slow it down , open

[apollo samuel bryant]

[atrb=border,0,true] [style=background-image:url(http://i48.tinypic.com/10pdc20.png); width: 300px; height: 200px; margin-right:8px;] So perhaps working wasn’t the most glorious thing that he’d ever done but Apollo absolutely loved his job. Honeydukes had always been one of his favorite shops when he was still attending Hogwarts and the fact that he had managed to land a job underneath the new owner was amazing to him. Of course, it also meant that he had to work out a lot more these days because all he did was stuff his face with candy when there was downtime in the shop. Weekends meant that he got to see his siblings though, which was another great reason for landing this job. It meant he could still be close to them though he wasn’t technically at the school. It was a nice way to stay in contact. Apollo lifted one of the boxes in the back room and carried it out to the front, the real reason he had been hired after all was the fact that he could easily heft stuff around to restock it. He set the box down in the main room because they were incredibly slow a the moment, which mean that he could restock. He pulled the box open and started moving items into their proper bins. Sure he could use magic but he never felt quite as accomplished when he restocked that way. Plus, he knew that if he finished up quickly he was going to be bored, sitting at the counter and popping bertie botts beans into his mouth. Not an awful way to spend the day but he’d rather be busy in all honesty. [/style]

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[abigail margaret winthrop]

I want my cake and I want to eat it too, I want to have fun and be in love with you, I know I’m a mess with my long hair,,

Abby was thrilled to have some time to head down to Hogsmeade. She was happy to just have some time to herself, and in light of her recent uptick in chocolate consumption she realized that she was desperately in need of more. Typically she kept her trunk well stocked with all sorts of goodies; teas, dried fruits, chocolates, nuts, candies, and other little goodies that made the experience of being away from home that much better. Her grandfather was keen on sending her sweets as well, but she treasured those more and refused to consume them on a whim. They were one of her few links to home, and eating them was more of a savory experience than it was an impulsive decision.

She’d gotten herself somewhat dressed up, glad for an excuse to get pretty. At school she always felt like it was almost not worth the effort; no one really gave a toss either way, especially not when they were covered with the innards or extracts of various animals, plants, and other unfathomable things from which one could procure extracts. For the most part she spent her time excessively repulsed by the things she had to touch in school, and as a result she kept her routine to a minimum. No need for her to muss up her good clothes when the effort went unnoticed anyway.

Unfortunately for Abby, she wasn’t very good at being alone, despite the fact that she often craved alone-time. In fact, it was often difficult for her to decide whether she actually wanted company or to be alone; when she was alone she craved company, and when she was with company she usually craved to be alone. Perhaps she just wasn’t keeping the proper company, though the variety of quality company in the castle was fairly limited.

It was late afternoon by the time she got down, though she wasn’t too worried about staying out later than she should have. Upon entering the shop she inhaled, the intoxicating scent of sugary confections filling her head and making her smile. After doing a brief survey of her surroundings she laid eyes on quite the piece of man meat—he made the candies looks bland in comparison. She took a few moments just to mull about the store, horrified that she might say something embarrassing, but eventually she plucked up the courage to say something.

”Excuse me, but would you mind terribly helping me for a moment?” she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. If she was going to do this—any of it, really—she was going to do it right. First and foremost, she wanted to grasp the boy’s attention for as long as humanly possible without seeming weird or excessively needy. And then, secondly put perhaps equally importantly, she wanted to make sure she got only the choicest chocolates to bring back with her.

&& my suntan, short dress, bare feet, I don’t care what they say about me, what they say about me, you make me happy, and I never listen to anyone

[apollo samuel bryant]

