And So The Balance Shifts [Dustin]

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Yadi was currently sitting at a table in a rather upscale tea shop in London, a steaming cup of a delectable herbal blend sitting in front of him. His face was, as usual, devoid of any emotion and he looked a bit tense with his right leg crossed over his lap and his arms crossed over his chest. He was leaning back in his seat as he waited on one of his players to walk through the door, which he hoped would be at any moment now. Dustin had asked to meet with him alone. He wasn't certain why he'd asked but he had a feeling it had something to do with what had happened to one of his other players, Evelyn. He pushed a breath out through his nose in a huff at just the thought. She'd gotten hurt during one of their games; he'd had the ball in his hand and had been rushing to the goal to take a shot when the roar of the crowd and a yell from another one of his teammates had caused him to pause. That was when he'd seen her falling to the ground. He'd immediately motioned his broom to try and get to her side when something odd had happened. One of the Puddlemere players had gotten to her first and had screamed out that they were engaged. He hadn't really cared about that, not if he was being honest because it was her choice who she wanted to be engaged to. It was the fact that, upon arrival at the hospital, the Puddlemere player had been given more access to Evelyn while he had been ordered to stay in the waiting room. Ordered. He'd been pissed. He should have been the first person to see her considering that she was his player and she'd gotten hurt during one of their games. Engaged also didn't mean married. Dustin had been equally mad about the entire situation, though for different reasons and so he assumed that's why the kid had wanted to meet. Or he could be wrong and he'd wanted to meet for something else. He took a sip of the slightly cooled tea and continued his wait.

Tag; @dustin

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Dustin was confused about his entire life. He had thought that he had left the feelings of overwhelming uncertainty behind after he had started playing Quidditch professionally, but now he felt like he was drowning in everything his life had thrown at him. He still didn’t know what to do about Vi, and he was still slightly pissed at Evelyn, and his sisters were graduating, and… he just had a lot of feelings that he didn’t know what to do with. Normally that was the kind of thing that he would talk to his parents about, but his parents adored Evelyn probably even more than he did, and he was certain that he would get a stern scolding from them about ever being mad at her in the first place. There was one other person that he trusted enough to talk to about his life, and who was wise enough to give him much-needed perspective. Dustin already viewed Yadiel as a father of sorts, especially when it came to magical matters, since his own father was a Muggle, so going to him about his feelings for Evelyn just made sense. When he had asked Yadi to meet him, the older man had suggested a Muggle tea shop, which was just as well for Dustin, considering that it meant that no one would bother them for autographs while they spoke. It also would help keep unwanted memories of his tea-drinking date with Vi from spiking up, as long as he was careful to moderate his thoughts. Dustin slipped through the door of the shop and instantly found Yadi in the crowd – finding a handsome man in a small crowd was much easier than finding a golden Snitch in the open air. Dustin raised his hand in greeting, and then slipped into the seat across the table from Yadiel. Before the other man could say anything, Dustin took a deep breath, and then placed his forehead against the table. “I’m gonna die, Yadi.” Dustin moaned. He was just too confused, and he really needed help.

@yadi

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Yadi had just taken another sip of his tea when he spotted the kid walk through the door of the tea shop. Luckily enough it wasn't crowded so Dustin had spotted him at about the same time. He raised his hand back in response to his greeting and he sat up a bit straighter in his chair, falling into a slightly more relaxed position. He took a look around the coffee shop then, something he always did when he was out with any one of his players. There were fans and then there were stalkers who called themselves fans, those that liked to follow ever aspect of their lives instead of just focusing on their talents at Quidditch. Dustin had had a too close call not too long ago with one of those types of fans and fortunately Yadi had been there to stop the fan before things had gone into a life threatening situation. He was always aware of his surroundings but now, especially when Dustin was involved, he couldn't help but double check to make sure there wasn't anyone eyeing them especially closely. He was pulled from his search when Dustin sat down and placed his head on the table, moaning out a death wish. A tad, no, more than a tad on a dramatic side but Yadi couldn't really say he was surprised. He didn't know everything that was going on in his life either so he couldn't say if the emotion was warranted. He was sure he would find out though. "That's fine but if you insist, wait until after the season's over to do that," he uttered with a straight face. People who didn't know him didn't understand when he was being serious or not. He could say something without any emotion in his face but not even be a little serious about it. Those who knew him best appreciated his sarcasm, even when it was especially biting. "What's going on with you? Is that thing with Evelyn still bothering you?"

