Lover I don't have to love

[simonbw]

Simon stood next to Jenny with his hand placed seriously against his chin, glancing up when Chastity walked towards them. "First off, we're both terribly sorry, and rest assured that that whole image has been, er... hastily expunged from my memory. I just stopped by to fix the shower," he explained while holding up the shower head, not ready to relinquish it as a potential weapon until he'd gotten another good look at Sean's face, "and Jen needs her notebook. She has momentous thoughts the world needs to hear!"

Simon frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. He vividly recalled seeing Chastity all those years ago, pregnant and alone on his doorstep, while Sean was off... god knows where. "No. He will NOT come near Janis. Even if I have to put tracking devices on the both of them, like... dolphins. Or bears. All the same, I'll do it, I have a dolphin guy in Japan."

Scowling at Sean as he emerged, Simon laughed loudly when he suggested he should go. "Never missed a chance to run away, eh? Naaaah, I really think we should stay and catch up a little, could be a laugh!" Simon barked with a huge, sarcastic smile and a slightly crazed edge to his voice, displaying a side of his personality that very few people ever saw.

[Chastity Holloway]

Shaking her head to Sean as he tried to calm her down, Chas blew out a stream of smoke and rolled her eyes at him, "My door WAS locked" before looking back to Jenny with a gulp of realisation as she realised what she'd said out loud.

Trying to look like she wasnt phased by what she said, she gave a laugh and shook her head at her sister "Jenny, I didnt mean it literally...I just meant, hell any guy could be her Dad" she laughed nonchalantly as she flicked the ash off of her cigarette, "Of course Janis doesnt know, and she's not going to know either. Sean here is a little like God really, he deposited his only child on this Earth and left her mother with this miraculous little burden" she nodded her head with a glance at Sean, not caring if his feelings were hurt because hers had been hurt a lot worse a long time ago.

"Simon, please. He's between my thighs again, its not a big deal...its not like Im dragging him up to the school to meet Janis" Chas shot a look at Simon then Sean and walked away from the group before turning to face them, "I need a drink, you're welcome to join me" she forced a smile before turning away, her face falling as she panicked inwardly about how to fix all of this.

[seanatherton]

Sean looked kindly on sweet Jenny with an apologetic expression. “I meant the bedroom,” he remarked though there was no need for it seeing as it was her house, he was merely trying to make Jenny feel better.

Overhearing the talk of a broken shower, “Did you come by to fix or further damage it?” he directed his sarcastic comment at Simon with a small smirk knowing his ex-best friend was not as capable as he when it came to carpentry or engineering such things, “You should have told me I could have fixed that for you,” he said looking to Chastity giving her the full effect of his charming smile.

At Simon’s claim the lion within Sean began to roar again but this time not in a good way. He advanced upon Simon his gaze intense as anger burned in his ice blue eyes, “Whether or not I see my daughter is of none of your concern, and it is not your choice to make,” he clarified, “It is Chastity’s choice,” he said a little less brazenly as he took a step back to stand beside Chastity unclenching his fists.

“Whatever she prefers is her decision,” something in his tone alluded to his suspicions that she would deprive him of his daughter and moreover that he understood. Not that he liked it mind you, his jaw clenched tightly was evidence enough. His suspicions were answered and he smirked at Chastity’s comment, “God really?” he gave a small laugh but it held no mirth. That had stung but he knew he deserved it.

“You have nothing to worry about Simon,” he replied, his tone acidic, “I expect she’ll be done with me after this,” he hated that it was true, that Chastity would probably never want to see him again and that he might never see his daughter. “Besides it’s not like I haven’t been between her thighs before,” he added. With a sigh Sean tried to calm his temper and agreed, “I’ll have a drink,” however his temper quickly flared again at Simon’s retort.

“Maybe I’ll go do your job and fix the shower head then,” he snarled in return snatching the shower head from Simon’s hands and stalking off towards the bathroom instead, or attempted to anyways.

((ooc: Sorry that was long I won’t make it so next time, I just have to say that I love all of them together even if Sean is kind of a bastard. And my apologies this isn’t the best post either.))

[Jenny Holloway]

((ooc: Jenny is a bit shit, I apologise on her behalf.))

