Our story begins. (Angela)

[Dustin Hemingway]

“NO!” Dustin yelled as he turned over in bed, pulling the covers over his head to protect himself from the sunlight pouring into his room. His yelling didn’t seem to deter the knocking that came from his door. “Leave me alone!” He yelled trying to bury himself into his bed even more, trying to get further from the knocks on the door. He didn’t want to think about what time it was but it was probably nine, if he had to guess “Wake the hell up! Do you know what time it is?” The voice hissed from behind the door, it seemed to pierce through his door and right into his ears. “Time for you to go the hell away!” He yelled pushing off the covers. All Dustin wanted was a few more minutes of sleep; that wasn’t so much to ask for, was it? “If you weren’t out with all those women till the morning, you wouldn’t be so dam tired!” The voice hissed on as they pounded on the door. “Excuse me for having a life! May I recommend you go find one!” He hissed back finally rolling out of bed and making his way for his bathroom.

While he got dressed he heard the voice still yelling but he wasn't paying attention anymore. “God, Damara yells worse then mom.” Dustin said with a sigh as he walked out from the bathroom picking up his wand from the nightstand and stuffing it into his pocket. Soon there was a softer knock at the door and right away Dustin could tell who it was, the only polite one in this house it seemed. “Dustin, please wake up; Your going to be late.” Said the tiny voice in a low tone. Dustin opened the door with a big smile and hugged Vincent then let go only to mess up his hair. “Thank you so much for waking me up! You’re the best brother in the world.” Dustin yelled with a huge grin on his face. He yelled for two reasons; one to piss off Damara who tried to wake up earlier and two because he loved Vincent and it was true, he couldn’t have asked for a better little brother.

Dustin made his way down the to the fireplace, leaving Vincent to stand there confused and embarrassed at what just happened. Damara stood there with a cold look on her face and an awful smirk. “I tried to wake you up minutes earlier and nothing, he wakes you up and he's amazing?” She said in a sarcastic tone, staring right at Dustin as he stood in front of the fireplace. “What can I say? You didn’t say please.” He smirked as the words left his lips; Dustin liked nothing better then messing with his twin sister. It was almost a hobby for him. He grabbed a handful of the Floo Powder and with a sigh throw it into the fire and watched as they turned an awful green color. Dustin gave one last sigh and glanced over to Damara and smiled. “Quit your complaining you know you’re the best sister in the world too.” Dustin said with a laugh and a smirk as he stepped into the fireplace, he always hated this part. “Diagon Alley.” With that Dustin was gone from the fireplace and the flames returned to a deep red color.

Dustin had barely arrived at the Quidditch shops fireplace, which was located in the back of the storage room when he heard someone. “Dustin is that you?!” Yelled the voice sounding like it was upfront; Dustin just sighed wondering when his professional Quidditch career would kick off. “No, Dustin isn’t here! Just us broomsticks!” He yelled back with a laugh making his way up front. Sure he made it seem like he hated being here or working in general but for the most part Dustin actually enjoyed it, just getting out of the house was a blissing. “Yeah pops?” Dustin said as he walked out of the storage room doors and saw the store owner, Mr. Thurston counting the money. “How many times have I told you?” He said not even looking over to Dustin, he just kept counting. “It’s boss, Sir, Mr. Thurston, hell even Axel would work. Why must you always call me pops? Am I that old?” He said with a grin as he finally turned to Dustin.

“Old? No way, I hear a hundred is quite young, if you’re a tree.” Dustin said with a smirk as the two both soon burst into laughter. Dustin had been working here for about five or six months and he had become great friends with the shop owner, they always messed with each other and trusted each other completely. If he knew Dustin’s family then that might have changed but he never shared that with Mr. Thurston. “Okay, time for business.” Thurston said as he clapped his hands together and put the money back in the counter. “You go back there and finish cleaning and I’ll get the store open.” He said with a smirk as he headed for the door and flipped around an open sign. “I see. Your going to flip a sign and relax and I’ll go back here and clean all the floors and items, right?” Dustin said with a smirk, messing with him as he always did in the morning. “Well when you run this place you can do the hard work, till then go back and clean.” Mr. Thurston said with a big laugh and a grin making his way back to the counter.

“I can’t wait.” Dustin said turning around and back into the storage room, he looked around with a sigh as his smile faded. “Oh and Dustin!” Thurston yelled making sure he could hear him through the door. “With the summer rush I hired some extra help! They should be here soon, so be on your best behavior.” Dustin listened as the yelling stopped. “Extra help? Great this means some little thirteen year old or something will be running around here.” He said sighing as he sat down in a chair, in the corner. “Great, just what I needed; he’s probably a spaz too.” Dustin said looking around the storage room, it still looked pretty clean from his point of view; He would have to try and delay cleaning it even more the best he could. “On the bright side I could make the rookie do all this for me.” He said with a laugh as he imagined never cleaning the shop again.

