Training *open*

Lucas was on edge, and it seemed that nothing he did made him feel any better. The Dark Lord had been vanquished thirteen years before now, but what explained the Death Eaters at the World Cup? All of the auror department had been on high alert ever since the incident over the summer and now Luke was working extra hours, just to be sure he was on top of things.

He was in the large training room located on one of the upper floors of the Ministry, and he had worked himself into quite a sweat. It felt good to be doing something somewhat productive against the dark side, but Lucas still wished he could do more. Now that Sirius Black was no longer a prime suspect in the Pettigrew death, there was not much the Ministry was concerned over. Not that the public knew about, anyway. Basically, they just needed to be more prepared against surprise attacks like the one at the world cup.

Luke stalked around the training room, shooting curses at random dummies and getting ready to obliterate a far-off target, when someone entered unexpectedly. He immediately pointed his wand at the person, before seeing who it was. He slightly lowered it to a less dangerous position, but his defenses were still at an alert level.

"Be careful when you walk in on an auror in training. You might just get your arm blown off if you're not careful."

Rachel wanted to blow something apart. She wanted to rip something at the seams and make it fall into a small little pile of dust at her feet! And who was to blame for this fit of anger? Well her brother of course. She had no real reason either, other than the fact that she was pmsing and she needed someone to beat up. Her brother had usually served as her universal punching bag, and without him being right there it seemed that her anger would build and build until she virtually lost her mind!

Walking into the auror training room she completely disregarded someone being there while she searched for a dummy she could shoot. However before she could aim her wand she found another wand being pointed at her. Of course he lowered it, most likely because he recognized her as Ministry staff, but that still did not change the fact that he had dared to point it at her to begin with.

"Shove that thing up your ass Luke," she hissed. "Before you poke your fucking eye out."

Rachel

Lucas put his wand down at his side and glared at Rachel. She was just acting like a brat. Shelby never mentioned that part about her young step-daughter. He had known Shelby Phillips, now Marks, since school. But they had never been together. Shelby was never interested in him like that. Especially because of his playboy reputation. Plus, it was rumored that she wouldn't put out. So he was content to just be her friend.

"Geez, Rachel. Forget your anti-bitch pills this morning? You know as well as I do that it's true. You do not walk into this room without warning. You could have been a Death Eater."

He turned back swiftly to a dummy and blew the head off with a silent spell. Then he looked back at Rachel and shook his head.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. I would never have really hurt you. Why don't you show me what you've got?" He asked, gesturing to her wand, and then a close-by dummy.

Lucas

Rachel glared at him and balled a fist, she was so prepared to knock his pretty teeth down his throat. She didn't know where all this anger was coming from, but she did not like it. Glaring at him she pulled her wand from her pocket and briefly thought about aiming it at him. Rachel was not shy to Dueling, she had learned a lot from Alec when they would get into fights. However she knew that she was angry enough to point her wand at a dummy and set it on fire. Doing so she glared at the wooden doll and watched pleasantly as the piece of kindle caught flame. She stood in front of him to keep him from putting it out.

"Let it burn, please." she hissed.

Sighing in relief she turned back to the small pile of ash that had gathered on the floor. That had been quite therapeutic, she could not help but wonder how breaking the next one would feel. Taking her wand she directed it at the next dummy and yelled, "Bombarda!"

Luke watched, impressed at Rachel's skill. And he was also awed by how angry she was. How could one small person hold that much destructive energy within them? Just let it burn? She sounded like a Death Eater, though he knew that she wasn't. The first dummy she had encountered was now burned to a crisp. And the second one had exploded before them. He moved over to her and placed a gentle hand on her arm to lower the wand.

"Rachel...is something bothering you? I know I'm not your best friend or anything, but I can tell that you need someone to talk to. Or if you need a listening ear, I'm here."

Shelby was really the only person he knew from Rachel's family, and he didn't talk to her very often. So he thought that he would actually be pretty good for her to talk to since he didn't have any preconceived notions about anyone. If that was even the problem. Maybe she was having problems with that boyfriend of hers. He smirked at the thought, then let it quickly die away. Rachel Fletcher single? That might be nice. She was too young for him to really go after her. But a nice fling would do him a world of good right now.

