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the elegant rachel m. corner ([info]malengled) wrote in [info]valesco_history,
@ 2009-07-13 17:08:00


Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:caradoc dearborn, derek dobbs, edward pennifold, evan rosier, giada vance, graciela cervantes, graeme dorny, group, mackenzie loftus, matilda rowle, rachel englewood, sebastian goldstein

1976 Christmas Party!
Entertaining came naturally to Rachel Englewood. If you knew her, in fact, she'd sultrily tell you that many things came naturally to Rachel Englewood, including being the center of attention, being able to produce a good time for anyone out of any circumstances, and throwing the best, most elegant parties. Perhaps it was the French flair inherited from her mother, or her simple determination to be the best, brightest, and most affluent, but parties were her forte, and that needed no explanation. The seventeen-year-old balked at the prospect of her last year in school passing by without so much as hosting a lavish high tea! Successful events were not borne out of nothing, however, and the sly brunette mulled over the various occasions which might warrant celebrating. Debutante balls had come and gone early in the summer, and regardless of how successful hers was, it was a new season, and therefore a blank slate. Winter proper was fast approaching and with it, the perfect holiday; after all, what better occasion to go all out for, than Christmas? Thus, their graduating year was, fortunately, not void of any contributions to the social calendar by Miss Englewood, who was fully confident that the Christmas of 1976 would be remembered by all.

Having gone through great lengths to ensure her parents would be unreachable for the duration of the party, such as packing them off to Canada in the form of an early Christmas present they had to take advantage of before her father's work detained him (naturally, she had taken special care to double-check dates with his secretary, to avoid potential conflict), the lack of supervision allowed the girl to plan what she wanted in peace. She need only have contended with the House-Elf, whom she had sworn to secrecy, and the other help, which had been given paid leave for the duration.

By five-thirty in the evening, everything had been set. Food aplenty was scattered amongst elegantly draped tables, and though the girl looked down on alcohol as a harbinger of bad attitude, it was found amongst the drinks. The drawing room was dimly lit by the roaring fire, which cast its orange glow against all the walls. A large, decorated tree towered near to the high ceiling in one corner, the fire glinting off the glass trinkets hanging from the limbs. Classic Christmas cheer was rampant in every corner, and there was little Rachel found disagreeable as the soft strains of the WWN's holiday program lilted across the expansive room. The hostess herself was decked in elegant black dress robes, the short length of which was a pervasive style that she could not come to an opinion on, but tried, nevertheless. As was written clearly on the invitations, formal dress was the only acceptable attire and it was for the benefit of everyone that they heed the warning. By six-thirty, guests began arriving, and the soirée crept towards its crescendo.

Wrapping a curl around her finger, the one physical vice her mother had never quite beaten out of her, she took a moment to stand back and survey the goings-on of the class of 1977, goblet of pumpkin juice in her unoccupied hand. A slow smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.

OOC: Open to ALL graduates of 1977, and a few select students from 1978 who would logically be close to many of the 1977 attendees. Time's a bit wonky in the thread (as it is with all group threads? IDK?), so feel free to be in two+ places at once! AND TAG, PEOPLE! WE HAVE KIDS BACK FROM THE DEAD, HOW GREAT IS THIS? So I want to see lots and lots of interaction >[ OR ELSE.



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[info]macks
2009-07-14 06:47 am UTC (link)
Mackenzie had wanted come a bit earlier than the rest of the guests to see if Rachel needed help with setting up for the party (she remembered hearing Rachel say something about hundreds of ornaments needed for the tree), unfortunately escorted by Caradoc. Her mother had insisted that she see him walk her out of the house, or she wasn't going out at all tonight, leaving Mackenzie little choice but to obey. But luckily, he slipped away to who knew where as soon as they walked through the door, and Mackenzie hadn't seen him since then nearly two hours ago since she had been busying herself with distracting tasks such as helping and talking excessively. It helped that she hadn't in the slightest been looking for him, either, but she would like to assume that he had just left.

But after a while Mackenzie felt herself wanting a break from the atmosphere (everything was stressful these days), insisting to herself that she needed to check to make her purse was still sitting on Rachel's bed where she had placed it. There was no doubt it still would be, but every once and a while, she liked to step back for a couple of minutes and breathe, and now seemed like a very good time, seeing as she had just spent the last hour watching Sebastian Goldstein out of the corner of her eye. Mackenzie was sure he hadn't seen her stolen glances at him, although right when he walked in the door her eyes had very obviously drawn right to his, but she was nearly ninety percent sure he hadn't noticed.

Her assumptions were wrong. "Sebastian!" Mackenzie's voice's got caught in her throat as she jumped out of her skin at his sudden appearance behind her. Had he-- he couldn't possibly been following her. He probably just had gotten lost on the way to the bathroom, and needed directions. Yes, she would much rather want that to be his explanation than what her sinking heart was jumping to conclude. Her hand clutched over her heart in a vain attempt to collect herself.