[atrb=border,0,true] [style=background-image:url(http://i48.tinypic.com/10pdc20.png); width: 300px; height: 200px; margin-right:8px;] Apollo had managed to restock three of the shelves before he heard the door open. He hated the little bell that hung above it but he knew that it was necessary in case he was in the back room. But honestly, he didn’t spend enough time back there for the stupid bell to be necessary. It had become like nails on a chalkboard to him in the last two years. He lifted his eyes to take in the person who had walked in. As his eyes caught the blonde he let them linger for a moment as she took in the shop before he turned his eyes back to the work at hand. In the past she would have been the instant target of his flirtation and smiles, but today he wouldn’t let himself get close to anyone like that. Sure he was still charming when the time called for it and he could still be friendly, but obvious flirting was no longer part of his life. He missed it sometimes like he was sure he would today, but it would take a hell of a lot for him to become like that again. His hands were buried in the box as she spoke to him. Apollo lifted his eyes from his work once more and his lips tilted up in a smile. “That’s part of the reason I work here. What can I help you with?” He tilted his head to the side slightly as he asked, an old habit that refused to leave him. He then turned his attention back to the packages of candy in his hands. He set them down on the shelf and opened them one after another before he started pulling out the pieces and organizing them in the bins so the display would be presentable. A bit of a tedious job, yes, considering the kids that came in and screwed it up horribly later but he liked for things to look nice. At least in the store anyway. Apollo emptied the bags quickly and then turned his attention back on her, drinking in her appearance. She was beautiful and he had no problem admitting that to himself. He had always been rather fond of blonde hair, mostly because his was so dark he imagined and he liked the contrast. But when he was in school he had been fond of just about anything that walked and was female. So he wasn’t entirely sure where his interest lay anymore. “Maybe I could suggest some candy to you? Its pretty much all I do with my time now…eat candy that is.” Apollo gave a short chuckle as his eyes danced over her face. It was going to be hard to forget that face after today. [/style]

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[abigail margaret winthrop]

I want my cake and I want to eat it too, I want to have fun and be in love with you, I know I’m a mess with my long hair,,

As it were, the boy was more attractive than she’d initially anticipated. That smile was adorable, and it took her a few moments to register what he said in her distraction. She supposed what he said was true, though she still didn’t like to bother people when they looked like they were busy. And he made no effort to stop his work, which was fine—she probably wouldn’t have either.

”Fair. I suppose you wouldn’t be a very good shopkeep if you were massively peeved by my request, now would you?” Goodness, his smile was divine. She returned his smile with one of her own, one that finally didn’t feel too forced. It had been a while since she’d felt that—a genuine smile for a genuinely promising situation. She saw no poor outcome to this set-up; she got to soak up the ultimate eye candy while purchasing some real candy for consumption. The only downside would be if he saw her as a total fatty considering the amount of sweets she was about to buy, though he was probably used to that given that he worked in a candy store.

His next suggestion was a relief to her—it both took off the pressure of her feeling like she was going to come off as the ultimate fatty. She didn’t ignore the sweep of his eyes over her face, and was actually quite pleased to see it. ”Some suggestions would be grand, thanks. I’m looking for some chocolates, but nothing… you know, too weird. I don’t want anything… spicy, or anything that explodes. I prefer things to be… creamy. Soft. Soothing. Luxurious. Simple enough, yeah?”

She shrugged her shoulders lightly—it shouldn’t be too rough of an order. Glancing from him to the shelves she arched an eyebrow. ”Eating candy all day? Rough life you’ve got,” she said, her lips twisting up into another smile. She made a mental note never to work in a candy shop—as great as having unlimited access to candy sounded, she knew it would do no favors to her waistline.

For a moment or two she watched him move, her eyes moving from his face to his arms. Goodness, she was a sucker for arms. He was fabulously bulky, and she wondered for a self-defeating moment what it might be like to have those arms supporting her, perhaps doing something less than savory. She was taken aback by her own thought; she was still a virgin, and she intended to stay that way for as long as possible. But she couldn’t help herself. Perhaps it was just that he was actually an attractive boy, unlike most of the boys in the castle, and he didn’t look like a man-child so much as just straight-up man. ”Lead the way?” she chirped, holding her hand out for him to direct her.

&& my suntan, short dress, bare feet, I don’t care what they say about me, what they say about me, you make me happy, and I never listen to anyone

[apollo samuel bryant]

[atrb=border,0,true] [style=background-image:url(http://i48.tinypic.com/10pdc20.png); width: 300px; height: 200px; margin-right:8px;] Apollo laughed softly and shook his head. He imagined he would be fired on the spot if he didn’t actually help people out that came into the store. But as it was he probably did more than he needed to in the long run. He figured that was probably the reason that he was left here by himself most of the time, except for busy weekends where the students flooded the store. They were generally cleared out by this time, which was why he was currently working alone. That and people other than him had more important things to do with their time. Him…this was his life now. “I would probably be fired on the spot. But luck has it that I’m a pretty great shopkeep when left by myself.” He flashed her another warm smile as he picked up the empty box and tossed it back into the back room. It made a soft thump as it hit the ground in the back and he turned to look at her once more. That was at least one more thing done of things that he needed to finish up tonight. He had a lot of straightening to do around the place still but he didn’t want to start that until maybe twenty minutes before close. Nothing annoyed him more than fixing something so close to close and having it torn down again. Apollo bit at his bottom lip lightly as she gave her description of what kind of chocolates she liked. “Well you really made this a lot harder. You just narrowed the list down to not including any of the fun candy. I love the ones that are charmed in crazy ways.” He grinned as he said it, knowing that it was honestly what started his obsession with candy in the first place. Wizard candy was one of the greatest things ever invented. Apollo pushed his hand back through his hair and then started scanning the shelves, pulling items down as he did so. He came back to where she stood and laid the items down on the top of the nearest low shelf. “Alright so…let me just list all of these off. You’ll probably be interested somewhat in most of them.” Apollo couldn’t help the smile that had come across his face. Sure he was smart enough to do all kinds of things with his life but nothing would ever compare to candy. Not since Melanie. “Let’s see here. We have Chocoballs, Chocolate Cauldrons, the ever popular Chocolate Frogs, Chocolate Skeletons though they tend to moan and howl before you eat them, chocolate wands, or your regular old chocolate bars. Pretty decent selection and all of them are pretty great. Not too heavily charmed either.” Apollo nodded his head once, proud of his insanely childish candy knowledge. [/style]