“Yes, gosh Chas, yes image completely erasing permanently from my mind,” Jenny said quickly, glancing at Simon as he mentioned her notebook. “Oh yeah I should probably just go and look for it and then get out of your way,” she piped up but then, upon seeing something that was a little unsettling in Simon’s expression, she hesitated, not quite wanting to leave the three of them alone. Then, regarding her seemingly unfazed sister, Jenny looked about as sceptical as her naturally optimistic personality would allow and said a, “Mmm,” of non-committal reply, thoroughly unconvinced by Chas’ excuses. Looking between Sean and Chastity as they talked her widened eyes softened into her usual demeanour and she couldn’t help but be unfalteringly optimistic- hey maybe Sean was back to be a proper dad to Janis! If Chas herself wasn’t going to be optimistic, Jenny was going to be optimistic for her, and for her niece’s sake.

Her eyes shooting back to look at her brother-in-law her brow furrowed visibly and she shot him a warning look, or as threatening as Jenny could look which was… pretty adorable and not threatening in any way at all. “Simon!” she squeaked out incredulously, slightly worried by just how… okay crazy… his smile seemed. “Don’t you think we should maybe both go and just pretend we never saw this and leave Chas and Sean to get back to… to…” she faltered, blushing then because it made it sound like she was suggesting she leave them to get back to sex. “Umm really don’t need to hear about thighs, no matter who they belong to,” she grimaced slightly in discomfort before sighing lightly as she glanced at Simon and realised then that she would have no joy in trying to drag him out of the house. As Sean and Simon faced up to each other Jenny hastily piped up, “A drink would be so good right about now, Chas,” she agreed.

[simonbw]

Simon snorted conspicuously. "Well sure, he's a bit like God, in that while I accept that other people want him in their lives for one reason or another... I personally prefer to believe he doesn't exist." He was still grinning like a loon, making everything he said or did slightly discomfiting. He fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette, mouthing a small sorry to Jenny; his most recent attempt at quitting smoking had lasted all of three days. He needed something to occupy himself that didn't involve punching Sean in the face. It was difficult to believe that they'd once been inseparable, the closest of friends... though if possible, it made Simon's current hatred sear more intensely.

"Yes, well, unless you're somehow capable of hiding him between your thighs, I think it's risky to attempt to keep something this huge from Janis," he spoke to Chastity with another largely inappropriate laugh, swiftly lighting the end of his cigarette.

He raised his eyebrows and began snickering harder than ever when Sean took the shower head from him. "You doing my job! Oh, that's rich! MASTERFUL use of irony sir, really, BRAVO!" he exclaimed loudly, starting a slow, sarcastic clap.

[Chastity Holloway]

Chastity frowned as Simon mentioned a broken shower and shook her head at Sean as he smiled at her with an offer of fixing it instead, "I didnt ask anyone to fix it...Janis?" she asked with a glance at Simon, she was going to have to insist her daughter stopped asking her Uncle for so many favours, Chas hated to feel like a complete hinderance to Simon.

"Janis has your book, I told her to leave it but she insisted you wouldnt mind her reading it and took it to school with her. She'll be down later today, I threatened her with a lifetime of smoking if she didnt bring it back. Sorry sis" Chas sighed, to think just moments ago she was in absolute bliss and now she was stood between two bitching men and a sister who's privacy had been breached by her spawn.

"Believing he doesnt exist doesnt work Simon, tried that for a while..." she commented nonchalantly as she poured 4 glasses of wine, downing half of hers before topping it up once more before giving Jenny her glass, leaving the men's where it sat before walking over to the men arguing and snatched the showerhead from them, "No one will do it, sorted!" she smiled sickly sweet before throwing the showerhead at the wall, causing it to crack into several pieces.

"Now sit down, the pair of you, and shut up already. Drink your damn wine and give me another cigarette" she stubbed her butt out before holding her hand out for another cigarette from either man, exhaling loudly before looking at them in turn.
"Simon, Im not telling Janis who her father is...she doesnt need to know because Sean.." she turned to look at the man and gave him a sad look, "...didnt ever want a kid. Janis need never know" she shrugged her shoulders and sat next to Jenny, "Is your notebook awfully private? Im sorry she took it, I'll have a word with her" she gave Jenny an apologetic look, before her eyes opened wide at the sound from the hall.