"Come on...you can tell me," he said with a small smile.

She turned to Lucas and made her glare even fiercer, if that was possible. Rachel knew what Lucas was, and it was nothing more than a playboy. She had never wanted anything romantic to do with him, and any girl that fell for him was a sure fire sucker. This guy was one of those people that just did not fall in love...she had actually thought this to be what Alec was destined to be without Michelle. However she did not care for Lucas, she never would.

"First," she snarled. "I know that look...you aren't getting in my panties...second, you try to and I will snap your dick off and shove it up your ass, third I know you don't give a fuck about me and my bullshit problems."

Turning her back on Lucas she went over to a random bench and sat down. She supposed if Alec was there it would have been much worse. They would have gotten into one Hell of a fight that would no doubt later involve him leaving or her leaving and not talking to one another for over a week. Leaning into the wall she closed her eyes. She WISHED that Gavin was around more...she hated that he kept flying off on her. She knew that as an Archaeologist it was expected, but now it just...it was making their relationship strained.

Lucas sighed. He had know that even the slightest advance on Rachel would be a stupid idea. She was not someone to mess with. She was young, but she had a fire within herself. And he did not want to touch her with a ten foot pole when she was angry. But it wasn't true that he didn't care. Of course he did. He just needed to learn how to show it better.

He moved over to her and held up his hands in surrender to show that he wasn't going to try and hit on her again. He sat on the opposite side of the bench and waited quietly for a few minutes before speaking. No sense in pestering a sleeping dragon.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," he said softly. "The truth is, I find you very attractive. But I would never try anything with you unless you wanted me to. And I know that's not even an option, because you have a boyfriend. I respect that, Rachel. But that doesn't mean we can't be friends, does it?"

He turned humbly to her. "I want to hear about what you're going through, if you're interested in telling me."

Rachel sighed and leaned back against the wall. She knew that Lucas probably would not let it go until she told him what was bothering her. Oh well, if he got bored he could just leave, it would make no difference to her. Crossing her one leg so that it sat on top of her other one she let out a sigh.

"It's Gavin," she said softly. "He's off in some exotic land once again, and I'm still stuck here in London...it just pisses me off that he can up and leave so easily."

She knew that it wasn't all Gavin's fault. He had a job that he loved, she just wished she could hold a candle to that love. She wanted him to spend time with her, she wanted his attention to be on her, she wanted her boyfriend around more. This wasn't what a relationship was built on and she couldn't help but worry that this was falling into what had happened to her and Russel!

"Ugh," she moaned, burying her face in her hands. "I...I just don't want to lose him...I think I'm boring to him..."

Lucas didn't really know what he could say or do to make her feel better, without trying to make a pass at her. He just wasn't used to being such a good guy. He put out a hand and placed it gently on her back. Not in a sexual way, just in a plutonic/friendly kind of way.

“Rachel...I really doubt that your boyfriend thinks you are boring. Or that anyone could think you are boring, for that matter. I mean, I saw what you did to those dummies. There is no way anyone that can do damage like that has a boring bone in their body.”

He tried to remember what Rachel's boyfriend looked like, and he just couldn't. He didn't really pay much attention to other guys, unless they were his friends. In general, he was actually on his own more than anything. Though he would never say no to hanging around a pair of beautiful...eyes.

“Don't take this the wrong way. But if you are looking for something to do while he's away, we could always hang out. Not as anything romantic, of course...but just as friends. You have to go out and have fun too, right?”

Rachel paused in thought and for a brief moment thought about going out with Lucas. He was right...she had a right to have fun too, didn't she? Just because Gavin left did not mean she had to put her life in a complete freeze mode! She could have fun if she wanted to!

"You know what?" she smiled. "You're right! Hey, why don't we go out for a drink?"

She knew that Lucas was a player and that he really only had interest in sex, but Rachel was controlled and she was damn loyal to her man...so that meant she could afford to get a little drunk with Lucas...nothing would happen of it, and she was determined to kill him if he even tried.

"Oh...but if you lay a hand on me...I'll chop off your dick," she stood. "Just thought you'd like to know."

