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A/N: I know, its been ages since I updated for this story and I'm really sorry that you guys had to wait so long! But here it is and please enjoy! Much love.

“It’s Negligee Night, gents! Don’t fall asleep on these ladies, they’re riled up tonight!” the DJ boomed out over his microphone as the music began to play. Audrey didn’t bother listening to it, as she tried to get her feet into a pair of heels that were almost too delicate to be stuffing her feet into in the first place.

She was dastardly uncomfortable in the getup for tonight and felt that if a fine breeze were to blow by right now, her ass would never be the same. But she managed to shove her foot into the heel with a growl of annoyance. It had been several days since she had last seen Percy Weasley and too long now she had been aware that her attitude with her manager was going to get her either fired or slammed against the nearest wall.

But she wouldn’t bow down to anyone, especially not to that slime. And he very well knew it too and was threatening to make her time here at Bare Back so much worse when life was already hard enough. Audrey had managed to pay all of her bills, overdue of course but she was at least still able to call a place home and her studies were getting a bit more difficult to manage.

It would be a wistful thing not to have to worry about such things and be taken care of but Percy had been wrong, it would be  weak to let someone else take care of her. She would never allow it because they would never be able to handle her life, or endure being around such a tainted, dirty girl.

Audrey swallowed hard and tried to block out those thoughts but it was hard and she distracted herself by fingering the silk shift that was held up with tiny little bows at her shoulders, her bare breasts pressing against the material. The garment drifted like a red cloud down to her knees, with the edges rimmed with dyed red fur that made her wonder how many animals they’d killed for this, though the costume hadn’t been her idea.

Pamela had thought that it would be fun for their Negligee Night but Audrey found this to be ridiculous and wasn’t sure if her fifties theme would be going over very well, even though she had done her hair in big curls. The fake eyelashes and the real cigarette behind her ear made her think more of the forties, to be honest but it didn’t matter when no one was taking artistic interest in what they were dressed as, just in how soon they could strip.

Music was still pounding and the routine that she had worked on was anxiously threatening to come out and she was handed her trademark fan from a passing girl with a little wink. “You look gorgeous,” the girl said. Audrey enviously watched the girl swaying off, not saying a word and wishing that she had been blessed with such an amazing rack.

But life wasn’t at all fair and she glanced down at her chest with a slight sigh before resigning herself to being meekly endowed, like her mother had been. “You look anxious tonight.” Pamela, her friend said as she came up, wearing garter belts, a bustier and what might have been panties if she dared to look any closer. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, just a bit distracted.” Audrey replied honestly, because she was hoping that Percy would be out in the crowd tonight. She didn’t care so much about her book, but she wanted to see him again with so much longing that it was almost sickening but she hadn’t seen him in the crowd these past few days and he’d said that it wasn’t healthy for him. He fascinated her completely and she just had to know more, “looking for a bloke.” She said evasively.

Pamela narrowed her eyes and her lashes, which were naturally long over a long, but decent face were curled to perfection. She had kids waiting for her at home and a boyfriend that had left them to struggle for what they had and no man interested her anymore, “Don’t get caught up, Audrey.” She warned gravely, “you know how those blokes are after they get a little taste.”

Audrey was offended by that and she said stiffly. “We haven’t slept together.” But God, did she want to do the most sinfully delicious things to Percy Weasley but that was something that would remain in the back of her mind. She would get her chance to gobble him up, “at all. He’s just interesting and…different.”

“Who is it?” Pamela asked warily as the DJ called for one of the other girls to go on the stage and they watched her struggling backstage with them before rushing through the curtain to cheers. Music was pulsing and it was sickeningly innocent to Audrey’s ears, “is he someone with some cash at least?”

Audrey laughed at her a bit and her friend quirked her brow, all seriousness. She had seen Percy with some money, those weird coins in his pockets but she hadn’t seen any notes, “I don’t know but he wears fancy clothes so he might,” she didn’t know what he did for a living and that made her both curious and wary, as if he might be doing something illegal. But she’d had her share of doing illegal things.

