au revoir
Juniper was about to take pair of crumpled jeans from her suitcase when Victoire screeched in protest. They were getting ready for the band's gig, it was the most stressed Juniper had seen Victoire ever. She had changed her outfit at least five times, and kept uncurling and re curling her hair.
Juniper was slightly more relaxed, but even she felt apprehensive about tonight. Especially after her and Pierre's guitar moment yesterday.
"What?" Juniper asked in response to Victoire's outcry.
"You can't wear those!"
"Why not?" Juniper held her tattered pants protectively, "They're comfortable."
"Juniper!"
"It's not like I have anything else." Juniper chuckled. It was true. She packed very light, only few pairs of trousers, some soft t shirts, and jumpers.
"You don't," Victoire smirked, "but I do." She began rifling through her overflowing closet, chucking items of clothing left and right.
Juniper dodged and ducked as skirts and fishnet stocking galore flew at her head, "Victoire...what are you doing?"
"Oh c'mon Juniper, please let me style you. You know it'll be good. Look at me!" Victoire did a slow spin, modeling her albeit very impressive emsemble. Burnished red velvet corset style top, long, satin midi skirt with a slit going up the side, and knee high boots.
She looked amazing, but Juniper didn't think anyone else could pull of the look like Victoire did.
Victoire muttered to herself, and then her eyes gleamed when she found what she'd been looking for, "AH ha! There it is!" She sighed happily to herself, bequeathing Juniper with a shiny slip dress, sheer stockings, and to finish it off, the very jacket she had gotten Juniper for Christmas.
Juniper held the dress up at arm's length, eyeing it warily, "Are you sure this qualifies as clothing? It looks more like hand towel."
"Shut up and put it on." Victoire rolled her eyes, "You've got legs, might as well show them off."
"Fine." Juniper agreed with resignation, pulling the outfit on. She knew Victoire wouldn't go down without a fight. She shrugged on the leather jacket, and Victoire dangled a pair of platform booties in front of her mischievously.
"Victoire no! I'll wipe out!"
"Well you're not going to wear your trainers! They're sturdy, I promise."
Begrudgingly, Juniper put on the booties. Victoire guided her over to the mirror, clearly very proud with her work. Juniper stared at her reflection in the mirror, self consciously tugging at the hem of the dress. She felt extremely exposed, even with the jacket on.
"Are you're it's not too short? It feels too short." Juniper yanked at the dress again and Victoire swatted her hand away.
"It's not too short."
"I don't know, maybe I should just-"
A horn honked loudly outside. Victoire grinned, swiping on a coat of red lipstick, securing her clutch, and dragging Juniper down the stairs, "Oh well, guess you can't change, they're hereee! And we don't want to be late do we?"
"Evil."
"Thank you darling." Victoire replied, her and Juniper sliding into Pierre's car. Ariel and Olivier were already in there. Ariel rocking red plaid trousers and a lacy bra underneath a mens dress shirt. She was busy tying her mass of braids into a thick bun that rested on top of her head. Her brother was sporting an almost see through, mesh dress shirt and tight leather pants, and he had on some expertly drawn eyeliner.
Pierre's outfit was a simple cotton tee, dog tags, and ripped trousers. His hair was tousled and messy as he looked Juniper up and down, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. Juniper felt her cheeks flare, yet again trying to make the dress longer.
"I love your jacket." Ariel complimented, pulling a compact mirror out of her pocket.
"Thanks," Juniper turned to Victoire, "she painted the back."
"I thought it looked like your work Vic." Ariel said, and Victoire looked very pleased with herself.
Juniper had never before been so far out of her comfort zone, she was wearing makeup, a short dress, heels. And yet, she wasn't embarrassed or second guessing herself. In fact, she was having fun, and a lot of it.
She was pushed even farther out of her comfort zone when they arrived at the club. Strobe lights flared, and music pumped from inside as people streamed in and out of the doors. Juniper loved it. She loved being all the different people and their different styles. She loved that people were dancing and shouting and not caring what anyone thought abut them.