[Janis Holloway]

Having borrowed - ok stolen - her Aunt Jenny's book, Janis had received a howler from her mother demanding that she return the book at the soonest interval and that she'd better start doing as she was told. Janis hadnt taken much heed to this last section because Janis rarely broke her mum's rules and only did so this time because she was sure that this notebook would be full of schedules and obsessive routines that she could study but as it was, it was merely some kind of story, a very good story that Janis had loved.

Walking to the house she lived in with her mum, Janis had taken the book out to give back to her mum as soon as possible, in an attempt to lessen her telling off. Hearing a loud banging noise and raised voices, Janis hurried to the living room and looked stunned at the 4 people within, 3 of whom she recognised and 1 stranger.

"Book, sorry Aunt Jen...I thought it'd be your routines and things. I was going to do a case study on you" she explained with a smile as she handed the book back, cuddling her Aunt and whispering in her ear "The story was amazing" before straightening up and bounding over to her Uncle Simon, cuddling him tightly and kissing his cheek noisily, about to ask about the showerhead before she noticed it in pieces on the floor and recognised her mum's 'I'll pretend everything is ok but its clearly not' look and frowned, "Whats going on? And who are you?" she eyed the man suspiciously, her stomach tightening whenever a strange man appeared in her house because she was always wondering if it was 'him', her absent father.

[seanatherton]

“My apologies,” Sean said to Jenny with a small smile, he rarely apologised to anyone but the Holloway girls seemed to be his one exception.

Even Sean was a little disconcerted by his former friend’s ‘crazy smile.’ When Sean was angry beyond belief he simple scowled, pouted and hit things, namely people. Something which he was trying very hard not to do to Simon’s face at the moment.

He balled his free hand again as Simon snickered and bellowed. Unclenching his fist Sean was deadly silent, halting in his tracks and glared at Simon, “Yes, your job, the one you intended to do when you came here before you rudely interrupted us,” he brushed over the part where if he had stayed and been a good father than yes, technically fixing things would have been his job.

Sean let it go as Chastity threw the showerhead against the wall. He made a note to fix it later before relenting to her wishes. Pulling out a packet of cigarettes he removed one and handed it to her before Simon could. A part of him really wanted to prove that he wasn’t the same person, but another part of him was too proud to look like a complete sap in front of Simon. Competitive suited him.

His eyes narrowed as Chastity said he didn’t want a kid and scoffed bitterly into his glass of wine. He did want a kid, but he would rather not discuss this in front of them. Luckily he didn’t need to speak. Sean’s breath caught in his throat when he saw the same familiar blue eyes staring back at him. Janis looked every bit like her mother, except for her eyes, they were unmistakably his. He busied himself with sipping his wine and felt a pang of what was it- pain, jealousy, guilt- an accumulation he reckoned as Janis cuddled her Aunt.

He then cast his eyes downward into his wine glass as she hugged and kissed Simon. It made his stomach turn, he felt like the most terrible person in the world on a regular basis and this only amplified his feelings. At Janis’ voice he looked up, “I’m Henry an old friend of your mum’s,” he answered casually knowing very well that Chas wouldn’t want him to reveal the truth. He gave a false name, his middle name, incase Chas had told her that her father was some deadbeat named Sean.“That is, I assume you are the infamously brilliant Janis everyone has been telling me all about,” he added to make the idea of knowing who she was not seem as unusual. “I was just passing through really, thought I’d pop over and surprise Chas, clearly I’ve become somewhat of an inconvenience,” he explained as he smiled at his daughter kindly wishing to Merlin he could tell her everything. That he had kept every picture Chas sent him, most of which were tucked neatly into his wallet alongside his beloved sisters. Instead he kept his composure.

((ooc: My apologies that wasn’t very good and it was quite long, but apparently Sean likes to ponder, hehe.))

