Chapter Nine: Smarmy
They took the West End Guild Tunnel, which put them right in downtown London. For any muggle, the tunnel was just an unusually dark tunnel under a large hill, but for a witch or wizard, it would take you straight to London. It was one of several tunnels, built all throughout England for witches and wizards who preferred to drive cars. Apparently, Oscar preferred to drive, the preference stemming from the great war when anybody could be tracked by the magic that they used. He had kept off the grid and remained mostly in the muggle world to maintain his business, so he was extremely good at driving and enjoyed using the tunnels. Regan had never been through one of the tunnels before, so the transition from rural country to bustling city was truly fascinating. She starred out her window, her eyes soaking in the people and buildings that passed her by.
"Have you ever been to London?" Oskar asked as they slowed to a stop at an intersection. Regan shook her head, never ripping her eyes away from the window.
"Just to the Ministry, but they never let us go out to do anything."
"So I guess I get to pick the restaurant then?" He asked, a childish smile on his face. Regan also smiled, settling back in her seat and glancing over at Oskar.
"I suppose," she muttered. "But just so you know, I'm allergic to strawberries."
"Ah, yes, wouldn't want you dying on our first date."
They pulled up to a sleek restaurant where a carpet lined with photographers waited for them. The picked up their cameras when the car pulled up, but put them down in disappointment when they saw Regan and Oskar get out…all except for one. He was in the middle and he wore an expression of pure shock as Regan caught his eye. With fumbling fingers, he snapped a couple of shots of the pair walking inside, a greedy smile slowly spreading across his face. Regan kept her eyes down, thankful when the heavy glass door closed behind them. Oskar asked for a table in the back, seeing Regan's obvious embarrassment, and the hostess happily complied. They were seated at a quiet booth with a square table covered by a neatly pressed white linen table cloth. She noticed that Oskar smoothed his hands over the edge of the table as if admiring the cloth before looking back up at her.
"So…identification number?" He asked with a cheeky smile. Regan couldn't help but smirk as wine was poured in each of their glasses.
"2M0SS-713-15PB, you?"
"2D2SS-726-26PB." He answered before taking a sip of wine. "There, now we know everything about each other."
Regan cocked an eyebrow, going through the menu to see what she wanted. She hadn't been to a restaurant since her thirteenth birthday, when her parents had taken her to some chain restaurant in her hometown. She began to panic, though, when she saw the prices of the meals and she suddenly realized that she hadn't brought any money with her.
"I'm paying," he quickly said as he read the panic in her vibrant eyes…well, at least they were vibrant to him.
"But it's so expensive." She muttered, already scanning for the cheapest item on the menu. If she ate a basket of bread and sucked on ice cubes, that wouldn't be so bad.
"Order whatever you want; I own my own publishing company, it's not like I'm just scraping by."
His comment was followed by a loud, boisterous laugh. Though other patrons seemed annoyed by the noise, Regan actually found that she liked it. It was warm and full of life…and it reminded her for her father. So when the waiter came to take their order, Regan ordered one of her favorite meals: a half rack of BBQ ribs with an order of chips. Oskar smiled widely when she handed the menu back to the waiter and looked at Oskar expectantly.
"I'll have the same." Oskar said, handing the menu back to the waiter, who looked amused by the unusual dinner order.
"So what kinds of things do you publish?" Regan asked, finally comfortable that they were somewhat alone.
"We take English novels and text books and translate them into French," he explained easily. "We also publish small French novels, from first time novelists looking for a break."
"Sounds much better than my job." Regan muttered, actually taking a drink of the deep burgundy wine. It burned going down her throat and made her want to gag, but she swallowed and just pretended that her eyes didn't sting.
"Have you told your parents about what's going on?" He asked. Regan quickly shook her head.
"I don't even know if my parents are still alive." The admission made her swallow back the lump of tears in her throat. "Lucius says that they're dead, but I don't believe much of what he says."
"That man exudes such a smarmy attitude, it makes me shudder." Regan suddenly began to giggle, earning a curious expression from Oskar. "What's so funny?"
"I don't think smarmy is a word." She said, pushing back a stray strand of hair.
"It is so a word." Oskar argued back with a small chuckle. Regan rolled her eyes.
"It's just the creative phrasing of an author." She easily explained. Oskar scoffed, his laughter booming and hearty.
"Don't make me pull out a dictionary and prove you wrong." Regan smiled, feeling completely at ease. Oskar made her feel like she was a young girl again, when she had been completely content with her life. She decided that she liked him and that she would feel comfortable running away with him. Regan suddenly blushed at the thought of being with him, but Oskar only smiled at the embarrassed look on her face. He found her to be enduring and thought that she was smart and witty. He was thankful that his cousin had called him and made a mental note to thank her. "I like you," Oskar suddenly said, interrupting their comfortable moment of silence.
"I like you too," Regan answered quietly, staring straight into his gray blue eyes and her blush slowly disappearing. "When will we leave for Paris?" She suddenly blurted out.
"I think next weekend, when Lucius will be waist deep with problems in Sweden." Regan nodded. Lucius had found that Sweden had been more stubborn than originally anticipated. He was leaving on Wednesday and coming back Sunday to try and strike up a campaign among the existing death eaters already in Sweden. Curiously, he wasn't going to take Regan with him despite the fact that this would be purely a business trip.
But, as Regan suspected, Lucius would only find her a distraction while he really needed to be working.
So he thought that he was just giving her five days off, when in reality she would be running away with a man that she hardly knew. Of course, Regan would much rather escape with Oskar than spend another week with Lucius since he had put a marriage target on her back.
"Don't worry about the details tonight," Oskar told her. "Just talk, let me get to know you, okay?" He smiled at her, lifting his wine glass as if to toast her. Regan nodded, gently clinking her glass against his.
"Okay."
...
A/N: Short chapter, I know, but isn't Oskar adorable? Also, tomorrow = freedom...sweet freedom!
Dragoon Dave: Oh yeah, shit is going down...in later chapters...
ThePhantomismyLove: Well, all of it's actually been written, but I only update once a week...which is today...always Friday. Please keep reading :)
