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Pop n' Palmers
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hopes up high | lorelai
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Topic: hopes up high | lorelai (Read 70 times)
Anderson Payne
(01/09/2025 at 03:03)
Sixth Year
C5D8T5S4
the friday after
this
It was a lot sooner than she'd imagine it was going to be, both to Lorelai's surprise and to even her own. Anders had been planning on skipping out of castle and heading to Hogsmeade. What she hadn't planned on is inviting the Slytherin to come with her after having agreed to take her out on a date.
Even when she'd asked, it took some convincing to get the girl to agree. They could get in a whole lotta trouble if they were caught, obviously, and while Anders couldn't give a damn if she got into some trouble, Lorelai hit her with a lot of trepidation. Ultimately, Anders got her way and the two had snuck out wearing dark cloaks and magically silencing their steps as they flew brooms across the lake to Hogsmeade village.
The danger and the very idea that they could get caught and be put in trouble was part of the fun for her. Anders had made herself a regular at this particular establishment and most of the people she engaged with didn't believe her to be a student, but a roaming waitress who loved herself a good live show. Pop n' Palmers was, first and foremost, the only radio station the students of Hogwarts had access to and even if their music hours had become much too mainstream and pop-centered for her taste, the live events held there were still the best any contemporary music fan could find themselves in magical Britain.
Mostly because the artists weren't always magical people. Anders had no idea how the proprietor managed to book muggle acts and get them out of there without knowing, but she wasn't about to start guessing. Instead, she was going to simply enjoy this evening out with a girl she liked and wanted to impress.
High fiving the doorman and slipping him a "tip" had them both enter freely. She'd gotten them drinks and dragged Lorelai to the front as the crowd began to multiply in the small stage area, magical enhanced to feel claustrophobic. Exactly how music was supposed to be experienced. The band that night was a five-set from America, the south to be specific. Hailing from a place called Tennessee, the dark-skinned band played a saultry mix of rock, blues, and even something called gospel. It was like if Jimi Hendrix had a back-up choir and tried their best Zeppelin impression.
It was exactly what she was going with and, an hour in, she was sweaty and tired and half-leaning on Lorelai.
"
You lovely folks have been jamming with us, and we thank you for it! We're going to take a ten-minute intermission to, well, raise our spirits–
" And the band each held out plastic cups and toasted themselves and the crowd, which was met with raucous cheers.
"We appreciate you all enjoying our own music. When we come back, we've got a treat for you. Some cover songs from the latest and greatest, as requested by the owner, who wants you all to come back and spend some money on some records. Now, just because we play it better doesn't mean it ain't worth buying!"
Laughing, Anders turned to Lorelai, grinning like an idiot.
"Having fun?"
xoxo
the futile outweighs the beautiful
Lorelei Kensington
(01/10/2025 at 03:31)
Sixth Year
C7D4T5S6
Lorelei felt so sure that this was the right decision. That this was what she wanted.
Right until two days before the scheduled date, when she thought about Rocío (though not for the first time) and couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone horribly,
horribly
wrong. As much as she tried to remind herself everything on that front already
was
horrible to an irreparable degree, the feeling followed her, impossible to escape.
With it, also came the hope that Rocío might show up and, again, Lorelei reminded herself that that was not what she wanted. That she deserved someone who made time for her and
only
her. Someone who had gone through a considerable amount of effort to plan an evening just for them.
Someone like Anderson Payne.
And so, when the time came, Lorelei held true to her promise, and was there to join Anders, embarking on their late night escapade. Luckily, as a prefect, she knew exactly who was meant to patrol the lakefront that night. It was
her
. So, barring any unpleasant surprises, the coast would be clear. Only a few weeks in, and Lorelei had come to expect very little in the way of surprises on evenings like these. Rulebreakers knew to stay well out of the way of patrolling prefects.
And tonight, they did just that. Slipping into Hogsmeade seemed almost too easy, and before she knew it, the pair of them were standing at the base of a stage, watching a group of Americans playing songs the likes of which she had never heard before.
Lorelei knew how to dance. Though she was rusty from lack of practice, she was a
savant
according to her instructor—though she must have been saying that merely to curry favor with the Kensingtons. But ballet did not translate well to these tunes. They lent themselves to fervor and madness; demanded the full release of joy, anger, and despair. There were no rules, no set steps. It was the closest Lorelei had come to feeling unabated freedom since that morning after the summer's second full moon—a memory so much easier to hold at bay with the pounding of the drums, the screeching of guitars and the hymns they sang onstage.
All too soon, it was over, at least for a moment, but Lorelei's heart still pounded.
"Having fun?"
"Yes!" She grinned, speaking louder than usual as her ears still rang. "This happens every week?"
Just a stone's throw from the castle, it was almost hard to believe Lorelei hadn't heard of this place or its music before.
Almost—
this was, after all, the sort of activity for which her adoptive parents would have her hide. That made it dangerous. That made it
fun
.
When the storm, it gains and the sky, it rains
Let it flood, let it flood, let it wash away
And as you stumble through your last crusade
Will you welcome your extinction in the morning rays?
