more than once a week, if our schedules can manage it." That, of course, had been Dean's main problem over the past few months- thinking that work was more important than anything, including Hannah, or even things like sleep.

"I know I screwed up, Hannah. But I want to fix this."

[about_abbott]

Hannah couldn't stand it anymore. For this moment in time, she felt she let Dean beat himself up more than enough. Over the next week or so though, she could make him work for any time the two got together. She knew they had a meeting at Finnigan's coming up soon to discuss the viewers. Until then she planned to make him work hard to regain her trust and time.

Reaching across, she placed a hand on his. "I hope we can fix this."

[gryffndean]

Dean smiled for the first time since they'd entered the pub when he felt Hannah's hand lay over his own. Without saying a word, he settled his other hand on top of hers, squeezing it gently.

"Me too," he finally said, holding on to her hand for a moment longer before letting it go and taking a sip of his drink.

Their waitress, who had obviously been avoiding them during their intense conversation, re-approached the table, asking if they wanted to order any food to go along with their drinks.

"What do you think, Hannah?" Dean asked, looking across the table. "Can I treat you to dinner this evening?" They'd finally gotten things straightened out, after all- Dean didn't want to miss an opportunity to spend more time with her.

[about_abbott]

Hannah liked Dean's smile and as much as she really wanted to stay and spend time with him, she had promised Shawn she'd be home for dinner.

"I'd really enjoy that, but I promised Pop I'd be home tonight. He's cooking dinner and I'd hate to disappoint him."

It wasn't often that Shawn cooked for his daughter. She more often than not was the one that cooked dinner. When she wasn't available he often ate out or ordered in.

"Perhaps another time," she looked at the waitress when she said this.

[gryffndean]

Dean was disappointed that Hannah wouldn't be able to stay for dinner, but he understood how important her father was to her.

"It's alright," he said, his smile having faded somewhat, though he was still trying to stay upbeat. "We'll just finish our drinks and chat a bit." After all, drinks were better than nothing. And, it was a chance to 'fix' what they had- a chance for Dean to show that he wanted this relationship, regardless of the bumps in the road.