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last online May 6, 2024 11:23:01 GMT -7
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Sept 28, 2016 11:57:59 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 11:57:59 GMT -7
This was bad. It felt like things were back to that awkward place they'd been the second time Anna and Oscar ran into one another and she hated it. Back then, she felt like she was walking on eggshells and doing anything possible to not offend him and now felt like almost the same thing. Anna wasn't good at romantic relationships. She didn't have any experience and she was starting to wonder if she ever would, but now was not a time for self-pity. She knew about friendships. Granted, she'd never been kissed by a friend before, but she'd gotten into arguments. It was hard to deal with, but she was tired of this. So she decided to put her feelings to the side. She could be upset about the kiss and what it did or didn't mean later. Now, she had to try to fix things with Oscar. Or at least bring it back to a point where they were comfortable with one another. If that was possible.
Oscar seemed ... Sad. Anna didn't know him too well, but she was pretty sure that he wasn't happy right now. She smiled at him, "Well I'm glad it's not just me then," she tried to lift the mood. He asked if she wanted to try something else and she shrugged, "What was that first dance called again? Can we try that one some more please," Anna asked. Would he agree to that? She hoped so. It just occurred to her that he might be holding her far away because of the dance. It might be normal to be so far from your partner during the tango. But not during the first dance, whatever it was. She took a step closer to him. "Wasn't that one more like this?"Anna asked with a sly smile as she tried to hide how nervous this made her. What if he didn't want to dance with her anymore? She hoped she wasn't freaking him out, but she wanted to dance with him more. She didn't want them to part ways fighting or feeling awkward. Though that might still happen if he didn't want to dance with her and she forced it.
@oscar
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last online May 6, 2024 11:23:01 GMT -7
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Sept 28, 2016 12:40:17 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 12:40:17 GMT -7
Anna smiled, and Oscar didn’t know how to feel. So she was happy now? Had she already gotten over the kiss? That was better, he supposed, than having her hold a grudge against him for something that had been quick, and, in the grand scheme of things, meaningless. It hadn’t been meaningless to Oscar, but if it hadn’t meant anything to Anna, then yes, it was meaningless. His own smile softened around the edges, and began to look a lot less strained. It still wasn’t genuine by any stretch of the imagination, but less strained was better than nothing. “The waltz.” Oscar replied when Anna asked what their last dance had been. He wasn’t sure that trying it again would be a good idea, considering what had happened at the end of it, but if Anna wanted it…Oscar somehow found himself powerless to say no. He was going to keep Anna at an arm’s length, but apparently she had other ideas. She stepped closer to him, and Oscar forgot for a moment how to breathe. Luckily, he remembered fairly quickly. Quickly enough to answer her question, at least. “Yes, waltz is done close to partner.” He responded, trying to keep to the facts. Oscar had already proven that his emotions were dangerous, dangerous things. “We can do it.” He answered, in case his acceptance of her proximity hadn’t clued her in enough. “One two three, one two three…” He began, counting to the beat of the music that the room was once again so helpfully providing. It was nothing like the magic of the first dance, but it wasn’t as horribly stiff and awkward as the tango, so Oscar was…okay with it
@annelise
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last online May 6, 2024 11:23:01 GMT -7
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Sept 28, 2016 15:47:50 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 15:47:50 GMT -7
The waltz was definitely better than the tango had been, no question about it. Still, it was different. Sure, Oscar was smiling and wasn't holding her so far away but at the same time he felt so ... distant. Like he was disappointed and Anna didn't know what to do to fix it. Maybe he just wanted some time on his own, or maybe when he kissed her he realized he didn't feel that way for her. There were too many possible scenarios for her to be able to play them all out in her mind. Nor did she want to, since she was trying to focus her attention on the present.
