It's Been A Long Time Coming (Karen)

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Brandon was sitting in the Three Broomsticks, waiting for Karen to arrive. They'd never actually met one another in person before, which in and of itself made things a little awkward, but he was determined to try and act normal. He was excited to meet his pen pal. Karen knew things about him that most others didn't, mostly because she was his pen pal and didn't see him every day so he felt comfortable telling her things that he generally kept to himself. Like his history with Callie (which very few people knew about) and his growing interest in a stranger named Callisto.

He glanced around, wondering when she was going to show up. Granted, he was early, but Brandon wasn't a very patient person. He knew what Karen looked like from silly pictures she'd sent, along with graduation ones, but he still wasn't seeing her anywhere nearby. He ordered a Butterbeer as he waited, wondering whether she'd be on time, early or late. It didn't really matter, he was just bored and he knew that once she arrived, he wouldn't be bored any more.

@karen

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Karen was so unbelievably excited it was giving her a headache. Her more wild side kept trying to choose more bright colored outfits and Karen kept having to slap her own hand to stay in control. She grumbled many times until, finally, she landed on dark jeans and a maroon button up shirt with some red heels. A good mix of her tastes. She wanted to at least be a little sane when she met up with Brandon.

She was a little nervous, too, about meeting him in person. What if they actually didn't get along? Still, she showed up on time with her head held high and her smile wide. She scanned the Broomsticks until her eyes finally landed on him. Her grin grew even wider and she felt her stomach lurch happily. She had the bouquet and chocolate in hand but she slowly set them down on the table beside her before bounding toward him, "Brandon!" she called, arms out and ready to leap into his if he opened to it. If not she would just tackle him anyway.

@brandon

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When he heard someone calling his name, Brandon turned and stood up from the booth. It was Karen, of course. He grinned and opened his arms to give her a hug when she rushed across the room, obviously wanting to give him a hug. He was laughing. Couldn't help it. When they pulled apart he smiled, "So you're Karen," he teased, acting as though he wouldn't have recognized her otherwise. Of course, he would have, thanks to the pictures she'd sent.

"How are you?" he asked enthusiastically, gesturing for her to join him at the table and grinning like a fool. He was so excited to meet her finally, after all those owls. It was always fun to make a new friend and Brandon was very excited to get to know Karen more in person.

@karen

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He pretended for a moment as though he didn't know her and she slapped his arm lightly. He asked how she was and she sat down where he suggested, grinning madly. Kara, her wild side, could tell Brandon was there and was giving her a slight headache. "I'm so great. So great, Brandon. I'm so happy to see you," after the few days she had experienced last week... she was just glad to see anyone, but him especially. She considered him her best friend, after all. Well, now that spot had some competition, but they could share.

"For you!" she remembered, placing the flowers and chocolate on the table in between them. "I have a lot to tell you... but first, tell me about Callisto," she asked, hoping she'd remembered the girls name right.

@brandon

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Brandon laughed when Karen slapped his arm a little bit. He was teasing her, so it wasn't a complete surprise, but it was nice to finally meet her, to see how she responded to his teasing in person. "It's nice to see you too. We've waited long enough to make it happen," he said with a wide smile. "What have you been up to lately?" Obviously he was asking for something he hadn't already heard about through her letters, but he didn't know if anything interesting happened.

"Thanks," Brandon said, accepting the flowers and chocolate, but moving them to the side a little so he could focus on the friend in front of him. "Callisto," he started, trying to think about what he should tell her. "She's smart and works at the ministry and she seems really closed off. At the Yule Ball we kept running into one another and she was mad and, well, rude to tell you the truth. It made me feel defensive. I probably wasn't very nice back," he admitted. "But the last time I ran into her, I pretended to be happy and tried to tease her and made her dance with me and it was lots of fun. Partly because she was trying so hard to not let it happen, but also because it was nice to see her smile. She's beautiful ..." he trailed off, then remembered he wasn't here alone thinking of her. His face turned a little red and he cleared his throat. "Yeah ... did I give you too much information there," he said, making a jab at himself.

@karen