Not Quite so Orderly After All (Tag: John)

The only thing John could do at that very moment was sigh a deep sigh. He felt barren and fully exposed from all sides. He basically was, with the little to no clothes he had on, but his anxiety ran deeper than that of the flesh. He could fill the morbid hatred radiating from the bedroom, where Madison was know stripping to sell their cover story and all of that hatred was sent his way. The policemen where no help either, rattling the doors like that.

Instead of opening the front door to the apartment, John stood there for only a moment. He ran his fingers through his hair, forcing it to stick out in one place or another. Once again the police gave a final warning to open up or they were coming in by force. John on the other hand, now contemplating where to hide his wand where it was easily accessible, moved at his own pace. He had his own reasons not to have his wand on him, but saw no place to hide it. Finally, he hide the wand in one of his shoes laying near by.

He heard one of the policemen say to the other break it down, seconds before John unlatched the lock and open the door just a crack to see three men in uniforms standing outside Matthew Harrison's door. "Can I help you officers?" he asked, looking at one, than the other, than another.

All three of them shudder as they made eye contact with John, as if the Grim Reaper walked over their own gravestone, but John hardly notice. One of the policemen, a round, overweight man, with a untamed mustache over his lip, who seemed to be doing all the yelling, said irritably, "What took you so long to answer?"

Opening up the door slightly more, but still blocking the view to the living room and the broken glass, they saw his apparel and it dawn on at least two of them. The walrus, who did not seem to have never had sexual relationship with a women ever, just seemed to be mulling over his own agitation as his face redden with anger. "Sorry about that," John said apologetically. "I did not want to strut my birthday wear, you know how it is?"

The third man in the back, who seemed to be less authoritative than the other two, gave a stifled chuckled, but the walrus squashed it with a menacing glare, before he went on. "Where heard from neighbors that an altercation took place at this apartment?"

"An altercation?" John gave a confused look as if he was trying to recall an altercation of some sort. The third police officer, which was a women, who seemed to be able to hold her own with the walrus and perfectly okay with John being half nude, stated, "Neighbors heard yelling, load banging sounds and glass breaking on the premises..."

But the Walrus cut her off, and spat, "Can we come in and take a look around?" As if right on cue Madison slipped into the conversation, still lurking out of sight near the bedroom. Still John did not move where he stood, blocking the view of the inside, and responded to Madison instead. "It is the police Sweet-Cheeks. The neighbors heard us...again."

Her overall contempt for the situation had improved very little as she listened to John- or Matthew, as he would have it- converse with the muggle officers outside. She could see now why he would have played the fool for so long, it was obviously a well-practiced routine, and it was no doubt why he came up with such a ridiculously compromising cover story.

As she stood there partly hidden behind the door frame, she adjusted her hair once more, this time to somewhat conceal her face from their visitors, for when they inevitably entered the room. All minor adjustments of course, perhaps to cling to a shred of dignity, or to protect her position at Hogwarts, the one John was so carelessly putting at risk- either way, the fewer features these muggles captured with their prying eyes, the better.

And as bad as the situation was, John was really starting to push it with the pet name and the tone he'd taken with her. Acting or not, it wasn't a manner she ever wanted to be treated, especially by him. She could do little else but despise him for the time being, but all good things come to those who wait, as they say. She just hoped he possessed the intellect to conjure an alias for her, as he had for himself.

She sighed, and after taking another sip of wine, she replied, "Well hurry it up then, you promised me brunch, remember?" Being much less than a real actress, her tone came off a bit sharp, but she gave a short, quiet huff under her breath before returning to the bedroom to supposedly continue getting ready.

"Sorry officer, What did you say?" he said turning his attention back to the walrus, who seemed ready to explode any second now. His face was red with frustration, maybe even anger and if John did not know any better, he could swear he saw the veins in the man's neck pulsate. "I said, sir. Can we take a look around?"

"Well, my girlfriend-" At that moment the floorboards squeaked behind him, drawing his attention back to the hall where Madison emerged. Once again he lost his train of thought, this time stunned by Madison's appearance. It was as if he was hit by a tone of breaks, halting his thought process in an instant. Madison adorn his dress shirt. It was larger and longer on her, slipping well over her panties. Her hair was skewed in places like his, but over hanged over one shoulder. He delicate features did not go amiss as she moved gracefully across the hall and into the living room, with a wine glass in one hand. She was perfect, even in the guise of romantic interlude.