Luckily for Anna, she finally felt like she got the hang of the waltz. It wasn't as hard as the tango and her feet went where they were supposed to without any trouble at all. But the whole thing was stiff. She hoped it was just her imagination, but she didn't feel like Oscar wanted to be here with her any longer. They danced in silence for a while. Anna wanted to say something, to try and bridge whatever gap was now between them, but she couldn't think of anything. She still smiled; that wasn't hard when she was looking at Oscar, but it felt empty to her. "Thanks again for teaching me, Oscar," she eventually told him with fake enthusiasm, squeezing his hand gently like he'd told her to at the beginning to stop their dance. She didn't want to leave, didn't want to stop dancing with him, but she was worried that she was keeping him here against his wishes, though he was too polite to tell her that. "We're still ..." she trailed off, unable to force herself to say the word "friends" as she slowly let her hands fall to her side. She didn't want to label her feelings for him as mere friendship. "You're not going to just disappear on me now, are you?" She asked nervously, unsure if he would ever really talk to her again after this awkwardness. "I mean, are you still going to help me practice for the tournament?" Anna tried to clarify, make her questions seem less clingy, but she was failing miserably. Though she was fairly proud of herself for not blushing in front of Oscar lately, she couldn't seem to stop herself now. Her face was bright red. Why did she ask those questions? It wasn't like he was going to say no ... even if he really didn't want to see her again. All asking that did was show him her insecurities. She bit her lip and looked at his shoulder. At least she wouldn't be able to see his reaction to her ridiculous questions if she wasn't looking at his face.
@oscar
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last online May 6, 2024 11:23:01 GMT -7
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Sept 30, 2016 19:44:29 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 19:44:29 GMT -7
Oscar nodded stiffly when Anna thanked him for teaching her. He hadn’t been that great, at least not after the kiss. He had been too caught in his own head to pay attention to anything Anna was doing, let alone help guide her in the right direction, dancing-wise. Still, he appreciated that she was trying to let him down gently. That was at least more than most of his past girlfriends had done. It only went to show how good of a friend Anna was; she didn’t want to give up their friendship just because he had been stupid and crossed a line that wasn’t supposed to be crossed. They were better off friends, and Anna thanking him was just a gentle reminder of that. Right. Ozzy had figured that out, so he felt a little better. Now, if only he could get himself to get on the same page as Anna… She said something about disappearing, and Oscar offered her a tight smile. “I have many talents, but I cannot disappear.” Oscar said, attempting to lighten the mood a little. The joke fell flat, mostly because that was exactly what Oscar was planning on doing. He didn’t take rejection well; he either froze the person out, or became ridiculously clingy. He had clung onto Maria, so now it seemed right to freeze Anna out, at least until his feelings for her diminished into something he could pretend was platonic. “If I could, I would teach you for Tournament.” He added. Once again, it seemed to be a little short of genuine. Oscar wondered why he was even bothering with the act when it was obvious, at least to his ears, that nothing he was saying was real. He did still want to help Anna with the Tournament, of course – she couldn’t die on him, whether she was his friend or more than friend – but Oscar thought it would probably be for the better if they both had some time to process what had happened.
@annelise
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last online May 6, 2024 11:23:01 GMT -7
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Sept 30, 2016 20:22:07 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 20:22:07 GMT -7
Anna smiled when Oscar said that he couldn't disappear. That was good. The awkwardness wasn't going away and she hated it, but at least he wasn't going to avoid her after this experience. "I'm glad," she told him with a slight smirk. She really hoped that the next time they ran into one another things would be back to normal because she was done with the distance. Something changed between them and she didn't like it. She smiled, "You don't have to teach me, just help me practice." Anna wasn't really forcing him, but she wanted him to help her. She thought back on their not-history lesson and when they practiced charms by having a pillow war. Spending time with him was worth it, whether or not they were practicing. She didn't want to tell him that. Anna was worried that anything she said might make things more awkward between them. And that was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. She looked at a clock on the other side of the room and grimaced at him, "We should probably go, unless we want to get caught out after curfew." In a way, the time was a relief, but it also made her nervous. She didn't know if Oscar was like her, if he would over-analyze things if given the chance. Hopefully he wouldn't do that about the kiss. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the door, acting like she did before their kiss on purpose. She walked out the door and then turned to him as she released his hand. "See you soon," she told him with a smile. She surprised herself when she realized she wanted to kiss his cheek, but considering how he reacted to a real kiss from her, that was probably not a good idea. She waved slowly before turning and walking away. ---the end--- @oscar
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