[Angela Merciano S7]

Angela had barely slept that night. She tossed and turned in anticipation for what was to come the next day. She could barely believe she had really been given such an important job. She would be the Cavalieri’s main source as to what was going on with the Hemingway family. Surely his siblings would be coming to visit their brother at work to let them know what was going on. Angela would be in the background, listening to every word of it. She was so excited. Angela knew her mother was alive and out there somewhere. It wouldn’t be long now before they found out where exactly she was hidden. There were rumors that the Hemingways had her hidden in their dungeon, but that was far too obvious. Angela’s grandfather always used to tell her that she had to “know her enemy.” She hated the Hemingways of course, but she would never dare underestimate their ability. The only reason the Entourage and the Cavalieri had been at war for so long was because they were equals. Neither was too much stronger or wiser than the other. That was why they each had to fight like hell to win. When the Entourage were at their weakest and the Cavalieri at their strongest, that was how they would win. This was a theory that had been discussed for years, but because of their thirst for revenge, both sides were almost always at an equal playing field, which frustrated Angela and her family to no end.

Angela woke hours earlier than she really needed to after finally going to bed many hours later than she should have. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, still shocked at the new blonde reflection in the large elegant mirror. The look suited her pretty well, but it definitely was a change. She was excited to see how her grandfather’s spell worked on her. She didn’t doubt for a second that it would work perfectly. She never doubted her grandfather. He could tell her the sky is green and she’d accept it even though she’d been taught for her entire life that the sky is blue. But Hector-Miguel Merciano would never tell her something as silly and pointless as that. He was smarter than that. Angela had so much faith in her grandfather’s plan. As she brushed through her new hair, she read over the details she’d have to put to memory within a few hours. It was pretty simple information though. She was born in a small villiage near Liverpool and grew up in the city of London when she was adopted by a very wealthy couple. Due to marital affairs on both sides, the couple separated. Both were very cruel to her, so she moved out and bought a place of her own when she was sixteen. All her expenses were funded by her uncle, who was a much kinder man. Angela would have to get used to being addressed as Ava as well. She’d never associated herself with any other name except Angela Gabriella Merciano. It seemed odd to name her anything else, but Angela would just have to try.

She bathed and clothed herself quickly, hoping for enough time to speak with her grandfather or even her father before going off to work. Sadly though, Angela looked to her bedside table after stepping out of the shower to see one red rose and an elegant envelope with her grandfather’s seal on it. He wouldn’t be there to see her off on her first day working as an almost-official Cavalieri member. She read through the note quickly. Apparently he had to see to some last-minute business with Angela’s father in Wales, and he wouldn’t be back for a day or so. Angela sighed as she walked outside of her bedroom. The first person she saw was Kaden, her nephew. She smiled down at him. He looked slightly confused, but he was present at her grandfather’s office last night, so he should still know who she was. She held her breath, waiting for one of his inevitable questions.

“I like your new hair auntie Angie.” He said with a wide smile. The three-year-old never ceased to touch Angela’s heart. She’d always wondered how her sister Gabriella had been able to stay so peaceful in such a violent family, but after just a few moments of being with her son, Angela knew. She hugged him close and played around with his curly light brown hair. “Wanna help me make breakfast?” Kaden smiled widely. They made eggs with bread together, and as another hour flew by, Angela found it was time for her to leave. She kissed her nephew goodbye as he seemed to be the only one awake at this early hour and made her way to the fireplace. She threw the powder into the fireplace and moments later, she was staring straight at her mission—Dustin Hemingway. “Hey. I’m at the right place right? I think I’m supposed to start working here today.”

[Dustin Hemingway]

Dustin sat in his chair looking around the room some more. “Really? It’s not even that bad back here. I honestly don't know what he’s complaining about all the time.” Dustin said ending with a dry laugh. He hated cleaning so much and the idea of some new kid running around doing it for him made him quite happy. “I’ll just have to hold out till he gets here.” He muttered to himself as he stood up, he looked around the storage room with no real idea where to start. With a final sigh he made his way further back to where all the broomsticks were kept. Dustin was just about to start sweeping when he heard the fireplace roar; it was the obvious sounds of someone using Floo powder to get in. It happened once or twice a day; some customer would just appear in the fireplace, looking to get their shopping done quickly. “I swear if this is a customer I’m going to slap them, I swear I’ll do it.” He muttered to himself, he hated when people did this it was so annoying and just caught him off guard.

Dustin made it to the fireplace just in time to see the person arrive and he was pretty shocked at what he found. He was expecting some old man or woman, who would soon ask where they were and why they weren't in the front of the store. What stood there in front of him was a girl that seemed to be around his age. Dustin looked at her up and down and came to the conclusion that she might possibly be the most beautiful girl he had seen so far in his life. Dustin just smiled as she asked him if she was in the right place and that she was just starting work today. "Hmm well this is a major improvement from what I was expecting." He muttered to himself still looking at her and finally toke the time to answer her questions.