The party inside the club was in full swing as Juniper helped the band set up on the stage. People were all decked out for New Years, cowboy hats and sparkly tiaras, top hats, wacky glasses, beads, you name it. Juniper even spotted someone in a feather boa. It was two or three hours to midnight, and everyone in the vicinity was already very drunk.
Victoire wrang her hands nervously, pacing back and forth on the side. The band was about to go on. "What if they hate us?"
"They're not going to hate us." Ariel reassured.
"How could they hate us? Look at my face." Olivier deadpanned, grinning.
"The important thing is that we enjoy ourselves. It's our music, and if they don't like it that's not our fault," Pierre explained rather calmly, tuning his guitar.
Victoire glared, "None of you are helping."
Juniper placed a calming hand on Victoire's shoulder, "You're gonna be fine. You're Victoire Weasley, you radiate confidence. Get your head out of your arse, because your arse needs to get behind those drums."
"Now that was helpful." Victoire hugged Juniper and the band took the stage.
They were a hit. Juniper screamed at the top of her lungs after every song, and she wasn't the only one. The crowd loved them. Juniper was sure by this time tomorrow the streets of Paris would be flooded with Scarlet Bloom fans, maybe there would even be t-shirts made.
Juniper was a bit buzzed, she'd had a glass of champagne earlier, and while she'd tried a few sips of alcohol before, she'd never really drank that much. The effects were just starting to hit her, and she felt lighter, seeing everything through rose tinted glasses.
She walked over to where Pierre was leaning against the bar, "Do you know where Victoire went?"
"I saw her disappear with a tall brunette earlier." Pierre gestured in the vicinity of the stage, "She's probably over there somewhere."
"Thanks." Juniper turned to go, but Pierre stopped her.
"Wait." He murmured softly, looking up at her daringly. There was beat of silence as he just stared.
Juniper faced him, twisting her lips into a teasing smile, "Was there a second part to that statement?"
"I hadn't gotten that far yet." Pierre grinned, moving his hand closer to hers on the bartop.
"So you're just stalling?"
"Maybe."
"You're gonna have to say something soon. I'm disappointed in your lack of conversational skills." Juniper mocked, tasing an eyebrow flirtatiously.
"Must be the language barrier," Pierre stepped closer to her, "or maybe my skill set lies in other areas." His eyes flicked to her lips and then back up to her eyes.
"Straight to the point, huh?"
"You look beautiful tonight."
"Very original."
"I thought so." Pierre smirked, one hand on her waist as he used the other to cup her chin.
"I can't kiss you, Pierre," Juniper breathed, smiling up at him through long lashes.
"I know," Pierre let his hand linger on her face for a second before releasing her. "I figured as much. But this was fun no?"
"Very." Juniper agreed, laughing.
She began to go find Victoire again.
"Hey, Juniper." Pierre called, beckoning her back. He handed her a bar napkin with a number on it, "If you find yourself back in France, call me."
Juniper took the paper between two fingers, waving goodbye to the French boy. She would certainly have a lot of stories to tell Rory, Jade, and Viv when she got back. Juniper searched through the throng of people for Victoire, bumping several sweaty party goers as she did.
"Juniper!" Victoire collided with her, giggling wildly. She hung on to Juniper's arm as she swayed slightly, "I found you!" He voice was oddly bubbly, almost sing songy. She was definitely more than a little tipsy.
"Whoa!" Juniper laughed, trying to steady her friend, "How much have you had to drink, Victoire?"
"Not that much," Victoire said guiltily and then hiccuped. "Everyone here is plastered though. I was just trying to catch up." She smirked, making Juniper dance around with her as she snatched a tiara off someones head, "Here! Now you can be a princess." She placed the tacky, bejeweled crown on Juniper's hair.
"I think you're more than caught up." Juniper remarked with amusement.
"Hey," Victoire crossed her arms, "you were drinking too! I saw you." Someone in the crowd announced that karaoke would be starting, asking if there were any takers. Victoire's eyes lit up, and she grabbed Juniper's hand.
"Victoire..." Juniper knew what that look meant. "No."
