Charmed and Dangerous [o]

[JOHNNY TOWNSEND]

It seemed he had chosen the busiest day to do his school shopping, as Johnny joined the back of yet another queue. This time, it was the small Apothecary that was crowded and stuffy. He felt claustrophobic the moment he had stepped inside, and his foot tapped irritably as he waited to be served. He would have no such luck when it came to being quick in this shop, as pre-ordering things wasn't possible, as it had been at the robe shop. He would just have to wait it out and try to take shallow breaths.

It was torturous. The longer he stood there, the more people piled into the room, and the more the draft from the front door wafted the smells around, and between that, and the ridiculous summer heat outside making everyone hot and sweaty, Johnny felt like he was living a nightmare. He couldn't stand there all day. He'd never get the rest of his shopping done, and not because of time limitations. Purely because he would be that annoyed and frustrated by the time he got out of there, that he would have to go home and spend five hours in the shower just to feel normal again.

Glancing around, he leaned to one side, giving himself a better view of the front of the line. There was a girl there, maybe his age, or a few years younger. She stepped up to the counter and put in her request to the gnarly man serving today. "I'd like a seventh year Potions kit, please?" Ok, so she was Johnny's age. He decided to seize the moment. Stepping out of his place in the queue, he discreetly shoved himself past people until he reached the girl at the front.

"Excuse me?" he got her attention by placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "Can you make that two seventh year kits, please," he instructed the man, bravely, trying to act as tough it was perfectly normal for someone to push in line and be so cheeky. He turned his attention to the girl, putting on his most charming look, pale blue eyes burning into hers as he allowed a light smile to play on his lips. It usually worked, and he hoped this girl wasn't much different from the rest. "I hope you don't mind," he murmured. "I'm in a huge rush. Take this." Pushing the money for the Potions Kit into her hand, he hoped beyond hope he would get away with it.

[DELILAH EVERETT]

She should of come here earlier and saved herself from the crowds, but no she had left her potion's supplies for last. The first time she had entered the shop, she spent less than 10 minutes in it before she was on the verge of hyperventilating and had to escape outside to calm herself down. She was contemplating not even getting her required Potion's kit, she wasn't even a fan of the class anyways as it was in a dingy classroom with no windows that often triggered her claustrophobia as well. When she finally gained the nerve to enter the shop again, it was more crowded then ever but she was determined to make it through.

Standing her position in line had been difficult for her. The entire time she kept reminding herself to take steady even breaths and relax her shoulders ever so often. She had been waiting in line for almost three quarters of an hour this time before it was her turn, and boy had it been the longest three quarters of an hour in her life. Her head was spinning, her breathing uneven and it took great effort to move her legs even farther away from the door and into the shop. "I'd like a seventh year Potions kit, please?" she requested with her four gallons already counted out in her hands. Hand the money over, get her potions supplies and escape outside as quickly as possible – that was her plan.

When another body squeezed next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, she felt paralyzed. She felt a few more coins being pressed into the palm of her hands after he butted in line with her and requested another set of seventh year supplies. If she hadn't been so terrified she was going to become trapped in the shop forever, she probably would of shoved the fellow seventh year away and told him to get to the back of the line. There was so many people around her. So little space for everyone. She couldn't even simply extend her arm to hand over the requested payment.

Clutching her books and robes in one arm and holding eight gallons in her other hand, she finally turned towards the guy that had claimed to be in a hurry. Distantly, in the back of her mind she recognized him. She knew him, a seventh year like her. Her face was one of panic and her eyes flicked to the doorway Dread filled her as she saw the crowd of people blocking her from a quick exit. She closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe deeply and focus. In. Out. In. Out. Don't hyperventilate. Helplessly she glanced up at the male beside her. Johnny, right, she knew him. The fact that he had been in her DADA class when they faced the Boggart surfaced to her mind. She almost pleaded with her eyes for him to put two and two together and understand she was having a panic attack from her claustrophobia.