"Around me? Yes I feel that is the right place." He said with a smirk, as one word just rang in his head the whole time, "Jackpot!" "Hey grandpa! You know that help you said was coming?" He yelled, turning his head so his voice was better aimed at the door to the front of the shop. "What about it, and don't call me gra..." Thurston started to yell back but was cut off by Dustin. "Was it supposed to be a beautiful girl?" Dustin yelled back turning to the girl just for a second to wink. "All I know is that it's a girl." Thurston yelled, he was getting tired of yelling but didn't feel like going all the way back to the storage room. "Well I found her!" Dustin yelled then with a smirk turned back to the girl right in front of the fireplace. "Don't worry we're normally like this." Dustin said with a laugh as the storage doors swung open and Mr. Thurston made his way to where Dustin stood.

"Nice of you to join us, gran.." Dustin said with a smirk as he let himself be cut off by Mr. Thurston. "First don't call me grandpa, nether of you, got that?" He said with a smile then turned to Dustin and stared at him for a second. "I thought I told you to be on your best behavior?" He said still just staring at him; Dustin could tell he wouldn't look away till he gave some kind of an answer. "What can I say? I forget what I'm told around beautiful women." Dustin said with a smirk glancing back to the girl then at Mr. Thurston. "I also thought I told you to clean up back here." Mr. Thurston’s smile was slowly disappearing, he loved messing with Dustin just as much as Dustin loved messing with him but he hated when orders weren't followed and Dustin knew this all too well.

"Well you see I was going to but something distracted me. First was the fireplace turning green and then with the beautiful figure that now stands beside us; so I can't be held to blame." Dustin said with a smile trying to work Thurston back into his smile, which worked like a charm. Mr. Thurston turned to the girl, which it seemed he had totally forgot about while dealing with Dustin. "How can you blame....um." Thurston was frozen he had actually forgotten the name of the young women he just hired; Dustin couldn't help but laugh a little. "Well if your not going to ask her, her name I will." He said still laughing a little as he turned back to the girl. " Hello, I'm Dustin Hemingway and this fine man here who hired you is..." Dustin could tell just by glancing out of the corner of his eye, Mr. Thurston was staring right at him waiting for the name that would come out of his mouth this time. "Mr. Thurston and who might your beautiful self be?" Dustin turned to Mr. Thurston giving him a quick smiled, as if he was trying to say "Gotcha ya!" Then turned back to the girl waiting for her response.

[Angela Merciano S7]

Angela wasn’t at all too shocked to see the immediate interest in that Hemingway’s eyes. She was a beautiful girl, she had always known that. It was a bit surreal to be getting this sort of attention from a filthy Hemingway though. Angela felt almost dirty just being this close to one and having to talk to one without letting them know who she really was. But then, it felt powerful too. She loved that she was placed in the position of a spy. She’d be watching him throughout their long shifts and she was sure she’d be able to get some information out of him. But her father had warned her to keep her distance in the letter she read earlier that morning. The words on the paper stung her spirit a bit after reading his warning about the Hemingway boy. Hector-Miguel Merciano didn’t miss a beat. He knew everything, no matter how secretive those in question were being about it. So of course, Angela’s grandfather had picked up on her weakness—charm.

Angela hated that she had that disgusting soft spot for sweet words and anything romantic. Angela was cold as ice, but that didn’t stop her secret desire to be loved and held. Once any boy showed that he could do those things for her, it was a battle to try and keep any form of mental sanity and sense of reason. She didn’t make this weakness of hers obvious at all; she didn’t let anyone get close enough to her to even come close to figuring out this flaw in her personality. But her grandfather knew, and he warned her to keep her distance. She would eventually make him trust her, but Angela and the person she was herself would always remain a mystery to him. She wouldn’t let him get close to figuring her out, or else all would be ruined. Her family was counting on her, and she was going to make them proud to have Angela Merciano as a future member of their “Extended Family.” She sighed and tried to smile politely. On the bright side, it seemed that the spell was working perfectly. If it hadn’t, this Hemingway wouldn’t be flirting so openly with her.

“The name’s Ava. And don’t worry sir, I wouldn’t dream of calling you by such a name.” She said politely, though without all too much emotion. She’d been working on hiding her native Spanish accent, and she thought she did it quite well. Her father had been teaching her how to master it for years in case the time would ever come where she would have to hide her true nationality. Everything was going smoothly enough, but Angela wondered where to go from that point on. Should she take the sweet route, and try to play nice until he fell into her hands? Or should she probably take a bit more of an evasive route and keep her distance from the start? Angela thought back to her lessons on the Hemingway family tree. Her family had always thought it to be important that their children knew the enemy both inside and out. She thought hard to her lesson on the eldest child, which probably took place during Angela’s fifth year if she could remember correctly.

“Listen carefully, Angela. Dustin Hemingway is probably the weakest link in the immediate Hemingway family line. He may be the oldest, but he is not at all like the others who are dedicated and aware. After falling prey to the drug trade his own parents helped flourish, he became a fighter. He had to fight his addictions. The only way he was able to do this successfully was because of his eagerness to overcome any challenge that came his way. It is almost like an instinctual desire. It’s both a strength and a weakness though, because it leaves him incapable of denying any fool hearted challenge that is thrown his way. Always remember that.

