Post by ryder on Sept 14, 2011 21:02:59 GMT -8
saturday, september 24, 2011 – around 5:00 pm
drive myself insane, if those lips aren’t speaking my name.“Hey, where you goin’, O’Callaghan?”
“I’ll meet up with you lot later. I have something I want to get done…” He let the sentence trail off. His friend started to make some sort of smart comment, but the brunette cut him off with a dismissive wave of his hand. Ryder released a laugh, somehow sounding much more confident than he was really feeling. Still, his friends no longer questioned it. They murmured their own friendly insults – “Fine, be like that.” “Your loss, O’Callaghan.” – before taking off without him. He halted his steps, folding his arms across his torso as the other couple of teenagers wandered away. As sarcastic and joking as they were about his absence, he knew somewhere in his mind that they would be lost and bored without him. They were perfectly capable on their own, but honestly, he was the ringleader. But he knew that walking to Hogsmeade with them would have opened himself up for drastic amounts of ridicule. A light smirk was upon his face as he watched them go, poking and prodding and making fun of each other. “If everything goes all right,” he finished.
If there was one thing that Ryder didn’t understand, it was relationships. He thought he did, at some point. The whole idea that he had was shattered rather abruptly about a year ago, and his arms fell to his side. All traces of the smirk from moments ago vanished at the thought. He really didn’t know anything about dating. Sure, he knew how to get a girl’s attention. He had ways of holding that attention. But when it came to the emotional aspect? No, he was hopelessly lost. It seemed that everything he had thought he knew was wrong. So what hope did he have of maneuvering this date? Ryder had been on dates before, but he had never really been interested. He just wanted to have a girl on his arm or something like that. Was this like that? A part of him really hoped not. He didn’t want it to end up as shallow and meaningless.
Slowly, a thought dawned on him. Was he actually getting attached to Pandora? There was that part of his mind that told him the obvious: yes. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been opposed to whatever she had originally proposed at the library. Still, he didn’t want to believe that. He was Ryder O’Callaghan, for Merlin’s sake! He didn’t get involved with girls in that way! But she was so different and exciting and – snap out of it! He shook his head quickly, walking off in the direction of where they were to meet. He trudged along down the street, trying to keep himself calm. This was by far one of the most challenging things he had done in the past year. At least, well, in relation to a social life. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do on a date. He barely even understood what a real date was supposed to do. He was into her, so why did he have to sit around and small-talk? He reached up with one hand, running it through his hair and sighing. He was overthinking this, that was his real problem. He was the most eligible man in Gryffindor, he had this.
But what if he messed it up?
“No,” he told himself, his voice firm. He was not going to mess this up, he was determined. He tugged at the bottom of his button-down shirt, amazed that it was still free of wrinkles. Whoever had charmed it for him must have really done a good job if the navy blue material still looked tidy. One of his hands reached out to push open the door to the pub. Ryder’s gaze swept around outside before he slipped into the Hog’s Head. A part of him was thankful that Pandora had picked such a place for a date. He would have probably died inside the tea shop, and this place was always the sort of place that he knew his friends wouldn’t hang around. They may have all been morons, but they would have found somewhere much more upbeat. The door slid shut behind him as he glanced around the place. He couldn’t see her. He bit his lip slightly, trying to make himself look less nervous. Some of the people who wound up here were not the types he wanted to run into in a dark alley, but he would be fine. What was the worst that could happen?
He crossed over to an unoccupied table, his hand now tugging at the collar of his shirt. He slid into the seat, leaning back. He placed one of his ankles on the opposite knee, the denim sliding. He took a quick peek around, trying to spot her. A rather old-looking witch winked at him, and he could feel his cheeks blazing. Was this a mistake? He hoped not. He really wanted to impress the girl he was meeting, but he could feel his stomach doing somersaults. It had been so long since he was this nervous; it was practically agonizing to him. He wedged a hand in his hair, shaking his head. Slowly, Ryder released a sigh, finally a slight smile tugging at his lips. This wasn’t as bad as he was making it out to be. He was just being paranoid. Everything would be fine. “Just pull yourself together, O’Callaghan, everything will be alright,” he mused, a slight smirk gracing his lips.tag: pandora! | words: as many as i want. | lyrics: love like woe by the ready set. | notes: oh man.