Pamela pursed cherry red lips a little, admiring her for a long moment and Audrey wanted only to cover herself a bit. “You look really nice in red. But if this bloke doesn’t do anything for you, forget him.” She advised warningly and Audrey looked away sharply, as she had already known this, “you must really like him if you’re not listening to me.”

“I’m listening to you,” Audrey lied while they watched a few other girls trooping backstage, all of them in varying nightclothes. It was almost a childish sight with the pigtails and the props that the girls had but it was far too unsettling on another level, “but I’m not getting involved with him that way.”

“But you want to,” Pamela said in surprise.

Audrey laughed uneasily. “I’d like to fuck him senseless but that’s not the issue.” She said and her friend laughed at this before the girl on stage was finished dancing, coming back behind the curtain, looking weary and she asked, “good night out there?”

The girl rolled her eyes and indicated the state of her costume, which was in tatters and that was more than enough to indicate that they had a full house tonight. Audrey was surprised, as business had been rather slow but she supposed videos weren’t like real girls sweating for their entertainment, “You are going to be rich, girl,” the other dancer said before wincing away on spike heels.

Rich, huh? Audrey knew that that was never going to happen to her and she waited for a moment, using the fan in her hand to cool herself. Pamela was looking just as uncomfortable as she was and the DJ finally called out, “And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The Bad Taste!” her cue was announced and Pamela gave her an encouraging wink.

Audrey swallowed her misery, put on her best seductive smile for someone she wanted, Percy Weasley coming into her mind of course and strolled out. Bare Back was packed and it briefly stunned her, the lights burning into her glittered skin before she shook it all off and got down to her routine, going more for shy innocence than anything lewd and she supposed from the cheers that she was getting that she did it well.

The heels were killing her but the music was still pounding, money was being thrown onto the stage and she performed to the extreme. She couldn’t help imagining that Percy Weasley was somewhere in the crowd and she did almost dangerous twirls on the pole, for his eyes only.

While hanging upside down and revealing all that made her a woman wasn’t exactly healthy for her brain cells or her pride, Audrey did what she had to do and received the usual cheers and hoots, the DJ making her seem like an angel. “Isn’t she beautiful?! Bare Back’s most stunning dancer, everyone! The Bad Taste!”

Audrey disentangled herself from the pole, teasing her audience, teasing Percy by almost lifting up her top. The material was clinging nastily to her skin but the sight of her sweat gleaming underneath the lights drove the others wild and she bit on her lower lip, all for their satisfaction with a coy gleam in her eye before letting it fall. “And she’s a tease!” the DJ called with a groan and the audience laughed.

But her routine was, thankfully over and Audrey picked up the money and went to the take the bills that were held out for her. Meaty hands tried to grab her, stroke her but she forced herself to roll away, giggling and laughing at them before making her way off stage and as she did so, she looked around into the darkness and saw— “Percy,” she said in disbelief.

There he was, completely as stunned to be seen as she was to be seeing him and though he wasn’t near the stage, it was obvious that he hadn’t been able to resist. A shameful looked crossed his features and Audrey found herself breaking the connection between them first, her heart pounding before she ran backstage, clutching what would be her water bill and some of her rent.

Pamela congratulated her, gave her a quick kiss. “There’s no way in hell I can top that!” she said with a laugh before taking in her face, “what’s wrong, Audrey?”

Audrey swallowed stiffly, her heart pounding. Why was he here now? It didn’t seem as if he just wanted to give her back her book, but…“Nothing, I just…saw someone in the crowd.”

Pamela looked bitterly curious. “Your bloke? He gave you some sort of trouble?” she demanded and Audrey shook her head. A few of the other girls looked up as well at that, some of them being rather overprotective of one another when there was so little comfort in the world, “then what?”