Not that that was ever possible around Sebastian, but, she could feign it. "What are you doing?"

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[info]sebclicks
2009-07-15 10:33 pm UTC (link)
"I---"

He was realizing quickly that this was the closest he'd been to Mackenzie in months. Even their prefect routes had been ruined, and with the animosity between Gryffindor and Slytherin at a lifetime high, there was no way to manage to get near her without anyone noticing. Not that either of them had made much effort in that way---he knew Mackenzie would not want to cause a scene with that ring on her finger, and he did have a girlfriend. Chasing around a seemingly random Slytherin girl would not do him any good in any scenario.

Sebastian's mouth shut into a tight line, that twitched slowly into a smile. The hallway was dark, but some light a bit further down helped his eyes focus on her face. Mackenzie Loftus had the loveliest eyes he'd ever seen, and he could go on for years about her lips, and the smell of her hair intoxicated him and---Sebastian blinked quickly and looked away for a moment, forcing himself to break from the involuntary spell she always put him under.

"I've missed...." you, I've missed... Sebastian swallowed roughly, knowing that a lot of what...whatever they had was silent and had never been spoken aloud. Did that mean they actually had anything, then? "...talking to you, we never talk, anymore."

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[info]macks
2009-07-17 03:31 am UTC (link)
What she had hoping he would say was completely different than what he actually said, leaving a rather disheartening effect in her chest. So Mackenzie turned to face him more fully, going into her standard pose with her back straight and her right hand concealing her left. "Oh," Mackenzie responded automatically, hiding her disappointment well with a smile she saved for this exact type of situation.

She didn't know how she would have liked Sebastian to finish his sentence-- well, no, that was completely untrue. In her wildest dreams, she wanted him to cast aside this ridiculous amount of strain and restriction on them, throw the bloody ring on her finger to the ground, and tell her how exactly they were going to run away from all of this to have a happy life, never being heard from again because they would slip away from all prying eyes. Mackenzie's posture slacked a bit as she focused on the wonderful experiences they could have with each other, until reality sank in.

Two facts quickly snapped herself out of her day dream: Sebastian had a girlfriend, and she was engaged to be married.

Her head tilted as she looked at him, and her sad smile still remained on her face. "I know, I am afraid that is my fault. I have just been so busy lately, it feels like I barely have time to do anything!" Of course, Mackenzie knew fully well that it had come down to avoiding him just as much as she avoided Caradoc, but she couldn't really tell him that. Blaming herself with time management was much easier.

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[info]sebclicks
2009-07-17 05:56 pm UTC (link)
Sebastian nodded, keeping his eyes on the ground as she responded. He felt like such a chicken for changing his words, but Mackenzie had agreed with him so quickly that maybe it was the best decision. He really didn't know how she felt, as much as he liked to think he did. For all Sebastian really knew---she could be silently thrilled to be engaged, or----no, no he knew Mackenzie.

They hadn't spent all that time on their rounds talking and actually building a friendship for him not to understand her. Sebastian had never paid as much attention to anything as he did Mackenzie, so he saw how terrible she seemed to feel. Mackenzie was the epitome of a lady, of a girl; if she wanted this wedding, she would be thrilled beyond belief and not looking as if she was ready to throw up at every mention of the engagement. If this was a wedding she wanted to have, she wouldn't be busy. She would be glad to be going through all the steps---he knew that she wasn't busy.

"Is it really something you want to be busy with?"

Sebastian didn't know how he'd allowed that to escape his mouth, but he kept his eyes away from Mackenzie to avoid any more desperation. His fists clenched by his sides and a part of him wanted to leave so he didn't have to hear Mackenzie's response---maybe he was just insane with his thoughts, maybe she did want this and he was just being crazy and obsessed. But his feet remained planted in the carpet, and Sebastian slowly tried to creep his gaze back up to meet hers.

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[info]macks
2009-07-18 06:26 am UTC (link)
Mackenzie felt herself freeze for a few seconds, momentarily caught: Sebastian had seen right through her quick lie. Not that she was very good at lying, merlin no, that was what Evan and Caradoc were for, but most of the time people just went along with what she said anyway because why would someone like Mackenzie Loftus lie without a good reason? If that common assumption didn't get her through tough spots most of the time, Mackenzie would vomit from the horrible stereotype people had casted her in.

"That's neither here nor there," she supplied quickly, easily appearing calm as she had been given much practice concerning this subject over the months. Though instantly, Mackenzie regretted her reaction to Sebastian. He seemed to know her better than most people (or at least she liked to believe so), so didn't that at least earn the respect of a true answer from her? Or just a less rude one? As much as she wanted Sebastian to leave her alone so all this drama could come to an end, a louder part of her only wanted to pull him in closer.

