RP: Xanadu Grand Opening

[shh_npc]

Date: January 20, 2005
Characters: Stubby Boardman, Anyone else
Location: Xanadu
Status: Very Public
Summary: Xanadu opens
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[shh_wayne]

The new club was pretty crowded by the time Wayne arrived. He hadn't planned to attend the grand opening, in all honesty, but he'd been pacing around his flat trying to figure out how to spend the evening when he remembered the notice. Clubs weren't really his 'thing', as he tended to like his music quieter and his dancing more private, but it certainly was good for people watching.

He was wearing a nice white button-up shirt without a tie and pair of grey trousers, which was rather dressy for his normal Saturday nights. There was music playing but the band announced in the flier wasn't yet on stage. He went to the bar and waited until he could reach it before he ordered a whiskey. Once he had his drink, he looked around downstairs before heading upstairs to see what the place looked like.

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor elected not to go home to change after her dinner with Rose at the Five Alarm. Honestly, it wasn’t like she was hiding anything better in her wardrobe anyway.

Feeling a bit queasy with nerves, Eleanor led the way to the club. She could hear the music from inside out on the pavement, which made her feel a bit better. If it were really loud in there surely she wouldn’t be expected to talk to strangers, would she? Perhaps she was just being silly, what did she know about nightclubs, she’d never been to one.

Taking a deep breath, Eleanor turned to Rose. “Let’s go get drinks first, yeah? I’m suddenly in the mood for a Guinness.”

The inside of the club was really nice looking. Eleanor couldn’t help but wonder how the owner had managed to find the resources to fund such a place. She made her way to the bar, completely ignoring the dance floor, and placed her order.

[shh_rose]

"Whoo!" Rose yelled in the general vicinity of Eleanor's ear as they entered the club ... which seemed to be rather on the busy side. But Eleanor had said it had just opened and everybody liked a new club. This one was fancy and well-decorated and had quite a nice dance floor ...

... which Eleanor was completely ignoring in favor of the bar. Rose rolled her eyes but followed her friend. Eleanor would probably need at least one Guinness and maybe more than that before Rose could hope to haul her out on the floor. The music was good at least and Rose swayed to the beat while ordering an amaretto sour.

"This is great!" she called to Eleanor, while scanning the crowd, looking for

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor gave the barman a grateful smile when he placed her beer on the bar in front of her. She grinned as she watched Rose dance to the music. She wished it were as easy for her to feel so comfortable with herself in such a crowded place. Maybe she’d be feeling more sociable after a beer.

“I’ve never heard of this band, but I didn’t listen to much but news on the Wireless,” Eleanor shouted to Rose over the noise. “They’re not too bad.”

She scanned the crowd, and found herself blushing when her eyes landed on Stubby Boardman. “Rose, look who it is!” she shouted excitedly. “I heard he owned the place, isn’t this exciting? I know he’s a bit older than us, but I always thought he was rather handsome.”

Eleanor took a big gulp of her beer and studied Roses dance; She was going to make a complete fool of herself in front of Stubby once Rose got her out on the dance floor, she just knew it.

[shh_rose]

Rose turned to see who Eleanor was talking about and spotted some middle-aged bloke who Eleanor said owned the club. He was ... all right. For a fellow maybe twice their age. She raised eyebrows at her friend. But then who was she to poke fun? She got silly celebrity crushes on Quidditch players. "He's owns the club, is it?"

A mischievious grin stole onto her mouth, then she gripped Eleanor by the wrist and dragged her along through the crowd. "Well let's tell him he's got a right nice place here, yeah?"

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor grinned and chugged the rest of her beer down. When in Rome, she thought. Her head was feeling very light, and she found the stairs difficult to maneuver, but somehow managed to make her way upstairs.

Looking around, Eleanor thought she spotted a familiar face. “Rose, wasn’t he a Hufflepuff a few years above us?” she asked pointing at the dark-skinned (and rather handsome Eleanor didn’t fail to notice in her semi inebriated state) man. “Do you remember what his name was?”

[shh_rose]

Eleanor, Rose noticed, wasn't as good at holding her liquor. Then again, Rose was just drinking amaretto, which wasn't that strong. She liked it because it was sweet.

"Steady there, love," she told Eleanor at one point, steadying her on the stairs. Maybe they should have stuck around down below, but they'd been curious about what might be on the upper levels.

Now Eleanor was pointing to a fellow with a shaved head and asking if Rose knew him. "Know him? Ellie, it's Wayne Hopkins! Chaser? Really good Chaser? He was a sweetheart, too -- never talked down to me even though he's, gosh, I don't know how many years above us. Come on," and once again, she had Eleanor by the wrist, tugging her along.

"Wayne!" she waved as she wove through people and furniture and colored lights. "Wayne Hopkins! It's Rose Zeller!" She doubted he'd recognize her immediately. She'd been a little girl the last time he'd seen her.

[shh_wayne]

The band downstairs was pretty good, but they sang in such a way that he couldn't actually understand what they were saying. While some people might like, Wayne preferred hearing the words, so he drifted away from the railing and back into the seating area, where it was quieter

[shh_rose]

"Ha!" Rose said, hugging him loosely. "Yes, Rose the Quidditch fan. And yes, I've grown up -- well, grown out anyway." She'd found joking about her weight was usually easier. "I'm not sure I'm all that much taller." She was forced to peer up at him, and she pulled Eleanor forward. "This is Eleanor Branstone. Do you remember her? She was a year ahead of me, but she's the quiet one." She smiled at her friend. "I was the noisy obnoxious one who pestered you and Zach no end."

[shh_rose]

Davies. Not ... not Roger Davies. No, surely not. Wayne must have some other Davies in mind. It was a common name. She remembered following Roger's career after he'd left Hogwarts and, the last she'd heard, he'd been engaged to a girl from his team. Witch Weekly had been full of that bit of gossip before the war had made publishing it impossible. Rose and her mother had both kept up with the magazine while it had still been running. Anyway, Roger Davies was probably safely married by now with children. And he'd never have looked twice at Rose anyway. He'd shown her to class twice and she didn't think he'd even known her name. That Rose had barely been able to string three words together in his presence (quite something to leave her speechless), well, it wasn't as if it would matter, would it? She wouldn't be running into Roger Davies on random street corners in Stoatshead

[shh_wayne]

"I live at River Place. It's just west of here, on River Road. Nice block of flats. I've been there over a year. It's two flats per level. The person who lives across from me is Penelope Clearwater. She was a Ravenclaw, bit older than me. She's a solicitor, actually, Rose. Worked for the Wizengamot at one time, now has a private practice."

He leaned back and sipped his whiskey, watching some of the people. He noticed that the bickering couple were still fighting, which was somewhat interesting. He turned his attention back to the women and smiled. "Well, I think you'll enjoy town. It's building up quite a lot now. Nice to see after a year without much rebuilding at all."

[shh_eleanor]

“Oh, I’m on River Road too,” Eleanor said excitedly. “We’ll have to go take a look tomorrow, Rose. It would be nice if you lived close by.”

“It is a nice place to live,” she agreed with Wayne. “It’s really starting to grow nicely. I think she’ll like it here too. I’m excited to show her around tomorrow.”

Eleanor looked at her watch and realized how late it was getting. “Merlin, speaking of, we should probably get going, you’re going to have a busy day tomorrow what with moving your things and touring the town,” she told Rose.

She smiled at Wayne as she stood up, “It was nice to see you again, maybe we’ll see you around. Good luck with your hotel.”

She hooked her arm through Rose’s and led her toward home.