“I danced for him and he saw and I think he knew. It was almost eerie,” Audrey replied honestly and Pamela reeled back a little at the wild look in her eyes. She felt suddenly trapped and was furiously aroused and had no idea why when he wouldn’t touch or kiss her tonight or any night, “I’m going to clean up and get a drink. I’ll watch you dance.” She said to her friend with a wink.

Pamela was giving her a worried look but she then waggled her eyebrows at her in a way that no mother should and Audrey roared with laughter. “Pay my rent too while you’re at it.” She teased before her cue was heard on the stage, “and don’t let that bloke get the best of you!” her friend warned before sauntering onto the stage to loud cheers.

Audrey knew that she was right but she could barely concentrate as she went to clean up the makeup and get into some comfortable clothes. After a few minutes she was wearing a pair of tight jeans and a top that wouldn’t have her tiny cleavage popping out.

Percy was out there and that was enough to get her hurriedly into the locker room. She found herself brushing out some of the curls in her hair, washing off the makeup and adding lighter lipstick to her lips and stuffing her feet into sensible shoes (Sandals that she’d bough cheap on sale).

Blisters were threatening to form and the thought of being in a bath almost made her drool with lust before she grabbed her bags out of her locker, stuffed her money into her socks and trooped back out and through the crowd. Girls were walking around, offering drinks while the entertainment was on display.

When Audrey looked around onto the spotlighted stage she could see that Pamela was doing a good job and the men were enjoying her wildness and she shot her a grin that she couldn’t see. Money was flying in all directions and she was so distracted by it and the thought of a hot bath that she nearly bumped into someone and let out a curse, “Shit. Sorry—”

“You should watch where you’re going Ms. Tang.” Percy chided weakly and Audrey looked up in surprise to find him staring down at her, looking pained. She let out a laugh and was wrapping her arms around his waist before she could stop herself, grinning up at him, “….I take it you’re happy to see me?” he asked, overcome and stumbling from the impact.

Audrey laced her fingers together, keeping them locked at the small of his back and she was surprised by how much muscle was beneath his clothes. It made her giddy but before she could dwell on it, she felt something else against her hip and narrowed her eyes, slyly, “My, my, Percy, is that a wallet in your pocket or are you happy to see me too?” she asked cheekily and she could see him blushing in the dark light.

Percy fumbled uncomfortably for a moment in his bathrobe, which wasn’t nearly as fancy as the last one she had seen and pulled out a wallet, which he held in front of her. Audrey roared with laughter and the sound made his shoulders relax a little, though they were catching a bit of unwelcome attention from some of the other customers around, “That was an excellent guess, Ms. Tang. Though it doesn’t deserve all the blame,” he muttered dryly, glancing away.

“Really? You know,” Audrey purred playfully, batting her eyelashes and making his lips twitch against his better judgment. “If you came home with me for a while I could make you feel all better.” Percy merely stared down at her sternly and she pouted annoyingly at his refusal to play along, “Damn, I don’t think you know how to flirt Mr. Weeeasley, you’re absolutely no fun!”

Percy rolled his eyes heavenward, put his wallet away and grumbled but she was far too comfortable and buried her face in his chest for a second; detecting cologne that smelt rather nice. It made her entire body feel as if she were on a comfortable beach far away, “You’re being far too familiar with me, Ms. Tang.” He said to her now and Audrey broke out of her daydream and shot him a look, frowning, “and you’re squeezing the life out of me.”

Audrey knew that he was making an excuse for her to let him go and she reluctantly did, knowing that she probably had been too bold. It was annoying really but she had gotten a bit of excitement out of her night and she stepped back and peered at him with acute interest, “So you decided to show up, I see. How’d you like my routine up there?” she asked curiously, trying to annoy him.

The sharp disapproval on his face was very obvious and he spent a moment pushing up his glasses and smoothing out his bathrobe. Several patrons were eyeing them and Audrey briefly caught Remmington eyeing her with suspicion and a sneer that made her feel like the lowliest mortal before she flicked her gaze to her current delight.

