Catastrophe || n.s

xvi. a necklace in remembrance

The next day, Penelope woke up to the sound of knocking on her front door. She was surprised to find herself on her couch, though she then remembered how she passed out as soon as she stepped through her front door the night before; she must've slept through the night.

Looking at the clock on the wall, Penelope saw that it was only eight in the morning. Another knock on her door caused her to stand up from her couch with a groan, cursing whoever stood behind her door so early in the morning.

Though as she approached the entrance to her home, she was surprised to find Newt Scamander standing on the other side. He was leaning back on his heals as he whistled patiently, one hand stuffed into the pocket of his trousers and the other gripping his suitcase tightly. As soon as Penelope opened her door, he stopped whistling; a crooked smile appeared on his lips and his blue eyes lit up as they landed on the dark haired girl.

"Good mornin'," he said in almost a sing-song tone, staring down at the girl with a joyful expression.

Penelope couldn't help but smile as she was greeted by the British man, her heart fluttering in an unfamiliar way. "Hey," she murmured, surprised to find herself suddenly feeling nervous.

"My uh- my ship's scheduled to leave tomorrow," Newt told her, his voice suddenly quiet. "And I was wondering if you would let me take you out today, just to spend a bit more time together."

Penelope pursed her lips as he mentioned leaving the city. Of course, she had thought about it, and knew he was going to have to go back to England eventually, though she also knew that she would never be prepared to say goodbye to her new friend for who knows how long. Forcing the lump of emotion that had formed in her throat down, she only merely nodded. "That'd be great."

Newt nodded, though he said nothing as he continued to stare at the woman, a small smile tugging at his lips. Penelope furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

"Your hair's kind of sticking up," he suddenly said, reaching up and running his hand through her tangled hair. She felt her cheeks heat up in a blush, realizing that she had only just woken up and she probably looked like a real mess. "It's cute."

~

An hour later, Penelope was fixed up and ready to leave. Newt was waiting patiently for her in the living room, stroking Pyra the Phoenix under her beak; she smiled as she saw the man and her pet bonding. As she entered the room, however, Newt brought his hand away from the beast and shoved it into his pocket.

"You ready?" he asked her, turning to look at the woman. Penelope only simply nodded, slipping on her boots as she followed Newt out of the house.

This time, Penelope insisted on leading the way through the already-busy New York City. Newt didn't argue; she could tell that he was still embarrassed about their last outing and how he had led them in the complete opposite direction of the Statue of Liberty. He stayed close to Penelope as she led him through the busy streets, gazing around him with wide eyes. Several times, the woman had to grab his arm and pulled him out of the way of oncoming civilians, as he was too busy staring at the skyscrapers to notice he was about to run into people.

Penelope led Newt towards a small, local bakery, and her mind immediately wandered to Jacob Kawolski. She began to wonder what the No-Maj was doing right then, and whether he had gone to the bank to get his second chance at asking for a loan. She missed the humorous man, believe it or not; within the few days of knowing him, she had learned to see him as a friend.

Grabbing herself and Newt a couple of donuts, the pair then headed back outside to enjoy the surprisingly warm winter morning. Leaning against the building in attempt to stay out of the way of oncoming civilians, Penelope bit into her glazed donut. She pursed her lips as she chewed, and once she swallowed, she turned to Newt.