But she would loose everything.

The permanent smile on her face dipped a bit, and she couldn't help but frown. What else could she do? It was painful, but the best for the both of them would be for her to push him away. Her chest sank even deeper at the thought, increasing her self-induced agony. "Did you come here with Mary?" she asked in a small tone, refusing to even look at his face in fear of catching his gaze.

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[info]sebclicks
2009-07-18 10:14 pm UTC (link)
She was killing him. Sebastian hadn't realized it until just then, but she was slowly sending him to an early grave. His heart sunk into his stomach at her dismissing response, and he felt his face heat up from humiliation. How was she so easily ready to gloss over all of this? He couldn't believe that she was willing to just deal with the misery she'd forever be in if she married Dearborn. Mackenzie just---she couldn't. She was a happy person, she was a brilliant person whose future could not be deterred like this, even if she didn't end up with him, Sebastian knew that she was supposed to go out and do great things and...

God, she was trying to kill him. If she let him think she wanted to be with him, his heart would ache that he couldn't be. If she told him off and lied about how she was fine with the situation, he was felt like he was going to collapse. There was no way around it, they were bloody screwed no matter what they did, and Sebastian was finally realizing this. Mere weeks or---even days before her impending nuptuails, he was finally realizing that he had absolutely no chance in being with Mackenzie, even for a moment.

"That's neither here nor there," he muttered, finding himself pushing closer to her. They weren't touching, he couldn't touch her, but Sebastian would be damned if he couldn't get as close to Mackenzie as she would possibly allow. This could be the last time he would ever have the chance to be in her vicinity let alone centimeters from her face. He had to take advantage of it, he was a Gryffindor for God's sake! How could he just let this happen, how could he have let this go on for so long?

His hand reached up and pushed a loose piece of hair out of her face, managing to gently graze the skin of her cheek, "I don't want you to get married, Mackenzie." Not to Dearborn, anyway.

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[info]macks
2009-07-19 07:39 am UTC (link)
Hearing her own words come back to smack her in the face was no pleasant experience. Especially when she knew that Sebastian meant it, and she hadn't. A frown fought to break through on her face, but Mackenzie stayed steadfast. He only said it because she had said it to hurt him, and there was no other reason behind it.

Right?

She promised herself she was not going to cry tonight. She had spent enough of the past few months doing exactly that, so didn't she deserve one night which didn't include bawling her eyes out? For one thing or another? It wasn't--- ladies did not cry in public! Not only would it be a complete embarrassment, but Sebastian was standing right in front of her, there would be no way that he couldn't see, which would then lead them into a whole different level.

"She is your girlfriend, Sebastian," Mackenzie said in the same small tone, her eyes closing shut as he reached for her, and closing even tighter once she felt his hot hand brush across her face. What was wrong with her, why did she suddenly feel so wrong and dirty, but at the same time want nothing more than for it to continue? It wasn't fair, it was like she was bound to Caradoc now just because of this bloody ring, when she knew fully well that he was most likely traipsing all around school with any girl he pleased! Because he didn't care what position this put in her, he had no idea how she felt! He probably thought she wanted to go through with this!

No matter how hard Mackenzie attempted to control herself, no matter how hard she resisted, tears did begin to form in her eyes. Eventually they began to roll down her cheeks, and she cursed herself for it. "You can't just say that," she stuttered, hellbent on trying to keep the conversation going as if nothing had changed. She couldn't, she couldn't give into him! It would be impossible, them, it could never happen and--- "I don't have a choice."

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[info]sebclicks
2009-07-19 08:29 am UTC (link)
Shit!

Sebastian faltered at the sight of her tears, and while his brain felt like it'd frozen with no idea of how to fix this (because he really didn't have any idea how to fix this--any of this), his hands lifted and took Mackenzie's face in their grip. No, no, she shouldn't be crying, he couldn't have made her cry, "Mack, don't cry, please...it'll be all right, okay?"

He ducked his head to try to catch her gaze, if she'd even honor him with that. Sebastian forced a smile, trying to look hopeful. Maybe she'd be happy with Dearborn. She'd be married with a home, she would have children, and she'd be a great mother. He'd always imagined she'd be a good mother, which how she ran her prefect duties and how all the other students just seemed to be innately drawn to her, like...like they knew they could trust Mackenzie.

Sebastian knew the feeling all too well, and as he attempted to wipe her tears away and think of something that would make her feel better, he couldn't stop himself from thinking that he'd been pulled toward her the hardest of them all. God, and it had been so much fun, too. Getting excited for rounds, the silence that always started their time together, and then just something would spark a conversation, and by the end of the night he would have something to look back on and smile about and add to his list of 'things that made him believe Mackenzie Loftus was in love with him.'

It was a terribly long list he was going to have to get rid of now, he supposed.