[Jenny Holloway]

Spotting Simon pull a cigarette out of his pocket and mouth a ‘sorry’ to her she merely shook her head with a small good-natured smile- it would seem she would never make inroads with convincing any of her family members to give them up, no matter how many times she lectured or handed them helpful scatter graphs and charts of the likelihood of getting illnesses if you smoked etc. etc. None of them seemed to appreciate being shown the picture of a smoker’s lung… she couldn’t understand why. But she supposed if any situation called for a cigarette it was this one.

As Simon continued to be sarcastic, and quite scary she thought, Jenny stood looking down at her shoes as though they were the most interesting thing in the entire world. However, when her sister said that Janis had her book, Jenny looked sharply up, the wide-eyed look now returning to her face. “What?” she managed to squeak out worriedly, in a high-pitched voice, looking absolutely terrified at the prospect of her niece having her notebook. When Chas handed her a glass of wine she smiled uneasily, murmuring a “thanks” and at least attempting to be her vaguely smiley self while, internally, she was absolutely petrified of what Janis would think of her in-progress chick-lit novel- her sixth novel it turned out. Up until now she’d managed to keep her family and wizarding-world friends completely oblivious to her successful writing career in the muggle chick-lit genre and she had absolutely no desire to clue them in on it any time soon. Flinching as Chas threw the showerhead against the wall she uneasily sat down on her sister’s sofa, taking a sip of the wine to try as though she could somehow disappear from the scene going on around her by doing so. Looking up as she sat down next to her, Jenny’s wide-eyed expression softened and she smiled, though still blushing scarlet, at Chas, “It’s fine, honest… I guess… I guess the person I least mind seeing it is… well someone like Janis… it’s fine, honest Chas.“

The wide-eyed look returned for the third time as a very familiar figure appeared in the room, looking surprised. Forcing a smile as Janis approached her she softened and nodded, “It’s fine honey,” she said softly, squeezing Janis gently in a fond hug though she looked surprised at what she whispered. “Gosh, you really think so?” she asked quickly, her smile now becoming all the more relieved and genuine even though she carefully watched Janis and looked around at the other people in the room as if wondering what the hell they should do now she’d appeared. Glancing worriedly over Sean as Janis looked at him suspiciously she looked to her sister and, once in her life, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing a lie. “No, no, ooo Janis, honey, I have an idea! Why don’t you and Simon and I go and leave your mum and da- your mum and Henry, to umm catch up, hmm?” she suggested, quickly covering up her slip but not without a very obvious stutter and a blush, before looking to her niece with an unfalteringly optimistic, bubbly smile in the hope that Simon would ‘play nice’ and leave Sean and Chas alone in order to ensure Janis didn’t discover more about ‘Henry’.

((ooc: Jenny is a little blaaaah today, I apologise on her behalf but heeeey at least I remember to post, haha!))

[simonbw]

Simon sat on the couch stewing quietly, taking measured sips from his wine in between long drags off his cigarette. He looked up when he heard the door open and felt his stomach quickly twist -- in all of his irrational venom towards Sean, he'd nearly forgotten that there was a very real person in the middle of all of this: a sweet, intelligent girl who didn't deserve to be caught in the crossfire.

"Hey girl heeey!" he shouted in a ridiculous voice as she bounded over to him, desperately trying to prove that nothing was wrong. Oh, the shower head? We though it'd look better in the living room, nothing to worry about. Oh, this guy? Well, Uncle Simon doesn't know who he is, probably wandered in off the street by accident, no bother! "Jen, you write stories? Outstanding! It's always been my belief that if you create something you should let the world experience it, even if they don't want to. My editor-in-chief here seems to like it and I trust her implicitly, so roll the presses, I say!"

He clapped once and forced a large grin. "Aaah yes, why, it's only your mum's old friend! Not a friend of mine, I should say, but oh, it was a joy to finally meet you, Henry. Good to know that everything Chastity's said about you over the years is absolutely 100% true," he spoke ebulliently, unable to resist the opportunity to get in another covert dig at Sean. He was about to jump from his seat and leave with Jenny when he noticed her slip, and unable to hide his sudden alarm, choked on the sip of wine he'd just taken.

[Chastity Holloway]

Snatching the cigarette from Sean without so much as a thank you, Chastity lit it and sucked hard on it before giving an almost weary sigh, she had never wanted anyone to find out about Janis' parentage mainly because she had never really expected to actually see Sean in person again, let alone fall back into bed with him and therefore had never planned ahead for this moment.