And there it was—her answer. She couldn’t make this easy for him. Otherwise, he’d lose interest too quickly and Angela would never get anywhere. She needed to be a challenge. She sighed. “So what is it exactly that this job entails? I’m pretty good with brooms and Quidditch, so I can help out basically anywhere.” She said to her new boss, who really was nearing the later stages of his life. The old man smiled. “See Dustin? I like this girl. Always ready to work and never calls me old. Don’t worry about it doll face, Dustin will show you the ropes. But don’t let him convince you to do all the cleaning. He barely does much of that himself.” Angela smiled as the man left to go talk to what seemed to be the first costumer of the day. After taking a deep but silent breath, Angela turned around to face her challenge—Dustin Hemingway. “So...what is it that we’re supposed to be doing around here exactly?”

[Dustin Hemingway]

Dustin just smirked as she introduced herself as Ava and told Thurston she would never call him by such a name. “A good girl too, it seems.” He thought to himself as he still just kept looking at her. This had to be one of the luckiest days of his life; their he stood in front of a very beautiful girl who might be doing all his work from today on. He was going to have to play his cards just right to pull this off, he couldn't make it seem like he was using her. He didn't think of it as using her, it was more like teaching her the job while she was doing his work at the same time; he laughed a little to himself as he thought about it. "Maybe I can get her one of those French maid uniforms." Dustin thought to himself imagining her wearing it and laughing a little to himself still.

Dustin was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Mr. Thurston say his name, then turned to look at him. Dustin's smirk grew a little bigger as Thurston told her that Dustin would show her the ropes but it slowly disappeared as he also told her not to do all his work for him. "Great he's on to me already." Dustin tried to say it in a sarcastic tone but it was true. He came to think Thurston probably knew the whole time that, that was something Dustin had been planning since he heard of the new help. Dustin looked back to Ava imagining the maids uniform one last time. "It would have looked so good too." He muttered under his breath as he looked back to see Thurston heading back up front. "Old man just had to ruin my dreams, didn't he." Dustin said thinking out loud looking back to Ava. "Oh well still much better then what I was expecting." Dustin remarked with a small laugh at the end.

"Suppose to be doing?" Dustin replied with a smirk as he looked around the storage room. "Well that all depends on whose point of view your asking about. Right about now I'm suppose to be in that chair over there relaxing and thinking about possibly cleaning." Dustin walked a little toward the chair in the corner as he spoke to her. "Your more then welcome to join me if you like." He said with a smirk turning around to look at her, still not over the how beautiful she looked and the glow from the fireplace behind her didn't help him at all. "If your asking what gramps wants us to do back here, he wants us to clean pretty much everything till he gets too busy up front and then we have to help him out." He said finally turning away from her and heading a little more to his chair.

"It's all up to you my dear, clean or have a seat." He said with a smirk, sitting down in the chair and looking back to her. “As long as your in view, I’ll be good.” Dustin added as he relaxed in the chair; Dustin always wondered why there was a chair back here, it just seemed so out of place but he was thankful for it anyway. With a sigh Dustin looked around the storage room. “Man, if I don’t clean, Thurston’s going to get all worked up and annoying.” He thought to himself as he soon thought of a way to get up and clean and yet not make it seem like he was forced too.

“Well I guess I could break my routine and show you what to do around here on one condition.” He paused with a smirk looking right at her, if this worked he would get two things he wanted, the cleaning done and her. “Tonight, you go out with me and get something to eat; I’m thinking Italian, it sounds pretty good right now.” Dustin’s smirk grew bigger as he finished talking and waited for her answer. He soon wished he didn’t talk about food just now; it reminded him that he hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast because he was running late. He began to feel his stomach tighten with the pains of hunger. “Either way I’m going to go get something to eat, you in?” He said with a smile as he stood up, which just made the pain a little worse. He hated feeling hungry, the urge for food reminded him of his past addiction a little to much. “We could move our date to right now, if that suits you?” Dustin’s smirk returned as he stood there looking at her.

[Angela Merciano S7]

Angela was thoroughly shocked at how much responsibility had been placed on her. It wasn’t a secret that Angela was possibly the most devoted young person in the Merciano family, but Angela definitely had her faults and they knew that. She’d seen uncles and cousins get months or sometimes even years to prepare for a Cavalieri mission, and they were obviously far more qualified than she was. Angela had only been given a few short hours to prepare for this remarkably important role. Just knowing how much trust her family had in her abilities made her made her soul swell up with such an immense pride she couldn’t help but smirk just a bit.

Dustin, (the only other person in the room now) didn’t seem to notice however, for he looked like there was something very interesting on his mind as well. He stole a discreet glance at her, but Angela was quick enough to catch it. He was probably imagining the things he wanted to do with her over the course of her working here, while Angela (or rather Ava at the moment) was busy thinking about how she was somehow going to suck as much information out of him as possible without giving any of herself away to him. The task seemed daringly difficult if not impossible, but if her grandfather truly believed she was capable of achieving it, then she did too.