Sebastian was ready to tell her that she was going to be happy, that she was going to get to do everything she wanted because no one, not even big-headed Dearborn could stop her. He was ready to make sure that she knew she would end up okay, because there's no way he'd allow it any other way, but instead he said,

"You have a choice," his voice cracked as he startled himself with his words, "Mackenzie, you can choose yourself, you can choose me---"

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[info]obtineo
2009-07-22 06:49 pm UTC (link)
It was rather inconvenient, that he wasn’t able to enjoy this whole Christmas extravaganza as much as he would have liked. Sure, he wasn’t doing anything to help with the festivities, but that wasn’t what he had planned on doing, anyway. No, no, he was perfectly content being dragged away into a quiet little corner by Matilda; far enough away from everyone so they weren’t interrupted all the time, but public enough to get sneered at by anyone who wasn’t a Slytherin. Seriously, did people have that much of a problem with public displays of affection?

Or, maybe it was more like public displays of lust, since they were only 16, and Evan wasn’t exactly the most ‘affectionate’ of people. He was charming, and had a way with words that could make almost any girl melt right on the spot, but his reasons for wooing a girl were based mainly on primal needs…but he did care about the girls he actually dated. Like Matilda, for example…though he was sure she wouldn’t be too pleased, had she known that his thoughts were elsewhere, even though he was fully involved with what they were doing in their little corner.

It wasn’t his fault, that he had taken a quick look around the room at one point, and was able to catch Mackenzie leaving…only to be followed by one Sebastian Goldstein. At first, he just figured he should let it go, because if he was bothering her than Mackenzie would hopefully just tell him to ‘fuck off’, only without using that particular phrasing. He had turned his full attention back to Matilda, but as soon as she told him she would be right back, he nodded his head, waited for her to run off to do whatever it was she needed to do, and took the opportunity to go and investigate what the hell was going on with Mack and Goldstein, since they had been gone for way too long. Not that he was keeping track, but as a friend, he thought he should see if that obnoxious halfblood was bothering Mackenzie. It didn’t hurt to check, did it?

Lifting a hand, he pushed some of those platinum locks away from his forehead (Matilda had a thing about playing with his hair, it seemed), and then slipped that one along with the other into the pockets of his dress robes. He moved quietly…which was good, because he was able to catch the tail end of the conversation taking place between his friend and that Gryffindor she was speaking to. He felt his jaw twitch, but calmed himself down so he could round the corner, making his presence known. “Is there a problem here, Mackenzie?” He directed the question at the one other person in that hallway he actually respected…and as soon as he saw that she was crying, his gaze shifted over to Sebastian. The look he gave him was cold, and his jaw was set. Mack was one of his best friends, and he cared about her deeply...so if this bastard had hurt her somehow, there would be hell to pay.

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[info]macks
2009-07-22 07:58 pm UTC (link)
Mackenzie jumped so severely at the sound of Evan's voice and jerked so quickly out of Sebastian's grasp that for a few moments it felt like she had broken a few limbs. She did not, however, even have time to check, because as soon as she had distanced herself from Sebastian, Mackenzie found she was frozen in her spot, unable to move or speak.

How was it that this was happening to her? Was she not allowed to ever be happy? Could she never just have one moment? Or was this suppose to be some sick test, like the ones her mother had insisted on telling her over and over again? How people would tempt you from achieving what you were meant to achieve, but in the end you should always strive to marry a young, pureblood man from an upstanding family was the right thing to do, and that was it. But-- Mackenzie didn't feel like Sebastian would inhibit her from anything. In fact, she felt the complete opposite about him: when she was around him, it didn't feel like she had to put on an act, she could just be herself and that was good enough.

Which obviously meant that the universe would do whatever it took to keep them apart. Since feelings like that weren't deemed good enough.

A fresh wave of tears began to form in her eyes, and her first movement in what seemed like hours was to quickly bat them away. Mackenzie's hands went from her face to her hair, brushing her hair down despite still being in place and now slightly wet. Breathe, breathe, because it was necessary. And as much as she wanted to control herself, Mackenzie could not hold back the two longing looks she directed to Sebastian and Evan (Merlin--- how would she explain this to him?), each having completely different meanings.

"N--no, of course not," Mackenzie spoke in a voice quiet unlike her usual one. A completely forced and fake smile appeared on her lips as she turned to avoid both their gazes, a hand going to pat her hair again. Call it an anxious habit, but the situation she was in now was a tad stressful. "I just have to... would you mind? I have to go check on--- something." Rachel was going to have to owl her things to her tomorrow, because there was no way Mackenzie was coming back to this spot tonight to retrieve them.

She couldn't even look at Sebastian as she rushed past him, and darted behind Evan: it was far too heartbreaking to even try, so she didn't even attempt to give a glance back over her shoulder as she walked away, head low.

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