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[abigail margaret winthrop]

I want my cake and I want to eat it too, I want to have fun and be in love with you, I know I’m a mess with my long hair,,

Abby watched as the box was tossed aside, trying to keep herself from drooling. It wans’t even like he’d done anything that impressive—he’d thrown an empty box, how hard was that?—but the sheer movement of it was reminiscent enough of something better. She moistened her lips slightly with her tongue, giving a short laugh when he mentioned that he’d probably be fired on the spot.

”We wouldn’t want that now, would we? I’d have to go back to getting my candy from the crotchety old lady who used to work here. And no offense to her, but I’d much rather be helped by someone… a bit more fit. Like you, ” she added cheerfully, with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Or, in other words, someone that she drooled over more than she drooled over the candy she was purchasing, and had muscles that would keep her coming back.

When he bit his lip like that she almost wanted to take back her former requirements, although it would leave her with something she was terrified to eat. No wonder they hired him—his success as a salesman to all the hormonal girls cooped up in the castle must almost be effortless.

”I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to my chocolate,” she admitted, ”Though you could probably convince me to try something a tad more adventurous when it comes to my other candies.” To say she was a purist about chocolate was only covering the tip of the iceberg—she was something of a purist about everything, really. Food, exercise, clothing, boys, sex, alcohol. Wine over beer, champagne over whiskey, mohitos over Jaeger bombs. Carrots over crisps, designer over generic. Boys? Well… perhaps she wasn’t so much of a purist in her taste in men so much as her actions with them.

She listened attentively when he began listing off the various kinds. Most of them sounded good, save for the screechy skeletons. ”Extensive,” she said with a smile, a bit surprised at his thoroughness. Though she supposed if she were to sit with candy all day, free to sample, she’d probably have a fairly good idea of what was around as well. ”I think I’ll pass on the skeletons, though—I’m positive I’d forget some night and scare the shit out of my mates,” she said with a short laugh, positive that she’d be the least favorite girl in the dorm if something like that occurred during a late-night chocolate binge.

”I do think I’ll take some o the Chocoballs, a Chocolate Cauldron, two chocolate frogs… and probably a few bars of the standard chocolate. Or more than a few.” she tilted her head a bit, fingering the chocolate bars and picking a few up, turning them over in her hands to examine the ingredients and descriptions.

Glancing back up at him, loathe to let him slip away that easily, she leaned back against the counter, checking once first to make sure she wouldn’t knock anything over. ”So, now that we’ve covered the chocolates I’m not too afraid to eat, what are some of your personal favorites? Rather, which provide the most… intense? Reactions.”

She wasn’t terribly against trying any, and if it meant she got to loiter longer in the store, she was happy to put herself up to looking like an idiot for a few minutes while she tested out some of the candies in-store. Besides, he looked like he could use some company anyway, and she couldn’t find a reason why she shouldn’t be the one to supply him with that.