It was at that moment that Angela was faced with a bit of a choice. It seemed pretty trivial of a task to do. They just had to organize all the brooms and sweep what looked like perpetually dusty floors. Her boss never mentioned the work had to be done in a muggle fashion, so what was the point in wasting her time sweeping the floors and cleaning up? She knew the perfect spell that’d make the small back room clean in no time. Just as Angela was about to pull out her wand though, Dustin Hemingway decided he was actually going to clean for a change. It was almost amusing how remarkably lazy the boy was. It seemed it didn’t take him much personal effort to do much of anything, so obviously he wouldn’t be wasting his energy any more than he needed to. Angela couldn’t help but smirk. Perhaps this would be even more simple than she expected. Perhaps she’d only been given a few hours to prepare simply because it only took about that much preparation to deal with such an imbecile. She glanced at him as he uttered the low words of “it would have looked so good too.” Angela’s curiosity had always been a bit of a problem. Without thinking about what she was saying, Angela spoke. “What would have looked good?” She wondered aloud.

Though as Dustin stood to help her clean, she was put to her first test. The deal. Angela swallowed nervously. This whole new identity thing would be a very hard task to keep up. It was almost ironic Dustin would suggest Italian food, considering Angela was a majority Italian. “I think I can do the cleaning on my own, thanks.” She said with an almost teasing smile, pulling out her wand and uttering a simple cleaning spell. Angela watched with a spark of amusement in her eyes as the brooms began cleaning the floors and putting themselves away like a scene from some muggle fairytale where they always seemed to love enchanting inanimate objects.

“But I wouldn’t mind sitting for awhile. I am pretty tired.” Suddenly, Mr. Thurton walked into the room, looking a bit tired. He had an owl perched on his arm. He looked to the brooms magically cleaning the floors and smiled. “Ah, very clever of you Ava. You should take notes Dustin; this one’s a gem for the shop. But listen, I’ve just received word of a family emergency back at home. I’ll be back in an hour or so. You behave now. I don’t want all my costumers complaining about an unruly shop when I return. Behave.” Mr. Thurton warned them, though Angela couldn’t help but notice the warning seemed like it was mostly for Dustin rather than Angela. She sighed as their boss disappeared with a loud crack. “So I guess breakfast is out then.” Angela stated, looking around the shop admiring one of the brooms. She had one just like it at home, but she couldn’t help admire the beauty of a brand new un-touched broom.

[Dustin Hemingway]

Dustin stood there and looked around wishing deep down that it would get busy soon. He liked being up front with the customers, rather then back here in the dreary storage room. Even Mr. Thurston said that’s where his talents lied, in selling people stuff they barely needed. He had almost forgotten the pain in his stomach till it came up again and even more annoying then before, he was going to need to do something about it soon or distract himself from the hunger somehow. Soon that distraction said something; Ava asked him what he meant about what he said earlier about the maids uniform looking so good. He was sure he probably heard him and he wasn’t really trying to hide his voice anyway. “Nothing to worry about beautiful, just imagining our new dress code. That is if I ran the place.” He said with a smirk as she stood looking at the dusty floors.

He just smiled as she turned him down, it wasn’t like he hadn’t been turned down before but he had been hoping the answer would have been yes. “Well I’ll just have to try harder, it seems.” Dustin thought out loud to himself as he watched her pull out her wand. He knew what she was planning, it was something Dustin wished he could do every time he had to clean but never could and he just sighed as he watched the broom start cleaning on it’s own. “Yeah, I’m forced to do things differently, normally just opening the windows and making a huge gust of wind.” He said with a smirk it was actually quite fun to do but made a mess most times.” I apparently put a little to much of myself into the object and the next thing you know it’s trying to romance another broom or the snitchs go crazy.” He said with a smirk as he remembered when a crate full of snitchs ran loss in the storage room. “It was actually pretty good practice.” Dustin said laughingly

“Seeing as how you can do the cleaning on your own, I guess I’ll go get something to eat by myself.” Dustin said still a little disappointed that she turned him down but oh well, There would be other chances. Dustin was just starting to head to the door leading up front when he turned back at her. “You want anything anyway? While I’m out.” Dustin asked, he didn’t want to come back with food while she was still hungry or something. None of that seemed to matter in a bit as Mr. Thurston suddenly popped out of the front door and walked toward them. He smiled at the broom cleaning on it’s own and praised Ava for thinking of it, it seemed he forgotten Dustin’s past attempts but he didn’t really feel like bringing it up again.

Dustin was slightly concerned when he heard about Thurston family emergency, he had grown close to him over the months so he hoped it wasn’t anything to serious. His concern soon faded and was replaced with a smirk as he told them he would be leaving for and hour or so. “Me? Behave? Do you have an reason to doubt me sir?” He said laughing slightly as Thurston just stared at him. “All the reason in the world.” Thurston said with a smirk as he disappeared with a crack and left nothing but a blank space. “I’m surprised gramps can still do that.” Dustin said laughing, he knew Thurston said he could Apparate but he had never seen him do it before.

