whatever this is doesn't get easier [brandon]

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January was shaping up to be an extremely weird month for Viola, mostly because of the whole 'relationship' thing. She was in one - a relationship, that was - and still wasn't really sure how the whole thing was supposed to play out. In order to distract themself (they were trying to care, but this felt like caring too much), Viola was going to take up one of her newest hobbies: bothering Brandon Fisher. Brandon was kind of like Maria, in the sense that he was making Viola reassess their relationship with the world. While Maria was doing it in a romantic sense, Brandon was doing it in a platonic way. Because Viola didn't hate being around him, and he seemed wholly unfazed by their blunt honesty, which was something they hadn't been able to find in anyone who was worth getting to know. At the Yule Ball, Viola had been pretty distracted, but not distracted enough that they weren't able to see Brandon bump into a girl - repeatedly. And then dance with her. As Brandon's best and only friend (a title that Viola had obviously given themself), it was Viola's duty to badger him about the girl. So they were waiting for him to walk past, as he did in this spot every day, so they could pounce.

@brandon

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Brandon was walking by, on his usual rounds. Nothing really ever happened, but it was habit now and he couldn't seem to stop himself. Maybe one of these days someone would stop him or talk with him. Not that it would change much. Still, it would give him something to do with his time, which was always a good thing. Brandon wasn't ever particularly focused in his schooling but since coming back as a foreign student, he'd finished his work quickly each day so he could spend his time inside the castle.  Still, nothing interesting was happening today, so he was trying to simply take his time as he moved along.

@viola

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Viola spotted Brandon coming from down the hallway, but he didn’t seem to notice them at all, either because he wasn’t looking or because he was lost in his thoughts. Viola kind of wanted to shock Brandon, but he wasn’t an easy one to surprise…After a moment, they had an idea, and stuck their foot out just as Brandon was walking past, simultaneously reaching out so they could grab onto him before he hit the floor. They wanted to shock him, but not hurt him. “Hey, lover boy.” Viola teased. “Going to look for your girlfriend?” They were pretty sure that the woman he had been dancing with was from the Ministry, but it was still fun to tease him like they didn’t have a clue about the mystery woman.

@brandon

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Brandon was pulled out of his thoughts when he was suddenly tripping and then ... not falling. When he turned to see it was Viola holding him up, he wasn't entirely surprised, but he still smiled. Until they spoke. Then an eyebrow lifted as he looked at them curiously. "Lover boy? Girlfriend? I'm sorry Viola, but I don't know what you're talking about." Technically, that was true, but Brandon was perfectly capable of making an educated guess that somehow Viola heard about him and Callisto. Well, that was over so even if they wanted to tease him about it, they wouldn't be able to. Callisto wanted nothing to do with him, which Brandon found very strange.

@viola

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Brandon smiled at them, and Viola smirked right back, glad that their ploy to get Brandon’s attention had worked. Their questions, though, went unanswered. “Don’t play dumb with me, Brandon Fisher.” Viola said with a roll of their eyes. Brandon had already proved that he was very intelligent, so much so that Viola sometimes wondered why he wasn’t going into any sort of intellectual field after graduation. “I saw you dancing with some woman during the Yule Ball.” They informed him. Viola had been busy, but not that busy. “And rumor on the street is that you’ve been writing an awful lot of letters lately…” They added, hoping that their evidence would be enough to get Brandon to say something, even if that something wasn’t a confession of amorous intent.

@brandon

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Brandon lifted an eyebrow when Viola told him to not play dumb. Then he waited. It didn't take them long to explain what they meant and then Brandon understood. They saw him and Callisto. And heard about the letters? How well connected was Viola? Brandon gave a very small smile, trying to keep the melancholy attitude out of it. "Yeah, I did dance with her and wrote a little bit, but nothing's going on there. Trust me, nothing will happen between me and her." Not that he didn't want something to happen ... but he hightly doubted that it would and the thought saddened him. "How was the Yule Ball for you?" Brandon asked, trying to change the subject.

@viola

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Brandon confirmed that Viola had been correct, and he had danced with a girl and wrote her some letters. Brandon insisted, however, that there was nothing going on there. “But if there was, would you even tell me?” Viola asked bluntly. They thought of Brandon as their friend, but they weren’t sure how reciprocal the relationship was, and they were curious if, for the future, Brandon would mention that sort of thing. When he asked how the Yule Ball was for them, Viola shrugged. “Can’t complain, really. Got to dance some pretty girls.” And had gotten to kiss one of said pretty girls, but Viola was sure that Brandon didn’t want to hear that part. “I’m dating Maria da Silva Povoa.” Viola said with another casual shrug. Brandon would know of her – everyone at Durmstrang did. Hopefully he hadn’t slept with her – that would be awkward.