As Sean made a noise of disagreement at her claim he didnt want children, Chas gave him a cool look as she blew out her smoke slowly, making rings "You wanted kids? Oh right, just not mine?" she smiled overly sweetly at him before looking away again, she loved him like it was the good old days yet she couldnt let go of the fact that he'd left her. Whether or not he came back, he had left her in the first place and she couldnt quite trust him, even after all this time.
"Janis, what did I tell you? I told you NOT to take Jenny's book yet you did anyway, I told you NOT to continually ask your Uncle Simon to fix things yet you still do! I am your mother Janis, I make the rules and as long as you live under this roof you'll bloody obey them. Simon has a job & family of his own to take care of, its not his duty to do things for us. He's not your Dad" she scolded her daughter, overcompensating slightly because she was highly uncomfortable in this situation, she could see Sean studying Janis and selfishly she wanted to keep her all to herself. She didnt want to share her daughter, she'd raised her all on her own, she was hers and not his.

"Yeah, this is my old friend...Sea....Henry. Henry is his name" she quickly agreed with Sean, taking a long drink of wine before looking at Jenny with a horror stricken look on her face as her sister put her foot in it, unable to say a thing as Janis seemed to notice them all acting strangely.

[Janis Holloway]

Janis nodded her head at her Aunt, "Its so good, is there more? I really liked it and would love to read more, Im sorry for taking it but Im really glad I did" she smiled at her Aunt before 'throwing up a gang sign' to her Uncle, just as Lillian had taught her. "She's really good Uncle Si, I think you should get your editor to publish her or something...she could be famous!" she nodded her head enthusiastically before turning her attention to her mum, giving her a small sorry look before it turned into a look of defiance.

"I'll apologise for taking the book, I shouldnt have taken it and Im really sorry I disobeyed you and it wont happen again but Im not going to apologise for asking for help. Its not weakness if you ask for help! If Uncle Si couldnt help he'd say he couldnt help, I wouldnt ask him if I thought he minded...do you mind?" she turned to her Uncle before practically glaring back at her mum, "I know he's not my Dad, Im just not that lucky to actually know who my Dad is. You cant fix the stuff, you cant afford to fix it so why not ask family to help out? Isnt that what family's for? Though someone should tell my paternal DNA donor because he really missed that memo" Janis hated to be cheeky to her mum but she couldnt stand her mum being so strong willed about getting help when it was obviously needed.

Looking between the 4 adults slowly, Janis paced in front of them before pointing to the stranger, "So your name is Henry? Or Sea-Henry as my mum seems to think? And my Uncle Simon doesnt like you...I probably wont like you then because he is an excellent judge of character." she was honest with this man, to the point of sounding rude but she didnt really care for the men her mum tended to like.
Nodding to her Aunt as she suggested they leave her mum & friend together, Janis stopped as she was turning to walk away, frozen on the spot. He couldnt be, he simply could not be her father. She turned to look at him, almost studying him before looking to her mum who was clearly avoiding her eyes then back to the man sat on the sofa.
"How old is your friendship with my mum? 16 years old by any chance?" she asked in a voice that showed she was trying to be strong and nonchalant.

[seanatherton]

Sean wanted to argue with Chas but he was concentrating on not breaking his glass. The surface of which was held tightly between his fingers. He had left her and regretted every day of it. He had been a terrible father, never having been one at all and he had no excuse for that. He chided himself inwardly for being so stupid. No Atherton had ever been so cowardly. Sean remembered that day, how angry he was, how he stormed out like the hot-headed arrogant git that he was.

He almost smiled as Chas reprimanded her daughter. She was hot and quite amusing when she was authoritative. He sipped his wine to distract himself from the biting comments Chas made about Simon not being her father. As he watched the arguments unfold between Chas and Janis he smiled. Janis really was his daughter. Yet as Janis continued he felt worst. Seeing first hand what not having a father, even a lousy one, did to a sweet person like Janis. It tore at his heart and yes he did have one.

The good thing about Sean, or bad, depending on how you looked at it, was that he was a very convincing liar. Everything he said, whether truth or not sounded so natural that you might as well believe it were fact. He had no tells, twitches or slithery looks. He was serene and charming.