To recover from his lapse of judgement, he parted from the door and move toward Madison, allowing the muggle police entrance to the apartment. While his back was turn to the police, he gave Madison a look that told her not to move and not to resist. His arm wrapped around her waist, and he gentle gave her peak on the cheek to continue the cover story of being madly in love. For the first time, after parting from Madison, he gave her an apologetic look. Not asking for forgiveness but telling her he was truly sorry for putting her through this. It only lasted a moment, his facial features returned to the act at hand.

The scoff tone in her voice told him his answer, before she turn around and was about to leave when the police woman asked after suvaliencing the room, "and you are?"

"Her name is Angela de Belle." Angel of Beauty. No one but Madison seemed to get her alias. "My girlfriend if you must know." Even though John answered, the police woman, even the ganguly police man, who hardly gave him a first glance at the door, were both staring at Madison as if he was not even their. They avoided eye contact with his. The walrus on the other hand was more concerned with the broken glass on the floor. "What happen to your table?" he said heatedly as if it was his table that broke.

She'd planned for a quick escape into the bedroom, but the police were already in the room before she could make the attempt. She looked up abruptly as John then made an advance on her, and she could do little to hide the fright in her eyes as he broke through into her personal space, and ran a hand along her waist- something she was not comfortable with. There wasn't a man alive who had ever been given such a privilege, to be in such close proximity, and here she was, forced to allow him such for the sake of satisfying a damn cover story. Once his lips brushed her cheek, however, she became increasingly aware of the men's stares, and without forethought, she took hold of John's thin shirt to keep him from retreating. She glanced up at him, almost in an angry fashion, until she was met with his apologetic gaze. Her face softened, but as she looked to the two officers as they gawked at her, it was clear where their minds had drifted. She uncomfortably pulled John closer, but if he ever questioned her after this was all over, she would go to her grave saying she was just playing the role that had been given to her. Obviously it was his job, as her 'boyfriend', to defend her from such shameless gazes.

To take her mind off it, she found herself tracing the muscular curves along his chest, no doubt enhancing the officers' fantasies. At least it would keep their minds off their work, and it made the remaining focused police a much lesser threat. She glanced over once again, and her coy distraction seemed to have them wrapped around her finger, of which left a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. She concealed the thought with a brief smile easily enough, and after taking another sip of wine, she 'affectionately' held the glass up to John's lips for a taste. She was already starting to relax under the influence of the alcohol, and she was feeling more confident already.

She gave a quiet, almost uncharacteristic giggle as she looked to the glass the heavy-set officer had been inspecting, and spoke up, "We got a little carried away didn't we?" She rested her head against John's shoulder for a moment, smiling as if the thought amused her. "I'm sorry, but we knocked it over when... well," She bit her lip as a suggestive smile spread across her lips and she looked up at her partner.

John stood rigid, locked into Madison's Medusa gaze. His skin crawled as if his whole entire body was turning flesh into stone. Malice and hate was all John could see into those dark brown eyes of hers enhanced by the black lining of her mascara. Her features only soften after she took another swig of wine, and John's own remorse for putting her in this situation. Even under her scrutiny, it did not go amiss by John how tense she became realizing that all the attention was on her. She held onto him more tightly than ever, making him wonder, if she just a little bit...

John too became tense, not because of Madison's disdain for the situation he put her in, or the police, but of Madison's hands moving across his chest. It inch closer and closer to his left shoulder blade where the remnants of the Basilisk experiments scarred him. Instinctively and naturally he put his hand over her's, letting in linger over his heart.

She took a sip once more from her wine glass, easing into the role more naturally, presenting the glass to him as well. He too took a sip, letting her coyly pretending to take it away several times before allowing him to taste the sweet wine. She was riveting to watch. John's attention was not driven by looks alone but how natural she was even under these circumstance. How she twisted a phrase, making them draw their own conclusions, the way she tilts her head and a heart warming smile as if their conclusions were the only correct possible answers. Only John knew how disgusted she was with all of this situation.

