Written for Hogwarts Challenges & Assignments - Term 11, Assignment 4: First Aid, Task Twelve, hydrogen peroxide: write about someone with a bubbly personality.

Also written for the Oracle Competition: "We both came to this party with one friend and now they're hooking up obnoxiously and leaving us to fend for ourselves."

Quick note: because this is a meet-cute scenario, Alicia and Angelina don't know Lee and Fred already.


A Welcome Distraction

Oliver's party was a bust. Alicia had been looking forward to getting her flirt on, but so far, nothing. She had picked out an adorable outfit — leather jacket, maroon T-shirt dress, boots — so it wasn't like that was the problem. The problem was that these partygoers didn't appreciate her brilliant fashion sense. They were all too busy gyrating against each other. And speaking of busy...

Her eyes slid over to Angelina, and she felt the tiniest twinge of jealousy. Her best friend was clearly enjoying herself, if the way she had draped herself over the redheaded boy — Fred, she remembered — was any indication. She was happy for the girl, really, but she had kind of hoped Angelina could be her wingwoman, and now there was no chance of that.

No matter. Alicia prided herself on being friendly and chatty, and she knew she could charm some poor soul into talking to her. The night didn't have to be a total waste.

"Hi," she chirped to the dreadlocked boy standing a few feet away and eyeing the spectacle that was Angelina and Fred snogging with a sort of morbid fascination. "You came with Fred, right? I don't think I caught your name."

"Lee," he said, grinning down at her. He was several inches shorter than his friend, but still dwarfed Alicia by a good half a foot. "And who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

Alicia flicked her hair over her shoulder and smiled back. "Alicia. As for the 'pleasure' bit...well, you haven't seen anything yet."

Lee raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

"Not really," Alicia said slyly. "I'm warning you, though, I like to talk. A lot. I've been called 'annoying' and 'tiresome' on more than one occasion."

"I find that hard to believe." Lee's grin had become a smirk.

Alicia laughed and gave him a nudge. "I'm sure that isn't the only thing that's hard for you at the moment."

"Oh, I can guarantee it isn't," Lee chuckled.

"Your secret is safe with me," she winked.

After exchanging a few more suggestive remarks, Alicia decided to push things further along.

"God, I could listen to you talk all day," she said dreamily. "You sound like you could be an announcer or something."

"As a matter of fact, I was," Lee told her. "Back in school, I sometimes announced the sports games."

"Wicked!" Alicia said. She glanced over at Angelina and Fred again. They wouldn't miss either of their friends for a bit, by the look of things. "Our friends seem pretty well occupied. Grab some fresh air with me."

Lee agreed, and she took the opportunity to grab his hand, which he didn't object to. The pair made their way past sweaty, dancing bodies and a table of food before finally reaching the back door.

"After you," Lee said, gesturing outside.

Alicia stepped onto the small porch and shivered. Her bare legs protested the chilly air, and she wished she had chosen to wear something a little more practical.

"Cold?" Lee asked.

"A little," she said truthfully. "Nothing I can't handle, though. Just...distract me, please."

Lee shoved his hands into his pockets. Alicia didn't read that as a defensive gesture, however; she figured he was just trying to ward off the chill. "How?" he asked at last.

"Well, for starters, you can tell me why you came to this party. Do you know Oliver?"

"Yeah, we were mates in school. Well, Fred was, really, but I knew the bloke too. So here we are." Lee nodded at her. "What about you?"

"His girlfriend, Katie, is one of my best friends," she explained.

"Ah, that makes sense."

Alicia wasn't sure how long they stayed outside talking, only that after a while, she stopped noticing the cold and started paying more attention to Lee's warm brown eyes and contagious laugh. She learned that he had a pet tarantula as a child and that he still enjoyed a good practical joke. In return, she told him that she was afraid of lightning and had played for her school's football team.

At some point, she realized that she was standing so close to Lee that their arms were touching, and she felt a shiver run down her spine. She was past the innocent flirting stage now. She wanted more.

Lee was in the middle of telling her about a particularly epic prank he, Fred, and Fred's twin George had pulled on their schoolteacher when she decided to go through with her query.

"Lee," she interrupted, "would you want to go out with me sometime?"

Lee stared at her. Only a few seconds went by, but it was enough time for her to hope that the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

"Never mind," she said quickly, forcing a laugh that sounded strained, fake. "I was only joking."

"That's a shame," Lee said quietly. "I would have said yes."

Alicia's spirits lifted along with the corners of her mouth. "Yeah?"

"I'd be crazy to turn you down," he grinned. "You're the cutest girl here, and probably the funniest, too. And you know what else?"

"What?" She batted her eyelashes at him, shamelessly awaiting any further compliments he might give.

"Those people are wrong. You're not annoying or tiresome. I bet I could spend an entire day with you and not get tired of you," he declared.

"You're on," she giggled, holding her hand out so that they could shake on it.

Lee ended up winning that particular bet.


Word count: 924