“It was….invigorating, Ms. Tang. You’re rather flexible, I have to admit,” Percy reluctantly complimented and Audrey grinned at him wildly. “I shouldn’t be here but I thought that I would come and bring you back your book.”

Audrey saw that he was growing rather uncomfortable the longer he stayed in the club and the current girl dancing on stage after Pamela wasn’t helping. She thought of the look that he had given her when she’d been on stage and felt a pool of lust grip her, though he sharply turned his head away from the expression in her eyes and she groaned in irritation. It would take a miracle for her to get into his trousers and she put that behind her and asked; “Are you hungry, Weeeasley?”

“I haven’t considered—”

“Don’t be such a loser! You can tell me all about the book and we can stuff ourselves.” Audrey said and she thought of taking a bath soon after and purred with passion. The suds would be nice and then after that she could happily pass out onto her mattress and be dead to the world for a while but for right now, she took his arm and hooked it with hers so that they appeared quite comfortable.

Percy stiffened and made a great show of trying to free himself but she was dragging him out of the club, the music falling behind as she offered. “I’ll pay again. I don’t know if I can buy anything with the weird money you carry around in your trousers.”

Percy spluttered indignantly at being yanked about but they were now in the crisp night air and she was dragging him down the sidewalk. It was a busy night of course and many couples were out and Audrey wondered if they looked a tad odd and she felt a pang because they were not even friends for her to be feeling so stupidly wistful.

She just couldn’t put her finger on what it was about him that fascinated her so deeply and she wanted it to last all night. “I’ll come and eat with you but I won’t stay long, Ms. Tang. Are you even listening to me?” he demanded now, exasperated.

“I heard you, Jesus.” Audrey groused and she slowed her pace and he unhooked his arm from hers and put a bit of space between them. She swung her arms a little to ease the loss of warmth that that brought and stole a glance up at his face, which was pensive with annoyance, “you know, you could at least pretend that you were hoping to see me again.”

Percy flinched a little and his eyes hooded as he glanced down at her, his lips turning up in a bit of a smile. It made some life come into the depths of his eyes but it didn’t last and that same wounded, dangerous aura came over to her and she felt a strange need to run away, though she continued walking with him regardless. Somehow, that surprised him, “Bit arrogant aren’t you? Who said that I wanted to see you?”

Audrey laughed a little, hearing the teasing quality in his tone. She sent him a smile and thumped him sharply in the shoulder and he glared down at her, rubbing at it, “Just admit that you like me, Mr. Weeeasley. I make life grand,” this was said confidently but many had told her quite the opposite.

“You sound like my brother.” Percy said and there was something strange to his voice and Audrey saw him frowning a little, his shoulders stiffening. Perhaps tonight he would reveal a bit more about his family and she was rather eager to know about so many siblings and a completely different life from her own. It would be a welcome relief and would shed a bit of light onto this man.

“Mr. Weeeasley, you don’t sound all that pleased about that.” Audrey remarked and his eyes became blank so quickly that for a moment she wondered if he were really alive. Unsettled, she reached up and pinched his nose and after a short second he gasped and she let him go, “thank God, I thought you’d stopped breathing!”

Percy rubbed at his nose and glared down at her angrily and with the sort of annoyance that spoke of past torture from various siblings. Audrey laughed, quite pleased but also wary of the energy he gave off…like a beast that she shouldn’t poke but dared to anyway, “I was merely thinking. Am I not allowed to do that, Ms. Tang?” he snapped dryly.

Audrey blinked, wondering if she had done something wrong in touching him so much tonight and thought of how he had been the last time shed’ seen him. Then, he had been in a mess from the loss of someone very important to him and it was wrong of her to pester and nitpick at him when he might not be all too well, “I’m sorry,” she said sincerely.

Percy peered questionably into her face as they walked, studying her intently when she looked away, thinking about the sort of grief that he’d been hanging onto. It seemed beyond her understanding and the mystery that was her strange companion deepened exponentially, “Why are you apologizing? I’m quite all right.”