&& my suntan, short dress, bare feet, I don’t care what they say about me, what they say about me, you make me happy, and I never listen to anyone

[apollo samuel bryant]

[atrb=border,0,true] [style=background-image:url(http://i48.tinypic.com/10pdc20.png); width: 300px; height: 200px; margin-right:8px;] Apollo laughed lightly. He knew exactly who she was talking about. Luckily, most of the staff had now been replaced by younger people like him and all of them knew their candy pretty well. They also knew how to sell the candy to the kids at school, mostly because they weren’t too far from the doors of it themselves in terms of graduating. Hell he was only twenty so he really knew how to talk kids into buying candy, especially the younger years that got to come out here for their first trip and then ended up blowing all of their money in the store because of him or Imogen. It was actually really strange to see the way that people bought candy when the two of them talked them into it. “Well I don’t plan on going anywhere. And they’d have to really try hard to find a reason to fire me. I basically live here.” He laughed lightly, knowing how true that honestly was. He didn’t like being home because it reminded him of how alone he was with Melanie gone. So he tended to stay here as long as he possibly could, even after the bosses had tried to shove him out the door to take a vacation or something of the sort. “So all of your candy will probably come from me from now on.” Apollo pushed his hand back through his hair and leaned against the shelves that he had been stocking. A purist when it came to chocolate. Something told him that it came to more than just chocolate but he wasn’t going to pry. He had just met her and prying wasn’t something that he did unless someone looked like they could use it, which was rare in the store. “You definitely need someone to talk you into something else. You’re missing half the fun of the candy in this place.” The reactions were what drew him here in the first place all those years ago. He hadn’t left since honestly. He watched as she went through the chocolate that he had suggested for her, glad that he had been able to pick out ones that she’d probably enjoy. “You’d probably also like some raspberry chocolate. I have a few bars of that left if you want them. We haven’t ordered more yet because they’re not that popular.” Apollo gave a little chuckle and shrugged his shoulders up. People didn’t like the plain chocolate much around here. He grinned broadly. “Well pepper imps are my all time favorite candy, but that’s because there’s something about charmed candy that makes me happy. Besides that I’m particularly fond of exploding bonbons, fizzing whizzbees, and ice mice. All pretty standard candies in here but some with the best charms on them.” He crossed his arms lightly over his chest. “I can let you try a few if you like. I have a package of pepper imps back here that I’ve already opened.” He motioned behind the counter. He couldn’t work a shift without eating some sort of candy. It was a horrible habit. [/style]

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[abigail margaret winthrop]

I want my cake and I want to eat it too, I want to have fun and be in love with you, I know I’m a mess with my long hair,,

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”I think its safe to say that that is one of the smartest decisions Honeydukes has ever made for its sales,” she said with a smile, raising her eyebrows slightly. It was an honest answer—it was almost definite that she would be coming her much more often simply based on the fact that this lovely hunk of man was going to be here to assist her.

The fact that he had the opposite candy profile as her was almost irrelevant, if not downright exciting. It also gave her an excuse to come down simply to try new things that might have come in, and she was more than happy to do that on a regular basis, even if it meant upping the amount of exercise she was going to have to do to keep herself from having to roll herself down to the candy store.

”Well, then, I think I’ve met my match in you,” she said, though it didn’t come out quite as well as she’d wanted it to. Immediately she felt somewhat flustered by how childish and petite she felt in his presence, and she felt somewhat embarrassed by herself—a feeling she experienced often, though not generally for this reason.

Sighing a bit, she looked over the candy with anxiety. ”The raspberry sounds fantastic, really,” she said, though she couldn’t say the same for any of the candies she’d just listed. Glancing up at him with a nervous smile she shrugged, trying to pull off that cool and confident thing that she’d never really been any good at in the first place.

”Fabulous,” she said, more than a little sarcastically, then softening. ”I mean, no, really, that sounds grand,” she said, a more genuine smile cropping up this time. ”I’ve actually not heard of any of those things before, so I guess I’l have a lot of taste testing to do in the coming year.” Yes, that was why she’d be coming back so often. The taste testing, not the fabulous hunk of man meat in front of her.

”But remember, I’m placing my faith and my physical well being in your hands. If I choke or have some other terrible, adverse reaction, it’s all your fault and I will force you to make it up to me.”

Placing her other chocolates on the counter for storage she grinned. ”So, lets begin, shall we?”

&& my suntan, short dress, bare feet, I don’t care what they say about me, what they say about me, you make me happy, and I never listen to anyone...

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[apollo samuel bryant]