To move it along, John asked, "Is that it? As Angela said, we do have a prior engagement to go to." This on his part was a miscalculation. The other two seem fairly convince of the romantic interlude between "Angela" and "Matthew" but not the walrus fellow. "No. It is not it. We heard several other complaints coming from the neighbors that don't add up to you having sex."

John then asked, "Which are?"

The man really didn't seem to have a delicate bone in his body, and as Madison took a moment to gaze up into John's face, the officers use of the word sex caused her to pause unintentionally in the midst of another sip from her wine. He didn't seem to notice, however, and instead answered John, "The neighbors reported a man screaming, and a woman downstairs was woken by a stranger after being knocked unconscious in the hall downstairs." The officer said as he reviewed some notes off his notebook.

Madison tensed ever so slightly as John coiled his hand around hers, not having expected yet another unapproved touch she had to adjust to. Her gaze lingered over his hand for a moment, before she looked to the walrus. "Yes, I found her on the floor on my way up earlier, though I'm not sure what happened to her. Maybe she tripped and hit her head?" She suggested with uncertainty. It wasn't the most solid story, but enough for the police to leave and by the time they came back with more questions, she and John would be long gone from this place.

The walrus didn't seem too convinced, "And the screams?"

Madison took the time to look at John, embarrassed really, as there was really no other way around it. The heat rose in her cheeks as she shook her head and mumbled just audible enough, "You really need to learn to control yourself sweetheart. These walls aren't soundproof, you know." She gave his hand a short, apologetic kiss, 'knowing' he would be too ashamed to admit it himself. She then turned back to the officer and answered, "He just gets so excited when we're ah... well, he can't help himself." She turned and flashed a smile at the other two male officers, and then sending a silent plea from the look on her face to the policewoman who had, for the majority of the time, remained quiet.

John cheeks turn red out of sheer embarrassment. It was the first time, he could not wrap his head around what Madison fully said. He looked at her, and she looked at him, a triumphant smirk on her lips, and a quizzical expression on his. They were communicating without any words, with unspoken glances, as if they were seeing deep meaning in a simple touch, a simple smile, a simple glance. Without any words, he told her not to push her luck.

"Clarify something. If you were with Matthew last night and this morning, how did you meet the women on your way here?" The policewomen asked, seeing flaws in are quilt of lies.

"We were famished, of course...after...." John's ears turn crimson red, now embarrassed to utter the words. "Anyways, she went out to get bagels and coffee, and I was instructed to...well you know...come up with new ideas." It was as if he could not form complete sentences, but like they did initially he let the form their own conclusions once again. Not as gracefully as Madison, but he conveyed the mental image.


The youngest of the police officer turn to the Walrus of a man and said, "We have little to go on Captain, and their story checks out." To be honest, nothing really checks out. Their lies were fickle at best, and little more investigation and their house of cards could just as easily tumble down. Even the Captain did not buy the story, stating, "Your not seasoned enough to have instinct probe. I smell something fishy going on, and I will find it."

The longer this charade went on, the more uncomfortable Madison was becoming, and the less the alcohol seemed to be doing its job. She was painstakingly aware of the hand still latched to her waist, and the feel of his hand over hers, neither of which were helping in this incredibly awkward conversation. Her thinly constructed mask was already falling apart, and she could no longer take their torment, "Well, as it seems nothing short of a demonstration will satisfy you, haven't you harassed us enough for one day?"

It was bad enough she had to endure John's less than creative cover up, and things only seemed to be heading down an inescapable pit. She didn't think they would make it out of here without using magic on all four of these muggles, and the thought made her tense against John's body. Her gaze rose to meet his once again, this time with a sharp look, warning him to fix this, and to fix it now.

The other officers did not appear as relentless as their Captain, the two younger fellows were both appearing uncomfortable now that she had voiced her concerns, and the female officer seemed somewhat sympathetic, despite her strict stance and composure; Madison could tell by the slightest quirk of the woman's eyebrow, as she looked to her Captain. All she wanted was for them to be gone, so she could peel herself off of her supposed lover.

"Belle," John said stepping forward, berating himself for the situation he put them in. Two things he knew about Madison, she was a for inches shy of a short fuse ready to burst, and she hated being in scandalous situations. This was something John wanted to avoid at all cost. In his even voice, he suggested to 'Belle' to go back to the bedroom and finish getting ready for their date and he will handle the police situation.