“I’m not so sure of that. How are you feeling since…since your friend died? It was their anniversary the other day wasn’t it?” Audrey found herself asking boldly and he made a strange sound in his throat, something between a growl and a sob. It had been wrong of her and she stopped, jerking him back when he tried to continue on, refusing to answer, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up, I was just wondering,”

Percy looked away from her, his mouth nothing but a thin, menacing line but he simply nodded in acceptance of her words. Audrey wasn’t sure if he believed them or not, “I’m better than I was after dealing with my blasted brother for a while and his wife if you must know.”

Audrey thought hard and guessed. “Your no-ear brother? What’s his name…” she tried to conjure his image but she couldn’t really think of what his brother had looked like, as he hadn’t been nearly as intriguing to her as Percy himself.

“George.” Percy supplied helpfully and she snapped her fingers triumphantly and he laughed at the expression on her face, though she had a feeling that he wasn’t thinking about her. It was ridiculous that she felt a bit jealous about it but thought that he probably had some sort of love interest from wherever he was from and that had her frowning. “He says that he’s the spice of life.”

Audrey came out of her sullen thoughts, knowing that she had no one but smiled up at him, wondering what the no-ear brother was like at home with his wife. “So what kind of woman can deal with that bloke all the time? He’d drive me mental.” She admitted, “He’s like a big kid.”

Percy laughed and they resumed walking and she was surprised that he was still at her side, something in her thought that he might have run away. His fingers were flinching as if he might hail a cab at any minute, but he held off on that just now (Somehow, she couldn’t quite picture him in a cab, it was almost too bizarre). “He’s always been that way.”

“Really?” Audrey asked in true alarm, unable to imagine how anyone could deal with him all the time and not go completely bonkers. It was strange that Percy was so reserved when his brother practically reeked of mischief, “so what kind of woman can deal with that?”

Percy seemed to have mulled her question over for a while and his hand brushed against hers and she wanted to grab them but he put more space between them. Warm air whispered by and it cooled her heated cheeks thankfully as she got a reply, “Angelina is a strong person. I’m not quite sure what she sees in my brother but she understands him I suppose and that’s all he needs,”

Audrey tried to imagine this couple, wondering if the wife was some short, doughy girl with pretty blonde hair and a big smile. Since that didn’t work out, she asked slyly, “What’s she look like?” and Percy quirked his brow at the grin on her face.

“Angelina is black. I don’t know what’s going on in your mind, Ms. Tang.” Percy said with a frown, gauging her reaction to this news. Audrey merely shrugged, uncaring and then biting down a bit of jealousy because she had a feeling from his tone that she was better looking than her, “and she’s very pretty and has a proportioned body to match,” he said pointedly.

Audrey glared up at him, wanting to kick at him and ended up punching him as hard as she could in the arm and he laughed. “Shut up! Who told her to be so sexy anyway?” she groused and Percy snorted with laughter until she stomped her foot, “shut up! You know, how do you think I feel? I had to grow up flat chested! Everyone called me Flatty Patty in school!”

That really had Percy going and he had to stop as he was simply overcome and Audrey wasn’t sure if she should be embarrassed or delighted that she had gotten this sort of response from him. He had to brace his hands on his knees to gather his breath and added salt to an old wound by sucking in a breath and jeering, “And I assume that they came up with a song for you too?”

“And dance steps to match,” Audrey said stiffly, and he laughed until she thought he might choke and she smacked him hard on the back. When the moment subsided, he stood back up, smoothing out his bathrobe and becoming all dignity and sophistication again and she marveled at this, “What were you like in school?” she asked angrily.

Percy was too busy cleaning his glasses off on the sleeve of his bathrobe but he jerked at the question before putting them back on. “I was a complete bore, Ms. Tang. But I got good grades and kept younger students in line, I took my job very seriously.” He said with a derisive sniff.

Audrey could imagine him patrolling hallways and breaking up kissing couples in the corners and felt herself laughing. He had a certain pompousness for that sort of thing, “I bet you were really disliked by the student too.” She was just guessing but he pursed his lips, confirming the question, “did you get all the girls too while you were there? I bet they found your snobbery oh-so sexy.”

