RP: Happy Birthday Michael

[rar_michael]

Date: December 1, 1999
Characters: Michael Corner, Parvati Patil, Terry Boot, Lisa Turpin, Kevin Entwhistle, Padma Patil, Anthony Goldstein and friend
Location: Michael and Terry's house, briefly, then Muggle London
Status: Private
Summary: Michael celebrates his 20th birthday with his friends
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[rar_parvati]

Parvati was running late, not that it was much of a surprise. She wasn't actually late to Michael's, but she'd wanted to be there well before everyone else to give him his gift. Now, though, it would have to wait.

She had no idea what one was supposed to wear for this bowling thing, but had been assured denims would be fine. The tight, v-neck jumper she wore seemed acceptable, and the denims were fashionable. She'd made sure. A little on the tight side, too, but she'd just have to be careful she didn't bend over too far.

Hurrying over to Michael's house, she knocked and hoped she could at least squeeze in a snog before the others arrived.

[rar_michael]

Michael jumped up when he heard someone at the door. Merlin, he hoped it was Parvati, so he could greet her appropriately before the rest of his friends arrived.

"Hello, you. You're the first one here." He let her into the house and kissed her before she could even unclasp her cloak.

He rested his forehead on hers. "'m still not too sure about this bowling thing, I think I'd rather stay here on the couch with you, but Terry was somewhat insistent about it." Michael kissed her again until he heard another knock at the door.

[rar_parvati]

Michael was happy to see her, which shouldn't have been a surprise but still managed to catch her off guard.

"Happy birthday. I wanted to get here even earlier to give you your present, but it will have to wait for tomorrow." It wasn't anything inappropriate, but she still would rather have some privacy when exchanging gifts.

She took off her cloak and set it down while Michael answered the door, smiling as she spotted Anthony and some other bloke she didn't know.

[rar_anthony]

Anthony had had about seventeen nervous breakdowns at his flat before he and John left for Michael's house. He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, then looked at John as they stood outside the door.

"You're sure you're okay?" John asked, and Anthony managed a smile, though his stomach was churning.

"I'll survive. I hope. You're all right?"

"Never better."

"Bloody Gryffindor. All right. If you're so brave, you knock."

John did.

[rar_michael]

Michael let go of Parvati so he could answer the door. "I don't know how long we'll be here, so take off your cloak and we'll wait for everyone else. I think Terry and Lisa are upstairs." He rolled his eyes.

He pulled open the door to find Goldstein standing there, looking a mite green, with a bloke Michael didn't know. Michael gestured them into the house.

"Oi, Goldstein, come in out of the cold! We're just waiting until everyone is here to get going." He gave Anthony a look that said 'we'll talk about your choice for a date later' and held out his hand. "I'm Michael Corner. Nice to meet you."

[rar_anthony]

Anthony caught the look Michael gave him and was pretty sure he knew how to interpret it. He ignored it and looked at John instead and did introductions.

"John Marlinspike, Michael Corner, and that's Parvati Patil there." He turned back to Michael. "Terry and Lisa are coming too, right?"

[rar_michael]

Merlin, Michael was an idiot. How could he have forgotten to introduce Parvati? Anthony's date must have startled him more than he'd thought.

"Yeah, I think they're upstairs. I heard someone moving around up there, anyway." He turned to John. "You live in the same building as Goldstein, right? He's mentioned you before."

Anthony still looked off. "Thanks for coming on a Friday night, Goldstein. I totally forgot when we made these plans, and I'm really glad you decided to come." He wouldn't embarrass Anthony here, but he'd be sure to talk to him later.

[rar_terry]

Terry had been looking forward to Michael's birthday outing, which involved going bowling in Muggle London with a small group of his closest friends. They would probably do better at drinking than bowling, but at least they'd have fun.

While Michael was preoccupied, Lisa had sneaked over, Apparating directly into Terry's room so they could enjoy a little bit of private time before going out with the group. They'd really only just snogged, but it was good to be alone with her, even for just a little while. Besides, there would be plenty of time for that after they got back from London.

Wiping a smudge of lipstick off his cheek, Terry went down to the sitting room, Lisa's fingers touching his as they descended the stairs. He found Michael and Parvati looking lovey-dovey, as usual. Anthony was there too. With a bloke.