[atrb=border,0,true] [style=background-image:url(http://i48.tinypic.com/10pdc20.png); width: 300px; height: 200px; margin-right:8px;] Apollo felt his cheeks redden slightly. He knew that she probably didn’t mean it quite the way that he took it but he couldn’t help the color that came to his cheeks regardless. “Well I can only hope that I help their sales. If their sales increase I can probably sweet talk myself into a raise so I can get a better place to stay.” He smiled at her though it was smaller this time, the embarrassment not fully fading yet. And then she added onto it more without meaning to. However he could tell that she was also slightly embarrassed this time so it made him feel better. Perhaps neither one of them was very good at this whole ordeal, he thought. Which made him more comfortable with her but he wasn’t sure how to deal with it regardless. Not anymore. “It helps to have someone around who is obsessed with candy.” He gave her another smile and reached down behind the counter. He grabbed his bag of pepper imps and set it on top in between them, giving up in restocking for the time being. She was much more interesting than the candy was going to be for the rest of the day. “Raspberry it is. Here…let me go grab you a couple.” Apollo held up his hand to indicate that he’d be right back and he disappeared into the back room. He was only gone for a few seconds though because he knew the layout of this place like the back of his hand. He grinned as he came back to the counter and laid down two bars of the raspberry chocolate. “I kept two back there in case you decide you like it and want to come back.” He shrugged his shoulders up like it wasn’t a big deal, but he knew that really he had left them back there because he wanted her to come back. Apollo laughed lightly and nodded his head at her. “I’ll take all of that into account. Trust me…you’re safe with me.” He gave another small chuckle as he popped open the bag of pepper imps and then reached forward grabbing her hand. He turned it gently palm up and then placed one of the imps in her hand. He then reached in and grabbed another for himself. “I’ll even eat mine first if it’ll make you feel better. They’re like pepper mints but with a bit of a twist.” He smiled warmly at her and then popped his imp into his mouth. It took a few seconds for the charm to activate once in his mouth, but then smoke started billowing from his nose and his ears. He smiled like a kid on Christmas. Candy was the only thing that could truly get that sort of reaction out of him these days. [/style]

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[abigail margaret winthrop]

I want my cake and I want to eat it too, I want to have fun and be in love with you, I know I’m a mess with my long hair,,

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Abby wasn’t sure if the fact that her comment caused his cheeks to redden made her more pleased with herself or more unsettled. Was that a good blush or a bad blush? Was there really any difference? Had she merely made him uncomfortable with her comment, or was it something else? She felt intensely self-conscious about her age, though she wanted to continue to play it off. Certainly he’d have to know she was a student already, right? Well, if he didn’t know, she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him.

”Oh, I think you’re going to be quite the hit. Drive sales straight through the ceiling, without a doubt. Even if all of the sales will be coming from me…” She beamed at him with an over-wide smile and a short, casual shrug. ”And a better place to stay? Where do you stay, if you don’t mind my asking? I mean, I know Hogsmeade isn’t exactly packed full of prime real estate, but it can’t be all too terrible?”

Of course she probably wasn’t exactly sounding encouraging, though she hoped that at least she didn’t seem like she was getting all stalker-like on him. She was simply curious, and he seemed like a good enough sport to take it in stride. She watched him move to the back room, exhaling a breath that she didn’t know she’d been holding. A hand moved to her stomach and she realized she was not only holding her breath but holding on other things, and she was glad to have a moment to breathe.

It wasn’t along moment, however, and he was back again. ”Sorted!” she said, flashing him another toothy smile. ”How kind of you,” she said, trying not to sound prattish. ”They better still be here waiting for me when I choose to come back, though. I don’t think I’d be able to handle the disappointment of coming around and having it not be here waiting for me.”

Well, that was only a loosely veiled metaphor, though an honest one. It obviously wasn’t so much about the chocolates as it was about this newly discovered, candy-loving hunk who was almost required to accommodated her every wish… within the context of the candy store, naturally, but that was good enough for her. When she said he was safe with her she nodded once, sighing shallowly.

”I’m trusting you, then. Do your worst,” she said, watching him as he explained the candy. She felt better with him eating the candy first, but not for long. ”For fucks sake!” She said, taking a step back as the smoke clouded the room for a few moments, then stopped. ”Christ, is that at all enjoyable?” she asked, moderately taken aback. She couldn’t even imagine what that might feel like, unless it was some sort of optical illusion. After her initial shock she laughed quietly, shaking her head.

She looked down at the one in her hand, afraid more of how she was going to react than anything else. ”Well, er… here we go,” she said, voice wavering uncertainly. She popped it into her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut as she waited for the charm to work. ”Oh!” she squeaked, her eyes flashing open suddenly as it kicked in. Laughing, she shook her head, the tendrils of smoke swaying back and forth as she did so.

When the smoke abated she giggled again, panting softly. ”Well! I’m sure that was… terribly attractive, wasn’t it. Not nearly as terrible as I was expecting though.” She paused for a moment, tilting her head to the side, ”Whats next?” she asked cautiously, looking up at him, her eyes registering both curiosity and anticipation.

&& my suntan, short dress, bare feet, I don’t care what they say about me, what they say about me, you make me happy, and I never listen to anyone...

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