Anderson Payne
(01/12/2025 at 02:20)
Sixth Year
C5D8T5S4
She snickered, shaking her head.
It was cute that Lorelai thought
this
was normal. Not in their world. This wasn't New York City, where there were dance clubs thought would house the best parties in the world. This was a small venue mainly filled with music nerds who had been invited through magical means that such an event would be happening.
Normally, this would be an open mic where some locals would play their best Beatles renditions. If they were lucky, someone with talent would grace the stage or they would have been given the chance to look forward to some touring band, like this, to get booked to play the venue. But, while she was proud to be a witch, Anders had to admit that the magical scene was not conducive to contemporary music. The muggles had them beat and beat by leagues.
She blamed their lack of magic. They had to come up with different ways to try to access something so outside themselves.
"No, sweet. This is a pretty rare occasion. Why I wanted to bring you. I figured you could use the excuse to let loose. Even this early into term." Anders had to yell over herself and lean into the girl's ears as the space around them was well-packed. The two girls were actually in extremely close proximity, half of their bodies stacking over the other and Anders was finding it harder and harder not to notice just how close Lorelai was.
She wanted to get a drink or maybe use the bathroom, but the Gryffindor wasn't about to leave the girl alone. And, she really didn't want to miss what was coming next.
Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long, and her mouth dropped as she saw who was coming up on stage with the band, whose name she needed to remember before leaving.
"
Now, we brothers here come from a little city called Nashville, Tennessee. But we've toured all over the east coast of America. Where we met this little harlot right here,
" And the lead singer turned his arms to show the proprietor of the establishment as she tuned up her electric guitar shaking her head.
"Little Miss Palmer here is what we call a
real
Rock n' Roller. She'd have made Chuck Berry blush. Coulda been big if she would have taken my advice and had us back her up and lean into folk, but, I guess some things are lost in time. But, we did manage to have her come out a few months back to our biggest show to jam and, out of that success, we landed ourselves a little record deal. Least we could do is return the favor and play with you all some of her favorite songs."
Now, it was Mimi Palmer's turn to speak.
"These aren't my favorites. They're just some of the singles off of the many, many albums that have come out within the last year that we have available during the day at Pop n' Palmers and it would be much appreciated if you lot bought some of those records during office hours."
The man beside her laughed. He stood like a giant on stage, towering over even the assembled instruments, with a large, bushy afro that collected into a large beard and a lime dress shirt that almost glowed in the stage lighting. In contrast, the woman wore a plain, flowy white dress that ran as freely as her hair did. Looks could be deceiving, obviously, as this was not the first time Anders had the privilege to hear her perform. Because if you were really lucky, really
really
lucky, then the open mic would actually be a dud, and the shop owner would break out her guitar and play for the people who had made the time to show up.
"Always business, this one. Now, let's start with this one. You might have heard it before. But believe me, by the end, there will be plenty that you haven't heard before."
The band broke into a fast rhythm, led by the flickering strums of her guitar, and Anders ears immediately rang to the familiar. The sheer raucous furiousness that they were met with almost took the wind out of the crowd until, in one contained and shared exhale, they fell into a frenzy that required Anders to hold close onto her date.
"This is
Zeppelin
," she screamed, both so Lorelai might hear and because she couldn't quite contain her excitement, her eyes shining like diamonds.
«
Last Edit: 01/12/2025 at 02:22 by Anderson Payne
»
xoxo
the futile outweighs the beautiful
Lorelei Kensington
(01/17/2025 at 01:58)
Sixth Year
C7D4T5S6
There was amusement in Anderson's eyes, sparked by Lorelei's question, but it didn't bother her. Though she was a pureblood, much of the world beyond the walls of Kensington Manor was new to her. Rare or common, so many of it was the same to her—all of it equally as precious so long as it was
new
.
This proximity between herself and Anders—that was not new, and yet, she coveted it just as much as this moment they both shared. It was not new; but it had been absent, lacking. For more than half her life, Lorelei Kensington had been deprived of something so simple as
touch
. Of all the currency at their disposal,
love
and
affection
, her adoptive parents had hoarded for themselves.
That summer, Lorelei had had her first taste. Rocío had laid her hands upon her skin at its most raw and it had been a deliverance. When it had all ended, when Lorelei once again became starved in the absence of those soft and disarmingly gentle hands, she discovered just how addicted she had become, how impossible it was to live without something so simple as the contact of someone else's skin against hers.
Though the crowd pressed in upon them, it was Anders she felt most acutely, pressing closest against her. No one else mattered; those other bystanders were nothing but an excuse for Lorelei to lean in harder, to greedily feel the warmth of the other girl pressed into her own. Though the room was sweltering already, Lorelei took it all in, craving ever more.
Anders was right—Lorelei really did need a reason to let loose. Far more so than she knew. It was freeing to unshackle herself from the sixth year dormitory, to be free of waiting, at least for one night.
These names, from Chuck Berry to Mimi Palmer, and even all the way to Zeppelin, were all alien to her. But Lorelei listened to the man on the stage, enraptured like a pilgrim to a prophet. She breathed this place in like a revelation.