@brandon

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Viola asked if he would tell them if he had something going on with someone else and Brandon thought about that for a moment. "Yeah, I would. Especially if you guessed like you just did," he answered. They said that they enjoyed the ball and Brandon smiled, "I'm glad you were able to enjoy yourself." Viola said they were dating Maria and Brandon nodded slowly. He wasn't surprised, per say, but he definitely had not been expecting that. "Maria's a bit of a firecracker," he said, smiling at his own joke. Viola would probably just think it was lame, but he couldn't help himself.

@viola

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Viola blinked at Brandon. “I mean, would you tell me before I guessed.” They corrected their earlier question. Then again, considering how good of an observer (and therefore how good of a guesser) Viola was, they weren’t sure Brandon would get the chance to tell them before they asked about it. “What, didn’t you enjoy yourself?” Viola asked. “I mean, I get that the girl didn’t stick, but you looked like you were having fun in the moment.” Again, they hadn’t been paying much attention, but…Viola lost that train of thought when Brandon called Maria a firecracker. They snorted softly. “Sometimes I wonder if I can handle her.” Viola said softly. The answer was looking like a no, but…Viola wanted to try.

@brandon

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Brandon shrugged at Viola's next questions. Would he tell them before they had the chance to guess? "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I guess it depends on how interested and serious I am about it. I mean, if I really like the girl then sure, I'd tell you, but if I'm not sure about it, then I probably wouldn't." Surely they would be proud of him for being so honest. He laughed at their next question. "I did enjoy myself. I had a fun dance with her and we wrote to one another for a while, which was also fun. But apparently she's moved on, so ... it's over." He smiled when they laughed at his comment about Maria. He shrugged, "I'd give you advice, but I don't think I'd be any good at it." Clearly he wasn't too good at relationships or things would've turned out better. 

@viola

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Viola snorted a little when Brandon said that him telling them about his relationships depending on how interested and serious he was. “Forgive me for saying so, B, but I don’t think you can have a relationship that isn’t serious.” The idea of Brandon having a casual hookup was so weird that Viola chuckled to themself, shaking their head a little as they did so. Brandon admitted that he had had fun at the Yule Ball, and Viola gave him a half smile. “Anyone who moves on from you is stupid.” Viola said with a shrug. They weren’t romantically interested in Brandon, because…boy, but that was the sort of thing that friends were supposed to tell each other after a breakup, so Viola was going to check that off of their list. “Even if it’s good advice, not sure it’ll work on Maria.” She was something else entirely.

@brandon

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Brandon laughed at Viola's comment. They did have a point there. "Well, I was meaning the time when you're deciding whether or not you're ready for a relationship with someone. You know, the getting-to-know-you stage?" They were right though. Once he decided to go after someone, he did. He smiled when they said that anyone who moved on from him was stupid. He didn't think Callisto was, but he appreciated the comment. "Thanks." Then he laughed again, "Well then, I feel less bad for not having any advice for you." He didn't really know Maria at all, but even if he did, she didn't seem like the kind of person that was easy to get to know ... unless one wanted to get burned, or romantically involved fast. Neither of which really appealed to Brandon, but he hoped Viola was happy.

@viola

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Viola nodded when Brandon amended his statement about being serious with someone to mean being in a romantic relationship with them. “Never had a girlfriend before now, so I’m not really sure what you mean.” Maria probably wasn’t the easiest starter relationship, and the path that their relationship was taking definitely wasn’t typical, so this whole romance thing was still just a shot in the dark for Viola. Brandon thanked them for their comment about people moving on from him, and they shrugged. “What are friends for?” They asked. It was the first time they had acknowledged Brandon as their friend out loud, so they were interested to see what would happen as far as that went. “I’m sure by the end of this I’ll have plenty to tell you, though.” They said. Viola wasn’t sure when their thing with Maria was going to end, but they hoped they came out of it unscathed.

@brandon

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Brandon laughed a little as well, "I'm not really sure what I mean either," he told them. Really, he just wasn't ready for a relationship right now. Not after everything with Callisto. Brandon was going to take some time to breathe and not worry about romance. That just seemed easier for the moment. He smiled, "I still appreciate it." he didn't have any issue telling Viola that. They were one of his best friends here. He laughed again, "Then I'll just wait until you're ready to tell me what you've learned," he told them. He probably wouldn't be in a relationship before then.

@viola

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Viola rolled their eyes when Brandon said that he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, either. Typical, they thought affectionately. The other Durmstrang student said that he’d be waiting for them to tell him what they learned, and Viola smirked. “I’ll write you an essay, if you want.” They deadpanned. They were naturally a pretty private person, so they weren’t sure how well talking to someone else about the details of their relationship with Maria would work out, but giving advice wasn’t the same thing as talking about their specific relationship, right? “Other than relationship woes, what’s up with you?” Viola prompted, hoping that they didn’t end up just gossiping about girls with Brandon – then they’d be the kind of person they hated.

@brandon