“…Ms. Tang, sarcasm doesn’t become you.” Percy responded dryly and when she glanced over at him, she could see that he was blushing. So cute! Audrey stared at him for so long that he flinched and turned her head away with his finger, “you shouldn’t stare. It’s rather rude and no, girls never found my snobbery attractive, my brother Bill was the charmer.”

She grinned a little and wondered if they didn’t get along as they rounded a corner, the crappy burger joint not nearly as crowded as it had been their first night there and Audrey whooped a little bit before commenting. “I bet he was really hot too and had tons of babes on his package,”

Percy muttered something under his breath and Audrey turned to stare up at him, seeing some old flash of envy cross his features. “I was never as handsome as any of my other brothers so I suppose it was hard not to notice other girl’s reactions to them. But thank you Ms. Tang for putting your eloquent touch onto things.”

Audrey frowned up at him and shrugged, annoyed. “How was I supposed to know your brother was hot? You don’t see me asking where he lives and if he wants to get busy, do you?” she asked sourly and Percy opened his mouth to reprimand her but she snapped, “I want to get in your trousers and steal your virginity. You don’t need to be so grumpy,”

There was a slight silence between them after this proclamation and Audrey didn’t think that he would say anything else but he murmured warningly. “You shouldn’t want something you can’t handle.” Audrey felt as if he had smacked her across the face and she was about to say something very smart to that comment but her stomach chose that moment to growl obnoxiously and he asked dryly, “hungry?”

Audrey nodded and she felt her fingers reaching up to finger his bathrobe a little bit, wondering what it was made out of. Percy allowed it, waiting for her to respond and she nodded, “You saw me dancing up there! I get worn out and those heels were pinching the life out of my feet, see?” she pointed down to her bare toes, which were very pink.

Percy looked as well and made a face and Audrey shot him a glare for it but he shook his head in heavy distaste before saying curtly. “You push yourself far too hard, Ms. Tang. Though I must say, I enjoyed seeing you in red,” he murmured and a blush crept into her cheeks and she wondered when it became so easy for her to blush whenever he said something to her.

“You know, when I blush, everything turns red.” Audrey replied seductively and Percy had the audacity to blush himself and she roared with laughter. “What’s it going to take to get you to come home with me tonight? I’d give you a free tour.” He shot her a heated look before glancing away quickly and they walked the remainder of the distance to the burger joint in a tense silence until she said, “I’m starved, I could gobble you up Percy.”

When she glanced over at him, he was blushing even harder and that had her roaring with laughter and causing a few people to glare over their shoulders at them. But Audrey was too busy smacking Percy on the back to notice and she had a feeling that the night was just getting started.

~.~

“How have you never been to a movie? Percy!” Audrey cried in true astonishment as she stared across from him some time later, a mountain of food between them.  The crappy burger joint offered beer as well and she now wagged her empty bottle at him, nearly hitting him in the face as this disbelief crashed through her. “I just can’t imagine where you come from!”

Percy frowned at her a little as he tipped his beer back and drank from it with civilized swallows that were far more cultured than the gulps that she had taken. She was wary though, as she was quite sure that he couldn’t handle his cups as well as he might have thought and he lowered the bottle for a moment or two and asked sharply, “Do you think you could get a medal for being so rude, Ms. Tang?” and she burst out laughing.

Audrey just couldn’t understand the sort of life that he might have had and she was thinking of all sorts of scenarios. “Probably. Come on, ask me something about myself, I’ve been asking you questions all night but you don’t answer any of them,” she remarked annoyingly and any question that had some sort of real depth into his character was dodged abruptly.

“All right then. When did you start…dancing?” Percy asked and she saw from the narrowing of his eyes that he had thought about this often. The Poe book that he had borrowed from her was safely tucked in her bag but Audrey suddenly felt that this question was far scarier than anything in between those pages, “I’d like to know.”

