Slow It Down

[Angela Miles]

Angela sat in one of the corners of the dingy pub staring long and hard into the amber liquid of her beer. She took a sip and glanced around at the patrons in the Hog’s Head. No one knew her here. She sighed and glanced at her drink again. Maybe no one would ever know her.

The other night her suspension had been lifted and she was able to join Amelia and Rebecca on a mission. It had gotten a bit hairy but Amelia and Rebecca were flawless, the way they worked together, it was beautiful like watching a dance. Angela on the other hand felt thoroughly out of place.

((ooc: Anyone? Everyone? The title is rubbish but it is from the song I was listening to at the time by Amy MacDonald))

[Callum McGregor]

Spotting Angela Miles sat in the corner of the pub he strolled over to her table casually, "You know, as much as I know you are more than capable of looking after yourself, you should probably think about not frequenting places like this on your own, aye? Just for the sake of not having to kick some arses of some of the... questionable patrons here," Callum pointed out, looking down at her in a faux concerned manner before he broke out into a smile. They both knew she could definitely look after herself, in any capacity.

"So... I heard from a rather beautiful little birdie that you went on a mission Thursday night?" he mentioned casually, taking a sip from his pint of beer, "Feels good to be off suspension, eh?" Callum asked, not in a malicious or somehow mocking way but merely to make conversation with a colleague whilst he was waiting for Max to show up. Weird, the bloke was usually so punctual that it was annoying. Max suggesting they meet here of all places was also uncharacteristic he thought.

((ooc: Mainly I just wanted to post as Cal... and possibly later Max haha, just cos where one seems to go the other inevitably follows!))

[Angela Miles]

Angela looked up at Cal, a slow smile forming over her features. “I could say the same about you,” her voice was sweet and almost innocent, very deceiving really considering her personality was much different. Then she cocked her head to one side and gestured to one of the more scraggly looking patrons nursing what appeared to be a glass of whiskey. “One eyed Bill over there is a friend of mine. So I think I’m alright.”

“Alright?” she glanced up at him, “So… are you going to sit down or just stand there looking awkward for another fifteen minutes?” she offered casually. “Would that birdie also happen to be blonde, French, have annoyingly good aim and is coincidentally named Amelia?” she smirked. “So, why are you here?” she asked the obvious question, “I mean other than to get a drink, are you meeting someone? Your slag of a mistress? The opposite of Amelia with black hair and tiny tits,” she teased. “It’s gotta be hard trying to commit to a woman who hasn’t even told her parents yet,” Angela let slip. She had a habit of doing that. Amelia and Rebecca had been talking throughout their mission. She noticed they did that a lot. Conversed as if going on covert missions and capturing bad guys was as simple as going to the market or getting a cupper, Amelia had been asking Rebecca advice on ‘if this was normal’ and saying things like ‘I should tell my parents’ as if trying to convince herself it was the right thing to do.

((ooc: I don’t think we ever really got to that part in the other scene so thought it could be really funny if Cal found out from someone else? Maybe add a bit more drama? And I am really curious as to why Max is late and why he wants to meet in secret at the Hog’s Head!)

[Callum McGregor]

Callum couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Oh? On first name terms with whiskey-drinking men in dingy pubs are we?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her in a teasing manner. "Who says I was sticking around?" he asked before shaking his head and pulling up a chair and sitting down opposite her with his pint.

"Huh, funny enough that is the birdie in question, how did you guess?" he joked before taking a large sip of beer, "That aim might be annoying for you but now imagine feeling emasculated because your fiancee is a far better at spellcasting," he pointed out light-heartedly.

Then, as she asked why he was here Callum wordlessly held up his pint as a reason before shaking his head as she described possible reasons. "Look are we talking about the same woman? It's not hard to commit to Amelia, I mean have you seen her?! I got lucky, more than lucky, why even hypothetically would I dare to fuck that up?" he laughed dryly and then he paused, frowning deeply as he realised what she'd just said, "Wait, what?! She hasn't told her parents yet? You are kidding right? Please tell me you're joking," he sobered very quickly, his brow furrowed in concern. "Why wouldn't she have told them?"