[JOHNNY TOWNSEND]

The girl did nothing. Johnny frowned, smiling at the shop assistant as he gave her a discreet, sideways nudge. She didn't respond. Finally turning to face her, Johnny realized that he couldn't even see her face properly, since her hair hung down over most of it, as she stood there, clinging to her bags of shopping like they were some sort of life belt. Pausing in confusion, he reached a hand up, and tentatively swept a few locks of hair behind her shoulder, finally revealing her face to him.

"Ohhh, deeeear," he breathed. It was Delilah Everett. And he had seen that look on her face before. As far as he remembered, she had severe claustrophobia, which meant that, right now, she was on the brink of having a full on panic attack. Her body was so rigid she barely moved when he put his arm around her in a feeble attempt to shield her from the crowded bodies packed in around them.

Reaching down, his hand found hers, the one with the money trapped tight inside it, and he managed to worm her fingers free of it and take it from her. Looking up to the shop assistant, he waved a hand in the air to get his attention. "We'll be back in one minute!" he called, pointing to himself and Delilah. He had to get her out of there. Gripping her shoulder firmly, he leaned in to her ear. "Come on, you wait outside and I'll get our stuff," he told her, pulling her through the crowds toward the door.

It was a lot more of a challenge than he had thought it would be, since there were not only adults and teenagers crammed in there, but families with babies and prams that he needed to dodge around. "Just breathe," he murmured to Delilah as he steered her around, the door finally coming into reach. Allowing an old woman to pass by first, he grabbed the handle and whipped the door open, expecting some sort of breeze and lure of freedom. Instead they were greeted by a sluggish, over-heated street. Still, as far as Delilah was concerned, Johnny figured anything would be better than being inside the Apothecary. He shoved her out the door in front of him, following her to make sure she was ok, before he would return for their things.

"You gonna hyperventilate on me again or something?" he asked, looking her over with apprehension. DADA class had been quite the episode. "Will you be ok here while I go and get our Potions Kits?" He flapped his hands at her face in a gallant attempt to cool her down. Or something.

[DELILAH EVERETT]

She tried to move and shake him off when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He wasn't making it better, he was making it worse. She couldn't help but to think her attack was his fault. She had been managing just fine until he showed up and invaded her personal space more. A small rational voice in the back of her mind knew that he hadn't been trying to ruin her day. She wasn't even sure he knew who she had been until moments ago. The rational voice was being temporarily blocked though. The walls pulling in and making the room smaller were far more demanding of her attention. All she was taking now was short shallow breaths, feeling like she was going to faint if this didn't get under control immediately.

Her focus wasn't constant anymore. She was moving away from the counter empty handed before she realized what was going on. Johnny was pulling her towards the door, weaving though the families and their baby strollers. Wait, she had suffered through all that and she didn't even have her Potions Kit? Great, now she was pissed off. He told her to ”Just breathe”. Right, had she stopped? She wasn't sure, but now she was conscious of every shallow breath. “Out,” she whispered just in case he had momentarily forgot their destination goal. She shifted anxiously as they waited for the elderly woman to pass.

Her legs moved on their own accord as he pushed her outside ahead of him. It took her a few moments to realize the the successful escape Johnny helped pull off for her. She was grateful at first for his help, even if the air outside was just as muggy and hot as it was inside. At least she wasn't crammed in a little shop filled with a lot of people anymore. Her tense shoulders relaxed, she was feeling sturdier on her feet and her pupils dilated from their pinpoint size they had previously been. "You gonna hyperventilate on me again or something?" At his words she remembered to take even deep breaths once more. Dear Merlin, basic survival skills like breathing properly she was needing to be reminded of now. She hated this, she hated panic attacks from her phobia and she hated Johnny for being just that extra push to trigger it all.

“I would have been okay if you wouldn't of squeezed your way in line beside me. I would have been just fine!” she snapped unnecessarily. Okay, she didn't hate him. She wasn't even really mad at him, she was more mad at herself. She should of recognized the warnings. She shouldn’t of pushed herself so far when she knew what was most likely to happen. She could of just gotten her brother to get her supplies. Never before has being claustrophobic prevented her from doing something so routine. She swatted his flailing hands away from her face, even though the small draft he made had been nice.