"WE'LL DO IT!" Victoire shouted, rushing to the stage with Juniper in tow.
"Victoire! You're smashed, and I'm a little drunk myself, this is not going to end well."
"But it's going to be really fucking fun." Victoire handed Juniper the microphone, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
And so they sang. Belted "Lay All Your Love On Me "by: ABBA like there was no tomorrow. Victoire and Juniper twirled and jumped all around the stage, having the time of their lives. Then Victoire promptly threw up. Juniper shook her head. That was exactly how she'd seen this ending.
She walked Victoire offstage and to the bathroom, "Here," she gave her several napkins. "Clean yourself up and then we'll head back ok?"
"Sounds good." Victoire gagged again as Juniper shut the door.
She grabbed their purses and was about to go fetch their coats when she felt a large hand on her arm.
"Hi there, girlie." A man rasped, his face was unshaven and dirty. He smelled like a combination of whiskey and B.O., and his breath was causing bile to rise in Juniper's throat.
Juniper whipped her head around at the speed of light, "Get off of me." She spat, she really didn't want this old drunk to ruin her night.
"C'mon girlie-" The man started, but Juniper didn't wait for him to finish. She cocked her fist and punched him just like her mother showed her. He fell to the floor, knocked out, blood trickling from his nose.
Juniper shook her fist out. "Ouch," she muttered, inspecting her knuckles, that was going to hurt tomorrow.
"Nice right hook." A familiar voice reached her ears.
"Xavier?" She wheeled around in surprise.
"Hi, Juniper." He whistled low when he saw the unconscious man before him, "Remind me not to mess with you."
"What are you doing here?"
"We have some holdings in France, a couple of properties, dad likes to me check up on them from time to time."
"Right." Juniper nodded, of course he did. The Zabinis probably had properties all over the world. They were just that rich.
Victoire came up to meet her, "Okay Juniper I'm- oh!" She xcalimed in surprise, looking at Xavier, "And who is this?"
"I'm Xavier," he held out a hand politely, "Xavier Zabini."
"Looks like I'd better go," Juniper gestured to Victoire. "It was nice seeing you Xavier."
"You too, Xavier replied, waving, we should- er- catch up when you get back."
"Sure." Juniper smiled, escorting Victoire to the door, who was currently having trouble remaining upright.
"Who was that?" Victoire asked, once they were outside.
"Xavier, he literally just told you," Juniper laughed. "Are you really that drunk?"
"No," Victoire elbowed her. "I mean I am drunk, but I meant do you have like a history with him or something? He likes you!"
"What?!" Juniper snickered at the thought, "No, he doesn't."
"Uh, yeah, he does. He basically just asked you out!"
"No- no that- no. I could never do that anyway. I couldn't possibly-"
"Why not?!" Victoire cried in annoyance, "He's hot, he likes you. I know it's not because you're scared. I just saw you flirting up a storm with Pierre."
"That's different! That didn't matter, I'm probably never going to see him again. There's no pressure. Xavier goes to my school, his little sister is best friends with mine. It's too real."
"I hope you know what you're doing Juniper."
'Honestly," Juniper chuckled lightly, "me too."
Before Juniper knew it, it was her last day in France and she was back at the train statin with Victoire again.
Victoire hugged her tightly, whispering, "Is it selfish of me that I want you to stay?"
"I'm going to miss you too, Victoire." Juniper's eyes were misty. She meant it. Victoire brought out a new side of Juniper, one that she was looking forward to exploring.
"I can't believe you get to go back to Hogwarts and I have to go to Beauxbatrash." Victoire sighed, still embracing Juniper. "I'm going to talk to my maman," she murmured, "like you said. Maybe she will surprise me."
"Good," Juniper squeezed her hand, "and I'm going to talk to Teddy. Get this mess sorted out."
"Look at us. We've come a long way." Victoire joked, the speaker crackling to life to remind passengers it was the last call.
"Yes, we have." Juniper hugged Victoire one last time, "Bye, Victoire."
"Au revoir, Juniper."