He sighed a little as he heard Ava talk about breakfast, which made him just as hungry again. “No, it just means I’ll just have to go quicker then I thought.” He said with a smirk, with Thurston gone he was free to do as he pleased really and as long as no one complained Thurston wouldn’t be any the wiser. Dustin walked up to the door leading up front and peered out and didn’t see anyone, it was still morning pretty much so it wasn’t going to get busy until lunch. “We could always flip the sign to closed and take an hour break. Lord knows we deserve it.” He said with a laugh as he headed up front, he liked it so much better up here then in the storage room.

“Well I’ll be back in a couple minutes.” Dustin said a little louder then before so she could hear him back in the storage room. He made his way out the door not even checking if Ava had bothered to come out front and watch the store. Dustin wasn’t that worried he was just going a crossed the street to some small cafe nearby, he could also see the store the whole time from where he was. Dustin knew he shouldn’t have left but if he gotten any hungrier his mood would really have been affected by it and he knew for a fact he got really annoying to be around when he was starved. Also he thought it would be kind of funny to see how Ava would react to being alone on her first day and what she would do.

[Angela Merciano S7]

The subtle discomfort that Dustin was dealing with was obvious to anyone around. He was definitely pleased to know that she would be working with him for the next couple of months, but she could tell that there was definitely something he was not happy with. Whether it was his lack of food or the dust on the floors, Angela couldn’t quite tell. But then again, the fact that he was a guy led Angela to believe that his obvious discomfort was due to the first reason. Dustin Hemingway didn’t exactly look like much of a neat freak. Of course, she was the complete opposite. One would think that because Angela had her own personal house elf, she’d be lazy and disorganized due to the fact that she never had to lift a finger at home. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Angela couldn’t stand clutter. Clutter and disorder in the space around her eventually lead to the cluttering of her thoughts; and she couldn’t have that in this delicate situation. It was of utmost importance that her mind stay clear at all times to remember the task she had been given. However, part of Angela knew that the dusty mess of her work space wouldn’t be the only thing that would inevitably lead to disorganized thoughts in her mind. Not that she would admit it though. Angela’s previous weakness to shallow charmers and false romance didn’t exist here in this case--at least, not in her mind.

Dustin was a very typical teenage boy, Angela noted to herself. She didn’t know why, but it had always been a bad habit of hers to put people under a certain stereotype. Normally, there were some qualities about a certain group of people that stood out from the norm of “their kind”, but in Dustin’s case, he fit his stereotype quite perfectly. He was the perfect image of a shallow, faint-hearted womanizer. Angela could probably pinpoint his exact dating history and habits. Dustin Hemingway was probably the type of man who knew exactly what to say to a woman. He thought he knew them all inside and out, but those he couldn’t figure out were just a much more interesting catch in his eyes. He probably got very bored or distracted easily and moved on quickly without ever looking back. Sure he was a nice guy and probably felt bad about leaving girls behind in the process, but this didn’t stop him from moving on. The most important thing to remember about Dustin Hemingway’s personality though, was his weakness. Because of the daring nature Angela had studied about combined with his player-like attraction to anyone who plays hard to get, this task would be all too easy for her to complete. Angela was confident that by the end of the summer, she would have her mother back at home where she belonged.

Angela was awakened from her in-depth analysis of Dustin Hemingway’s behavior when he started walking out of the door. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of going with him to breakfast, but then again this was her first day on the job. She wasn’t sure if she would be willing to handle a bunch of customers walking in at once asking her where this is or how this works or how much this broom costs. No one had taught her anything. She’d been in that Quidditch shop for all of ten minutes. Swallowing hard, Angela figured she’d manage it. She stood in the doorway, unconsciously watching Dustin as he crossed the street into a small café. She sighed, somehow unable to pry herself from the doorway but also unable to follow him into the café.

Angela was just about to close the door when a huge crowd of what seemed to be young teenage boys appeared in the doorway pushing their way inside. Angela’s eyes widened. She knew that as a Merciano woman, she would eventually be expected to not only serve the “Family”, but also to raise a successful family on her own. But this didn’t hinder her obvious dislike for children. Apart from her nephew, all children Angela came in contact with were a nuisance to her. They were loud and annoying. The boys immediately pushed to open the door but Angela shook her head. The boys groaned and protested in unison. “We’re closed.” Angela said, hoping it would shoo the eager boys away. It didn’t help. “But you always open at nine every weekday. You can’t be closed!” Angela snarled. “Well sorry kid, but we’re making exceptions today. Come back in an hour.” Angela growled. This of course, caused the boys to run away. She didn’t even wait until all the boys were gone to open the door and head for the café. Hunger and inexperience. That would be her excuse for following him into the café. She still wasn’t going to accept his offer for a date. No, that just wasn’t going to happen.