Lucas smiled and stood, then helped Rachel to stand as well. Maybe this night could be salvaged after all. Even if Rachel didn't let him touch her, he could at least flirt. And if that didn't work, he could just pick up another girl at the bar. He made sure the head auror knew that his shift was over before grabbing his coat and heading towards Rachel's office.

"Where would you like to go, Miss Fletcher? The Three Broomsticks? Leaky Cauldron? I'm up for anywhere, so you pick."

He took Rachel's coat from the back of her chair and moved to her to help her put it on. He conveniently overlooked a picture of the infamous Gavin that sat on her desk. He wondered how many drinks he could get in her before she 'accidentally' kissed him, or perhaps even flashed him. He couldn't help but admire her sexy body. He just wish there was less clothing involved at the current moment. Nonetheless, he still helped put her coat on so that she would not freeze her pretty arms off.

"You know, your boyfriend is surely missing out. I sure as Hell know I can use a stiff drink. And maybe even a little dancing. Do you dance, Rachel?"


(OOC: Alec would kill him as well. We need to get Luke a steady gf, heh.)

Rachel rolled her eyes...this guy really though she was naive. She had gone to bars when she had been a minor, she knew how guys were. She knew that Lucas was just hoping to get her drunk enough for a quick fuck. However she would not give it to him. She would have one drink and that would be it. This time she was making a promise to herself. She was not going to give in to her love to party and control herself as much as possible.

"I do dance," she said with a smirk. "But only for my boyfriend."

Winking she slapped his ass before moving ahead of him and making her way to the elevator. She was going to have fun tonight, and she was determined that Gavin's missing presence would not plague her. She would not go home crying tonight.

Lucas smiled at Rachel. She was a breath of fresh air and he knew that the party had only just begun. He followed her into the elevator and led the way out of the building. He pulled his coat a bit tighter around his neck and reached over to fix her scarf so that it was covering her exposed skin. The weather was quite chilly and he didn't want it messing with his night.

"You know, it will be fun seeing you relax and have fun for once. You're so young, you shouldn't be cooped up just because your boyfriend is a dumbass who doesn't stick around."

He smirked, but kept his eyes on the sidewalk as they walked toward the Leaky Cauldron. He didn't want to slip on any of the ice the dotted the edges of their walk. He looked sideways at Rachel and admired the way her skin looked outside in the naturally dimming sunlight. She was so beautiful. He wondered if she was one of those women who didn't realize exactly how beautiful she was.

"Tell me, Rachel Fletcher. I'm afraid I don't know much of your history. Your accent is...strange. I sense American, but you also have an English overtone. I suspect that you are either American born, or you were raised here by American parents. Am I close?"

Rachel shrugged, she supposed that she did not really divulge her history with anyone. She told her family, and a few select friends but thinking of her father made her so sad. She remembered all the times when she would come in and her daddy would be throwing up or in pain...and she would have to watch it. She would have to call Alec and sit as he took care of their sick daddy. It was almost too much to bear, so she chose not to think about it or share it with anyone, and Lucas just did not seem like one of those people to care.

"I lived in Texas with my brother for the first thirteen years of my life," she said with a sigh. "Both of our parents died and when we came here Randall Marks took us both in."

She supposed that was the best way to describe her life so far. She wasn't sure if Lucas had learned about her getting hit by a car or her bout of cancer that she had experienced soon after...but she supposed that he was just a player that really did not care.

"And my boyfriend is not a dumb-ass, thank you very much," she hissed. "He is an archaeologist...so his job requires him to be all over the place at once."

The Leaky Cauldron

Lucas had only had two drinks. He needed to stay alert, so that he could take advantage of the situation, if an opportunity presented itself. They had had a very interesting night. And he had been careful not to be to overpowering, but also let her know that he was still interested in being more than friends.

"So let me get this straight," he began. "Your brother dated this girl when he was a teenager and she got pregnant...but he didn't know then. And then you moved here with him, and this summer he hooked up with this Katy bitch and she got pregnant. They got married and divorced two weeks later? Wow, that's insane."

He had had some bad luck in romance, but nothing near that. A two week marriage? Wow...just, wow.

"But now he's married to the first girl. Michelle, is it? Poor bastard...he's been through a lot."

He scooted a little closer to Rachel and couldn't resist reaching over and teasing her fingertips with his own.

"And how do you feel about your brother's new wife?"