“I started three years ago after I lost my other job at a supermarket. Apparently, you’re not supposed to kick the customers in the groin for copping a feel of your ass but, what did I know?” Audrey asked dryly and to her annoyance, he laughed. She frowned at him but continued on, feeling the same sense of desperation going through her bones that she’d had when she’d been briefly without some way to pay her bills, “anyway, Pamela remembered me from the supermarket and got me the job at Bare Back.”

“That was rather nice of her. But why didn’t you work elsewhere?” Percy asked with some bit of annoyance that she couldn’t quite place. It was more than apparent that he found it very demeaning for her to be in the sort of profession she’d chosen, “that environment can’t be healthy for you.”

Audrey wanted to tell him that it wasn’t and that she hated working there but she found herself falling silent. She wasn’t sure if she could tell him so much or if he would understand or if she dared to open that sort of closeness with a person, “…It’s not the best place but it’s a place.” Percy considered this answer for a moment, “where do you work?”

Percy took a few more swallows of his beer, his eyes hooded a little with his own thoughts and she spent a moment running her eyes over him. He looked tired and unhappy, even more so than she’d noticed before, as if something were eating him alive, “I work for a very important person in a stuffy, boring office with nothing but parchment and noisy coworkers.”

Audrey thought for a moment that he might work in some sort of law firm and she suddenly pictured him there, brooding and bored to death. It somehow didn’t suit him, he had this sort of reckless energy about him that was almost unsettling as much as intriguing, “Wait—did you just say parchment?” she asked in surprise, and he blinked. “I think they stopped using that hundreds of years ago.”

Percy looked a bit uncomfortable, as if he had said something he hadn’t been supposed to and she saw his cheeks turning pink. Oddly, he was embarrassed, as if she were going to make fun of him but Audrey waved it away, which only made him turn pinker, “It’s sort of like working backwards.” He muttered, glancing at her and turning redder, “it’s hard to get new ideas into someone’s head after they’ve been used to a specific system for years.”

Audrey nodded in understanding. It reminded her a little of her father, who had been a drunk and hadn’t found any interest in changing whatsoever and it had broken her mother to pieces and at the thought of her—so small and kind reduced to nothing, she almost burst into tears. “…I’m sure,” she managed after a while.

Percy seemed to sense that her mind was elsewhere and he made a great show of piling all of their trash before offering. “Would you like me to walk you home? I think we’ve had enough for tonight, I need to be getting home myself.” Audrey was startled, no one had ever offered to walk her home, unless they were prepared to get some and she blushed. “I am not insinuating that I want…” her guest trailed off uncomfortably, “saying that I don’t would be a lie but it’s not what you need.”

“How do you know what I need?” Audrey asked hotly.

“You have no idea what sort of person I am and that, Ms. Tang is a good thing. But we’ll continue our game some other time, when we’re both a bit more stable.” Percy said kindly and she flushed in annoyance but watched as he stood up from the table and offered her his hand.

Audrey took it and felt a bolt of electric shock go down her back and she watched his eyes widen behind his glasses. Hastily, she stood and released him, increasingly unnerved but unable to stop her cheeks from turning red and her body from melting, “We barely talked about one another. You know,” she said as they made their way out, “you can trust me.”

Percy stiffened a little at the words and he shot her an ironic glance. “Really, that doesn’t sound like you at all.” Audrey knew that it didn’t but she wanted him to. While they walked, she gave him her address and he eventually said, “I’ll think about it.” Audrey felt a smile brimming as they walked side by side for a while and she was surprised when he said, shyly, “I’ll come and see you in another week after I have some time off from work. Would that be all right?”

The fact that he wanted to spoke volumes for Audrey and she felt her heart nearly exploding with hope and she quickly destroyed it. “That’s fine. I’ll be waiting for you.” These words came out before she could stop them but Percy seemed to soak them in, a flicker of a smile on his face.

Okay, there you all go! After this I think I'm going back to A Force of Wills and then after that Memories so sit tight! :D