[Dustin Hemingway]

Dustin walked into the café and took a seat at one of the tables that looked out the window so he could watch the shop while he ate real quick. Pretty soon a young waitress approached the table and Dustin just smiled, knowing full well who the girl was. “Well hello again li..” Was all Dustin could get out before he was cut off by the waitress. “What is it now, Dustin?” She said with a smirk and Dustin just laughed a little. “Touchy today aren't we?” Dustin replied back with a slight laugh then looked out the window for a second then back to her. “No, I just have no time to be messing with you again.” She said with her smirk still holding firm and looking right at him. Dustin knew her all to well, he had gone out with her a few months ago but broke it off about a week after they started. She was one of the few girls that didn't seem to hold a grudge against him. Probably because she knew what she was getting into before they went out, she knew he was only looking for some fun.

“Just get me whatever you have fresh, please.” Dustin finally replied back when he felt it had wasted enough of her time thinking to himself. “Sure, so what's going on?” She said pulling out one of the chairs and sitting down, which Dustin found a little surprising. “Nothing I'm just hungry, so I came here and gave you my order and now the waitress should be taking it back there then bringing back my food.” Dustin said kidding but he was still really hungry and wanted to eat soon. “Yeah, yeah in a minute. I asked you a question.” She replied smirking and Dustin knew what she was doing, this was her revenge for wasting her time a minute ago. “I'm good, we just got some new girl working at the shop and right now I'm really hungry.” He said smiling back at her and she finally stood up then stared out the window for a second, laughed and started to walk away. “Also you might want to check your store, I think the new girl started a riot.” She said laughing back to him as she walked back to the kitchen.

Dustin turned his head right as she said that to see a group of boys outside the door all trying to push their way in but he could see Ava holding them back. “This is priceless.” He said smirking to himself a little, he soon found himself feeling bad about leaving her all alone on her first day. He could tell she was yelling back at them and they were yelling back at her but he just couldn't make out what they were saying from where he said. “Things do seem to fall apart when I'm not there don't they.” He said to himself as he started to stand up. “I guess it's time for me to save the day.” Dustin added with a smirk as he stood there looking out the window then noticed the boys start to leave, Ava had finally seemed to have won the battle and gotten them to go away. “Or not it would seem.” He said with a sigh then sat back down and looked around for Lisa. As he sat there waiting he had gotten slightly disappointed, Dustin kind of wanted to play the hero. Coming in and saving the day might have gotten him one step closer to Ava. He soon found himself thinking about her a zoning out a little.

His mind was full of ideas all involving her, ideas of how to win her over or what he should say. Dustin just shrugged and smiled as he saw Lisa coming back with a plate, He would have all summer to win Ava over but first he guessed he should at lest get to know her first. She dropped the plate right in front of him which caught Dustin a little by surprise. “Really?” He asked looking up at her from where he sat. “Was that necessary?” Dustin added with a slight laugh then looked down at the plate she put in front of him and just smiled then thought to himself. “She must not be in a good mood at all.” He thought to himself looking down at the plate to find a single muffin sitting there. “Thanks.” Dustin said smiling as she looked out the window then turned around again. “You have a guest.” She said then kept walking. “Man, whats her problem she was fine a second ago?... Wait guest?” He said a little confused then looked around and his eyes were suddenly drawn to Ava in the doorway.

“I'm glad to see you could make it, gorgeous .” Dustin said smiling as he stood up, the table he was at was conveniently close enough to the door so that he didn't have to yell to talk to her from where he was. Dustin moved to the chair Lisa was in a second ago and pulled it out a little. “I was going to have them put out some candles and pay someone to play the violin but they said it was too early for that.” He said with a smirk, looking at how beautiful she was again. “Also nice way to handle that riot.” Dustin added with a laugh still holding out her chair for her.

[Angela Merciano S7]

From now until the job is completed, Angela Merciano does not exist. You must mold everything you are and everything you hope to become around this Ava Jackson girl. You are now Ava to the world, even to your family. It will take some getting used to, but you can handle it. Now, let’s go through the details once more. You are homeschooled by your uncle. Your parents are divorced, and their names do not matter because you left them when you were sixteen. It’s all very simple information. You must also remember that the only way to get Dustin Hemingway to warm up to you in the necessary way, you need to play hard to get. There will be no falling into his schemes and games. This is a habit of Angela Merciano, not of Ava Jackson. You can do this. You will do this if you want to see your mother again. Angela meditated to herself as she walked out of the door and shooed the little brats away from the Quidditch shop. She always had a habit of meditating out loud; almost as if she were mumbling to herself like some insane little girl who just escaped from St. Mungo’s.

Angela walked into the small bakery across the street where Dustin was. She didn’t want to give him the benefit of “taking her out” to eat, but she definitely wasn’t staying alone in that Quidditch shop either. She walked in haughtily with her head held high. She walked over to the table and ignored his polite gentleman-like greeting to her. She couldn’t help but notice the amused smile on his face. “Oh well I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. I’m here for less than an hour and already you walk off and leave me to attempt to run the entire shop for a bunch of dirty little brats while you sit here watching from the sidelines and enjoying your wonderful little muffin. It must taste absolutely lovely, I’m sure.” Angela ranted, hoping she was getting on his case by doing so. She’d always been a bit of a button-pusher by nature.