Sighing, she realized she he didn't deserve her treating him so harshly. He had come to her aid the moment he knew what was wrong. She should be apologizing and thanking him now. She slumped against the building exhausted, but couldn't bring herself to say what she should. Instead, she asked in a soft voice, “Could you just go get our supplies, please?”

[JOHNNY TOWNSEND]

Johnny's eyes shot into his hairline as Delilah snapped at him. Well, what a great way to thank someone for saving your arse from a panic attack. Or whatever it was she was having. Or doing. Dropping his hands as she swatted at them and slumped against the wall, he frowned at her, and gave her a look. It was a look that couldn't have been mistaken, no matter who was on the receiving end of it and how well they knew him. It blatantly said "you're pushing it, there, but I'm gonna overlook it if you stop right now". He didn't like being rubbed up the wrong way by anyone. The fact that Delilah was sort of a friend, and in a bit of a vulnerable position at that moment, was all that was keeping him from snapping back at her.

"Wait here. I'll be back," he told her, eyes boring holes in her head as he pushed the shop door back open. Of all the cheek! How dare she stand there and say it was all his fault! How was he supposed to know the random girl standing next to him would turn into a crazy person if he stood too close? But then, he supposed he had to admit, he was being a bit cheeky, pushing in like that so he could get out of there faster. With a sigh, he wove his way back through the masses of sweaty bodies to the counter, where the shop assistant had begun serving someone else, Johnny and Delilah's potions kits piled up neatly at the side of him, waiting to be collected.

"Sorry about that," he told the man as he sagged against the counter, turning his flapping hands on his own face this time. They really weren't much of a help, so he stopped wafting the stench of Beetle urine into his precious nose and turned his attention to making sure he had the right amount of money in his hand. Eight Galleons. Eight slightly wet from his sweaty hands Galleons. Perfect. Wiping them discreetly on his jeans, Johnny squished himself up against the counter to let the woman next to him slip past, and quickly handed the money over to the shop assistant, trying not to snatch the bag out of his hand as he reached across the counter with it. "Thank you," he called, already having turned his back and began the arduous task of battling his way back outside.

Delilah was still there, waiting for him in the sun. Realizing their things were in the one bag, he pulled his own kit out and bravely tucked it in with his new robes. He would just have to make sure he didn't damage the package, or he'd be wearing stinky, possibly rotten robes all year. "Here," he handed Delilah her things. "Are you ok now? Can we carry on with our day? Because I'd love to spend all day getting shouted at, but I have other things to do." He didn't mean to sound rude. He really did like the girl, but this shopping trip was becoming highly irritating, and he really just wanted to part ways and get on with his life. He would see her at school anyway, since they were in the same house. He would be sure to catch up with her and spend a bit of time trying to erase this unfortunate incident from their lives.






(OOC: Sorry for the abrupt ending. I hope it's ok. I figured it would be appropriate, given the events. Lol And we have the train thread to fix things, too. Haha)

[DELILAH EVERETT]

She was actually surprised with how he had reacted for her bad behavior. How she had expected him to react, she wasn't sure. In her opinion, he was being rather rude to a girl who had just temporarily gone crazy with fear. On the other had, he was still being civil towards her. She thought Johnny was one to not usually take crap like this from anyone. Heck, Delilah knew she would of probably said a few choice words to him if the situation had been reversed. Either way, she pretended not to notice his death glare as he disappeared to go get their supplies.

He came back and made it clear he hadn't appreciated the way she reacted. It was a little bit rude, but yeah, okay, she deserved that. An apology was forming on her lips, but then he was running off before she could get the chance. She was too tired and cranky to go running after him too. Moments later, she caught sight of her brother with his school supplies. She waved at him relieved. Good, now they could finally go home and get away from this wretched Apothecary.

ooc: haha i was thinking about ending this quickly too. i wasn't surprised when you did. haha, no one wants to stick around with cranky Delilah.