(And Merlin knew it smelled like one.)
Then the musicians launched into a melody eclectic and electric that pulled the crowd to madness until it pulled them just as easily into a calm sway. Lorelei watched, entranced, leaning on Anders, who seemed just as eager to fill whatever space remained between them.
"This is Zeppelin,"
The words were screamed in her ears and yet, Lorelei had to replay them in her mind, unsure they'd heard Anders properly. Perhaps she had heard her. Perhaps she simply did not know the meaning of the phrase. She twisted back to put her lips near the Gryffindor's own ear.
"What's that?"
When the storm, it gains and the sky, it rains
Let it flood, let it flood, let it wash away
And as you stumble through your last crusade
Will you welcome your extinction in the morning rays?
Anderson Payne
(01/18/2025 at 03:03)
Sixth Year
C5D8T5S4
She pulled her face back enough to stare into the girl's eyes, holding her stare before breaking into a fiendish smile.
"You're cute."
As chaotic and frenetic as the music was, as tumultuous as the feverish crowd was, it all paled in comparison to the heat she felt being this close to Lorelai. The crowd have shuffled them closer and closer and with the opening track to
House of the Holy
blaring around them, Anders hips shifted to feel the Slytherin's back pressed fully on her chest.
Her hands slipped and tugged at her sides, swaying back and forth in half-rhythm with the mangled beat of the drums. While Anders stood a slight bit taller than her, it wasn't enough to make a difference in the moment. Staring, swirling, her breathing rising as rapidly as her heartbeat, by then end of it, she couldn't help herself.
Anders leaned forward and closed that short distance between them. Heads turned into one another, craning, as she closed her eyes and kissed her deeply.
There was a sense of panic that came from doing that so publicly. Then again, they weren't at school and any eyes that would be focusing on them weren't ones that she would have cared to address anyway. They were small and far away, while Lorelai was so immediate.
The last time they'd kissed, it had been on a whim. The girl had shown herself to be rather rigid and frustrating and, if there was one thing Anders couldn't stand, it was those uppity pureblood types that couldn't be bothered. She'd done it to steal a reaction from her, to twist the knife of antagonization as deeply as she could.
There was no way to know that it'd been motivated by anything else. And yet, here they were, sharing one far more tender and impassioned than she'd felt before. The seconds couldn't be counted and the warmth she felt in her scarlet-shaded cheeks might have been able to cook an egg. When she pulled away, she felt dazed. Then, the song changed.
"Some people call me the space cowboy..."
«
Last Edit: 01/18/2025 at 03:12 by Anderson Payne
»
xoxo
the futile outweighs the beautiful
Lorelei Kensington
(01/18/2025 at 15:44)
Sixth Year
C7D4T5S6
She didn't think that was exactly the compliment it sounded like, but what did it matter? Anders smiled and so did Lorelei, brushing off her own ignorance with a laugh. The Slytherin was well aware of the gaps in her knowledge. She didn't take those personally. Later, when they were alone and the music had long since ended, she would ask again, and she would learn.
Right now, there was too much noise, and there were far more pressing matters besides.
Anders' hands had found the way to her hips, helping them move in time with the music. Lorelei let herself be guided by their pull—from side to side and then, beat by beat, closer and closer forward. She could feel a charge in the air. The tension rising, a pressure permeating the room announcing a moment of change. She could smell the intent in Anderson's sweat.
Her own eyes gleamed, her lips twitching in a smirk that let her know that this time, Lorelei knew what the Gryffindor was about to do. She invited it. And when it came, she met it eagerly, with not a care in the world for prying eyes and their judgements.
(If her adoptive mother could see, she would scream,
'Merlin, what have you done?'
)
Lorelei expected a crescendo, a rising note to top off a perfect night. This kiss should have been like all the kisses that had come before, wild and electric, fueling the raw parts of her to clamor for control, to break down the walls of patience and perfection as they had so many times before.
But kissing Anderson Payne was not like kissing Rocío Valdés. It wasn't bad, not in the slightest, but it didn't pull at her heartstrings, didn't answer all her prayers, didn't change her life forever. It should have.
Really, there was no reason it shouldn't.
She wanted it to.
But hope as she might, it didn't. Still, Lorelei leaned into it, sought an answer on Anders' lips, seeking deeper when she didn't find it. When their lips finally parted, her search drew to an end. So, she hadn't found what she was looking for. That wouldn't keep her from trying again, later. Surely that spark, in time, would come. Maybe it wasn't always an immediate thing.
Yes, Lorelei decided. One way or another, she would find it. Anderson Payne would, eventually, provide the release she sought.
Her hand clutched Anders' shoulder, her arm tracing a possessive line up her back that kept their bodies close together.
"I'm glad you brought me here."
«
Last Edit: 01/18/2025 at 15:45 by Lorelei Kensington
»
When the storm, it gains and the sky, it rains
Let it flood, let it flood, let it wash away
And as you stumble through your last crusade
Will you welcome your extinction in the morning rays?
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hopes up high | lorelai