((ooc: That is a great idea, Cal suggested they have the wedding (to get her parents onboard) at their house in Paris so maybe in that scene she should have just noncommitally replied? Haha I'll have to think up something interesting for Max then, I just wrote it randomly but I'll think of something now lol))

[Angela Miles]

“Yeah, I’m on a first name basis with all the attractive men here,” Angela joked. One eyed Bill was anything but good looking.

Angela gazed over her pint at Callum. She sipped her beer waiting for the penny to drop. ‘Penny in the air,’ she thought and then finally as he sobered, ‘And finally the penny drops.’ “Nothing,” she shrugged, “It’s just what I heard,” she said casually, “But you should be talking to her not me about it,” she added nonchalantly. Then with a sigh as he seemed very put out by this new realisation Angela rolled her eyes. “Maybe she is just nervous. Girls have issues with commitment just as much as guys do, ‘right some of us do. Not all girls. Some are just crazy serial monogamists.” She took another large sip of her beer, “Don’t over-think it yeah?”

[Callum McGregor]

"Well of course you are... and Ol' Slimy Stuart over there, he's a keeper, an 8 at least?" Cal joked easily with her, indicating with his head over his shoulder to the bloke serving behind the bar.

He frowned, "Heard? From her, from Amelia herself?" he asked, not being able to disguise the urgency in his tone. "Well that's true but I mean I'm here, Amelia isn't but you're here, this is... I'm not gonna lie... bloody awful for me to hear. Come on, help a bloke out, take pity on me. Why hasn't she told them? We've been living together for a few years now, they must know we're serious about each other, aye?" Then, sighing he groaned, "Oh god, she could be not telling them because she's not planning on going through with it. Or because they hate me because I'm not... I don't know... who they want for their daughter, not good enough for their daughter."

"Nervous about commitment? Fuck, she's engaged to the bloke who practically lived by that for years. Any kind of commitment, responsibility, whatever. You think she'd know she could talk to me, of all people, if she felt like that," Cal muttered dejectedly as though somehow disappointed at Amelia for not doing so. Then he scoffed slightly, "I'm sorry Angie but is there a way not to read something into this?" he challenged, hand clasped over his mouth and brow furrowed in thought. "Maybe she's scared. It's like as soon as she tells her parents, it's final somehow, aye? It makes it feel more real, definite, committed."

[Angela Miles]

Angela sighed taking a large swig of her beer she finished it off and then set her empty glass down rather loudly. “Look, she’s your fiancée. You should know her best. Ultimately you are the one who probably knows why she hasn’t told her parents yet. You may not think you know, but deep down, you know.” She told him straightforwardly. With a small nod she rose from her seat, “I’m gonna get another, you okay?” Indicating that hopefully he wasn’t going to go tear into someone while she was gone, “You want another?” she asked before walked away to get herself another beer.

Returning she sat down across from Callum again. “You know, you’re not such a bad catch yourself.” She smiled. “I mean I’m not saying your best thing in the world since, well since lager, but I know a lot of girls who wouldn’t mind being Mrs McGregor,” she assured him.

[Callum McGregor]

Callum nodded, "I know, though I'm still finding that fiancee thing hard to believe," he admitted as he took another sip of his pint. He truly did consider himself lucky that he'd found someone who the thought of waking up next to every day for the rest of his life didn't make him panic and want to bolt. "I think she's scared, it's final, a done deal, when she tells them. It makes you realise 'oh shit, I'm really doing this marriage thing', at least that's how I felt when I told my parents," he shrugged, his brow furrowed in thought as he looked down at his drink. "Aye, I'm fine here," he muttered distractedly as Angela left to get herself another drink.

"Awww shucks, you sure know how to make a guy feel good about himself," Cal retorted in a silly, teasing voice before laughing, "But thanks, it's reassuring to know I'm not hideously unappealing. Which is how I was when Amelia met me so as far as I'm concerned, she's seen my lowest point, I can surely only have improved over the time she's known me!" He absentmindedly traced over the grain in the table with his index finger as he said, "Thanks. It's probably good that I know about her not telling her folks yet. And I'm sorry for being all wanky and insecure, you won't see that again I swear. So how was that mission anyway, go to plan?" Callum asked with a friendly smile as he finally looked back up to meet her gaze.