It wasn’t in his nature to lie, it was simply something he had become very good at. These things started small, with undeserved compliments given to Ministers or other important official’s. He was a charmer. He had managed to charm Chastity so it had to be worth something, but he never lied while courting her.

This was why when Jenny slipped and Simon choked on his wine Sean remained calm and simply smiled. He smiled at how frank Janis was this quality she got from him and her mother. Sean could tell she was figuring it out and knew that no one wanted her to so he did what he must. “No, no, you mustn’t leave, I’ve overstayed my welcome,” he said looking to Simon, Jenny, Chas and Janis’ frozen figures.

Focusing on Janis he surveyed her features for a mere second before responding without hesitation, “Longer than that my dear, I was friends with your mother, Simon and your father long before you were born,” he would let her fill in the blanks and assume that he was not in fact her father. He hoped that at least would make everyone relax, especially Chas.

Rising from his seat to set down his empty wine glass as he grabbed his jacket preparing to leave them in peace even though he didn’t want to, leave that is.

((ooc: Hope that was alright, let me know if anything needs to be changed.))

[Jenny Holloway]

((ooc: Yikes sorry I'm late with my turn. I apologise in the form of an actual reply! ))

"Oh umm wow, honey, thank you but umm no that's all there is... so far," Jenny explained with a warm smile as Janis said she liked the story, "I'll let you know if I write more." Then, shaking her head quickly, Jenny tried to calm her sister down by playing a gentle hand on her arm, "On my part, it's honestly fine that Janis here took my book, I mean she was just looking for evidence of my loopiness, she picked the wrong notebook though... I have a day planner if you want to see the crazy workings of my mind colour coded?" she offered, trying to lighten up the mood as she smiled at her sister and then her niece. However she was soon blushing visibly as Simon asked about her writing. Shaking her head once more, "Oh wow well uh thank you but it's nothing honestly, just a silly little story, just little and something random I wrote to occupy my time and it's silly and you know, nooo not editors, really it's not good enough for that but hey ho it's fun and I do so it's just a little silly something," she babbled chirpily, trying very hard to cover up her nerves by taking a large gulp of wine.

Eyes wide as everyone, including Janis, picked up on her slip of the tongue she closed her eyes in dismay, frowning deeply at her own inability to keep a secret. Looking guiltily back up to her sister she mouthed 'I'm so sorry' before glancing worriedly, biting her lip, over at Sean and Janis. Taking another large sip of wine to console herself over how much she'd just stepped in it, her eyes grew even wider as Sean tried to lie to Janis, claiming he knew her father. Of course he knew him, he was him! Looking worriedly at Simon she slyly motioned with her head to the door and then gave him a questioning look, hoping he would get her message of 'we should probably leave' from her impressive subtle mime skills. But it seemed Sean was intent on leaving, probably to defuse the heat in the situation, but somehow Jenny (as painful as she knew this must be for both Janis and Chas) sort of wanted him to stay. If he stayed, they might (and it was a very big 'might') talk it over, work it out... heck they might even have the happily ever after that Jenny was certain they all deserved. It was probably, she know realised, very much a case of wishful thinking.

[Chastity Holloway]

Looking at her sister, Chastity couldnt help but glare at Jenny. She knew that Jenny hadnt meant to blurt out that Sean was Janis' father but that didnt stop her wanting to grabJenny and shake her sister until all of her anger was out but she couldnt, so instead she picked up a cigarette and lit it, sucking on it hard before glancing to Sean then to Janis.

"Janis Holloway, I am your mother and you'd do well to remember that!" she reprimanded her daughter with an angry glare, blowing the smoke out of the side of her mouth before looking to Sean as he stood up, taking a drink of wine to buy herself some time as Janis rounded on Sean. "Janis..stop it already. This isnt the time or place".
Pushing herself to her feet, she looked at Sean and frowned before nodding her head, "Maybe its best if you leave...again" she tried to keep the biting tone from her voice but she couldnt hide it, her eyes searching Sean's face to see if he was trying to tell her how he felt about Janis's reaction to it all.

(ooc, took me forever and is crap...sorry!)