Once Madison was out of sight, he turn to the police officers and said fairly calmly and seriously, "We are magical wizard law enforcement, investigating a suspicious crime that happen in here in Apt 322. The reason why we are in such a disarray was at first, Belle thought I betrayed my badge and everything I stood for. Then you came, and we came up with a cover story about being madly in love and have passionate sex everywhere except the kitchen sink. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

It was the god honest truth. Everything that happen here abbreviated in a few short sentences, and the police officers especially the captain looked skeptical even on verge of being dumbfounded. "Is that a joke?" he said trying to read the situation, but not fully processing what was going on. "I think we are done here. Next time keep the noise down if you know what is good for yah." He stomped out followed by the two other officers. The youngest of them still smiling profusely, as if he knew something they didn't. The last thing he did was nod in John's direction, before closing the door behind him.

After the door was shut, and John locked it for the time being he went back to the bedroom where Madison was stewing over her anger.

The opportunity to return to the back room, away from their prying eyes, was not one she would let slip by, and the moment John suggested it, she gave a curt nod, and was out of the room before anyone could change their mind. She stepped into the bedroom, and left the door open just slightly, so she could still here the conversation going on in the other room. She gave a long hard look at the half-full glass of wine in her hand, and with an irritable sigh, she downed the rest in one gulp. She listened as the police officers started to take their leave, and she immediately put down the empty glass and headed into the bathroom, where she could change, and keep a door between her and John.

There were just too many things racing through her head at this point, of how all of this could somehow find its way back to Eirina, or the Ministry could start looking into thing, find out she was involved. Too many witnesses saw her, could describe her, and where would that lead? Another bloody front page dedicated to yet another one of the History Professor's damned mistakes! She was a dark witch, a lunatic, and now she would be portrayed scandalous now too? Was there no end to the shame one person alone could possibly feel?

She found herself shaking, as she clasped her hands around the sink, and watched the tremble in her arm as the anger, frustration, and fear all boiled inside of her. She could not walk out of here and let John or anyone else see a loss in her composure, she had to pull herself together. She couldn't even be certain this would get out like every other... single... time. Madison shook her head as she tightened her grip on the sink, to the point where her knuckles turned white. She let out a deep breath, and at the same time released her grip on the porcelain, all the tension seemingly flowing right out of her. She looked at her reflection, and started adjusting her hair to make it decent again, before finally picking her clothes up off the floor and getting dressed again. By the time she came out of the bathroom, she was keeping her mind occupied with other things as she threw John his shirt, but gave little to no further acknowledgment he was even there. She couldn't look at him without inevitably sending him flying into a wall, so she didn't look at all- she could save that for when they were safely at the Order, and away from this mess.

Once she grabbed her wand off the cabinet where she'd found the wine earlier, she headed for the door, where John stood blatantly like an idiot. She took another deep breath, before saying, "Excuse me," but her words were dripping with poison, as though all her hate for him had been contained in those two words. She held her wand firmly with both of her hands, a warning to him that she was not to be toyed with right now- she had been through quite enough of that for the day. She took the time now to look John in the eyes, and it became that much more challenging to maintain what little composure she had, and to hold back the rage that so badly wanted to escape.

It seemed like the time spent in this apartment aged him twenty years. Leaning into the doorframe, he seemed beyond exhausted. Lies fueled him, maintained him for so long that when truth starts to seep into the either, his past catches up to him draining him of all his energy. And still Madison dampers his life force even further when she emerges from her enclave, where she spent the last ten minutes perfecting her status as the 'Woman who Shall not yield.'

Her words were beyond hate, beyond disdain for him. It reminded him of her. That vehement look she gave him, the disgust in her eyes, it froze him in place, locked him between the past and the present. All he could see in Madison's eyes were a reflection of Sally founding out the truth of who he is, what he is. That look was itched not only in his mind, but on his soul forever. The one he vowed to love forever, looking at him as if he was not human...a freak impersonating a man. Those sames feeling he felt that day came rushing back in full force paralyzing him to that spot.

He could not bare to look into those deep brown eyes of Madison any longer. A sign of weakness, he would let Madison see as he sifted away from the door to let her pass. Instead of following her out the door he remain rooted into the room, contemplating the mystery that is Madison.