She resisted the urge to smile at this comment of his. Instead, she kept her face stern. She needed to seem like she was actually angry at him for leaving her like that. “And I do hope you know that I only came here to get away from the shop. And I was hungry.” Angela turned to the waitress, who seemed bitterly amused at Angela’s apparent anger toward Dustin. “Excuse me miss, can I please get a few biscuits? I haven’t eaten breakfast yet.” The young woman smirked a bit and disappeared behind the counter to go take care of Angela’s order. In the meantime, Angela took a seat away from Dustin’s table and picked up the menu. As soon as her face was hidden by the menu, she giggled silently to herself. She had a feeling this plan was going to be pretty fun in the end of it all. She wasn’t so intimidated by the task ahead of her. Angela figured it was probably a result of her meditation a few minutes earlier.

((It’s deadly short and so sooo late. Forgive me? And how bout we wrap this post up and have Dustin post last and then I’ll start up a new one set a week or so after this.))

[Dustin Hemingway]

Dustin wasn't totally surprised as Ava started yelling at him, part of him was actually expecting something like this to happen. He did leave her to run a store all by herself on her first day. He just stood in the same spot as she kept ranting all the while still smiling and finding it kind of cute how she seemed to get so worked up. His smile turned to a smirk as he moved back to his chair and sat back down, Ava was still ranting but it seemed it was all coming to an end. “To be totally honest..” Dustin paused as he toke a small bite out of his muffin and finished eating the bite before speaking again. “That was one of the funniest things I've seen all week. Also about the muffin, it's not nearly as lovely as you.” He said with a smirk as he toke another bite, the muffin was good even if it was tiny. Then again they always say “Hunger is the best spice of all.” As Dustin sat there in his own thoughts about the muffin he laughed a little as he looked back to Ava.

He watched as her face didn't change at all not even a slight twitch of a smile and Dustin just sighed. “She's going to be harder to crack then normal.” He thought to himself taking another bite of the muffin as he listened to Ava explain why she came over here in the first place. Dustin watched as Ava ordered some biscuits from Lisa and then she disappeared in the back smiling. As Dustin turned back to Ava she had moved to another table and sat down instead of the seat Dustin had pulled out, Dustin sighed slightly and watched her pick up an menu. “Okay, that I wasn't expecting.” He thought to himself as he toke one last bite of the muffin. Dustin was slightly disappointed that Ava didn't sit near him, he was also disappointed his muffin was gone already. Which he was more disappointed about he couldn't decide right at this moment. He was still slightly hungry but he also wanted to get closer to Ava.

“Yeah I'm sure it was just a coincidence that I happened to be here too.” Dustin said with a smirk looking over to Ava, she was still holding the menu which blocked her face. As Dustin finished talking Lisa came back with a plate full of biscuits and set them right in front of Ava. “Could I get another...” Dustin started to speak but Lisa just walked off quickly to other people. “What is it, be mean to Dustin day or something?” He said with a smirk as he heard the door almost be shoved open. His eyes quickly turned to see a figure he hadn't hoped to see anytime soon. “We're closed! Whose big idea was that?!” Thurston yelled not caring how loud he was or if everyone heard them. “Well?!” He said as he walked over to the both of them, huffing slightly being as mad as he was. “I'm sure it wasn't you who told those kids we were closed Ava so don't worry. I am sure this is all your fault!” He yelled pointing his finger at Dustin as he sat there slightly shocked at how mad he was and that for the first time this wasn't totally his fault.

“Well what do you have to say for yourself Dustin?” Thurston said still pointing his finger and a little red in the face. Dustin looked over to Ava slightly for a second, smirked then looked back to Thurston. “Well seeing as how your back so soon, I figure your cats are all healthy.” He said with a slight laugh as he watched Thurston get a little more red but he couldn't help pushing him that extra little bit. “I'm sorry Mr. Thurston, I told those kids we were closed. I was just hungry and made Ava come here with me to get something to eat.” Dustin said allowing his smirk to fade so he would look a bit more guilty then he actually was. “Well I'll get back to work, if you could let Ava finish her biscuits seeing as how I forced her here anyway.” Dustin said with a smile as he got up and walked past Thurston, he glanced back to Ava and winked slightly before heading out the door and back to the Quidditch shop.

“If that boy wasn't like a son to me I'd have killed him a long time ago.” Thurston said to himself as he turned to Ava. “You finish your breakfast and don't ever let him talk you into anything.” He said as he looked down to Ava then turned to the door and started to follow Dustin, he had all kinds of punishments planned for Dustin when he got back to the shop. “The boy is more trouble then he's worth sometimes.” He muttered to himself as he made his way out the door, leaving Ava alone to finish her food.

(All is forgiven. ;D)