"Evening, all," he said with a grin.

[rar_lisa]

Lisa straightened her ponytail and her jumper, but didn't bother to check her reflection before they headed downstairs. She figured Terry would probably tell her if something was terribly askew, since it was his fault it was that way in the first place. Luckily, he caught the bit of stray lip gloss all on his own.

"Hey, guys," she said as they reached the sitting room, glancing around. "Is this everyone?"

[rar_michael]

Michael rolled his eyes as a slightly disheveled Boot and Turpin came down the stairs. She must've been up there for a while, or she'd Apparated straight into Terry's room.

"Entwhistle and Padma were invited, does anyone know if they were coming? Kevin seemed a little unenthusiastic, but I thought we'd convinced him to come along."

[rar_parvati]

"I haven't seen my sister much at all this week. I'm don't know where she's run off to, but it probably has something to do with the department of Mysteries." She rolled her eyes. Padma had been pretty into her job lately, which was great, but Parvati knew she was putting in more time than was expected.

[rar_kevin]

Kevin ran all the way from home to the girls's house. He had just threw on a casual shirt, a pair of denim and didn't bother with his hair after coming back from work already late for Michael's birthday 'date'. He swore under his breath, grabbed Michael's birthday gift and left as quickly as he had arrived, actually panting as he got there. He knocked and wiped his face.

He had been working like a madman lately, though he was trying to keep time for Padma and his Mum into his schedule as well as keeping the house clean. He was quite tired that night, but he figured that seeing Padma would cure it all.

[rar_michael]

Some of the group had already gone on ahead when Michael heard someone at the door.

"Oi! Entwhistle! Good to see you, mate!" He looked around. "What have you done with your bird?"

[rar_kevin]

Kevin blinked at Michael, then frowned. "What? She's not home yet?" he asked, not quite surprised that Padma might have been absorbed by her work, but just a little worried about her still.

[rar_michael]

Michael was well acquainted with the Ravenclaw tendency to bury one's self in their work. "No, Parvati said she hadn't seen her much this last week. She's already gone on ahead; we're meeting at the Visitor's entry at the Ministry and walking to the bowling place from there."

He held out a slip of parchment. "Boot left you guys a map, if you need to go find your bird and meet us there."

[rar_terry]

Terry and Lisa were the first to leave the house and Apparate to the visitors' entrance at the Ministry. Terry noticed Michael hanging back, so he decided not to hurry people about leaving for the bowling alley. It was Mikey's birthday, after all, and if he wanted to take his time getting to his celebration, well, Terry wouldn't take the mickey out of him for it.

Once Michael, Parvati, Anthony and John arrived at the meeting point, the group took off on their walk to the bowling alleys at Funland. Terry had actually discovered the place by accident; he'd overheard some Muggles talking about it in a coffee shop, and a few days later he'd investigated and was surprised to find the bowling alley located on the second storey inside a large, Georgian building at Piccadilly Circus.

[rar_anthony]

Anthony stuck close to the group; he still didn't much like walking in Muggle areas and feared getting lost. John's fingers brushed against his once or twice, and in the crowd and the gathering darkness, Anthony knew no one would see, and he smiled.

"Would someone like to tell me what bowling is, exactly?" he asked of the group.

[rar_terry]

Anthony's question surprised Terry a bit, not that he'd asked it but that it had taken him so long.

"Bowling is a game Muggles play," said Terry, going into explanatory mode. "Sort of an indoor sport, if you will. You toss a heavy ball down a long wooden alley and hope it knocks down all of the ten wooden 'pins' at the end. It's actually more complicated than that. I've only played a couple times, with some of my cousins, and not in several years. Mostly it's a good opportunity to sit around and talk with your mates and drink. Hope that's okay with everyone."

[rar_anthony]

"That doesn't sound difficult," said Anthony, "Though I assume we're not allowed to use wands?" He smirked.

"It can be, at first," said John, "Figuring out exactly where the ball goes, that sort of thing. Terry didn't mention that there are gutters on either side of the lane, and it's hard sometimes to keep the ball from slipping into either of those."

Anthony still thought he'd do all right. "Is the place quite close?" he was looking forward to bowling now.