Tag; @dustin

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Dustin’s dramatic declaration was met with a joke by Yadi, and the Gryffindor lifted his head off of the table long enough to glare at his Captain. Leave him to make a joke out of what was possibly the worst day in Dustin’s life! At least he hadn’t made the comment that they were all going to die someday. Dustin didn’t need any more nihilism in his life. “I’ll die when I wanna die.” He mumbled mutinously, playing the part of the angst-ridden teenager, mostly because that was how he felt and it was easier to ham it up and become a caricature than deal with all of his feelings. He was beginning to like this idea, until Yadi asked what was up with him. Dustin was planning on just moaning, but when Yadi asked him a question, Dustin felt a compulsion to answer. He knew he technically didn’t have to, since Yadi didn’t have any sort of authority over him off of the Quidditch pitch, but Dustin had gotten so used to hanging on to Yadiel’s every word that it was strange to deny him a request. “That’s a part of it, yeah. I’m still so angry, Yadi, and it’s been a week. I thought that it would be better by now.” Especially since he knew now that Rocco and Evelyn had broken up, so there was no chance of Rocco hurting Ev any more than he had already hurt her. “And… there’s another thing, too, but I don’t really know where to start with that one.” Vi had come to visit him once after the game, but his teammates had probably assumed that she was just another fan, and most of them hadn’t seen the emotional fallout of his breakup with Vi due to the break for Christmas. Dustin sighed. “I don’t like it when things are complicated, Yadi.” Things had been so much easier when Evelyn was his best friend and Viovinnia was his girlfriend and life was smooth sailing.

@yadi

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He snorted at the young seeker's words over choosing his own death mostly because what he said wasn't quite right. The fates chose when they all died and there wasn't anything either of them could do about it, much to Yadi's chagrin. Part of him wanted to respond and say just that to him just because but he kept his mouth shut on the matter. That was a different conversation for a different day. He was sulking though and he had to admit he much preferred angry Dustin from the hospital over the uneasy teen that looked up at him now. Anger was easier to overcome than hopelessness. He leaned back in his chair once again, netting his hands together over his knee as Dustin started talking just a bit. He said that he was full of anger over the situation with Evelyn but apparently that wasn't the whole of what had him feeling the way that he did. He didn't fully understand it but he guessed it was because Evelyn wasn't his best friend. No one had known about the engagement and, from what he knew, she and Dustin were really close. "So why hadn't she told you about it? Have you talked to her since then?" he asked. Yadi then found himself snorting once again at Dustin's following words. He could identify with that sentiment more than anyone. He hated when things were complicated and things that became complicated were swiftly dropped or handled. Why bother? "That I can understand. And there isn't anyway for these things that are complicated to be sorted out?" he raised an eyebrow as he spoke, "I'm certain things will be fine with Evelyn soon enough." He didn't think Dustin could hold on to his anger much longer over something so small and something that was important to her like an engagement.

Tag; @dustin

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Dustin forced himself to take a deep breath before beginning to talk to Yadiel. Talking about Evelyn still felt like digging his fingers into an open wound, and he didn’t want to accidentally divert his pain and anger onto Yadi instead of Evelyn. “She said that she didn’t know how to tell me.” Dustin said flatly. “And I guess that’s what’s making me the angriest. We’re supposed to be best friends, and she’s supposed to be able to talk to me about everything. So not only was she keeping a secret from me, but she was keeping it from me because she thinks I’m a bad friend.” Dustin said. It was one thing for everything to be Evelyn’s fault, but having to admit that he hadn’t been good enough to her and she thought that he was going to judge her for what she did was even more upsetting. Dustin had had so much pride in how good of a friend he was to Evelyn despite everything that was going on in his own life, but apparently the one relationship in his life that he had thought was solid was really a mess – just a mess hidden by presumptions that everything was fun. When Yadiel asked if there was any way for the complicated things to be sorted out, Dustin shook his head. That would mean talking to Vi, and he was beyond certain that she wouldn’t even give him the time of day. “It’s blood stuff, Yadi.” Dustin said shortly. “I can’t change my blood and I can’t change her mind.” He was dangerously close to spilling the whole story, but Yadiel was smart. He could probably put the pieces together with what Dustin had already said, and then he wouldn’t have to relive that awful not all over again.

@yadi

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Yadi listened intently to Dustin's explanation on why he was still so mad about the entire situation with Evelyn. "Hmm. Okay but did she say you were a bad friend or are you just filling in some blanks?" he spoke slowly, still trying to comprehend everything in his mind. It sounded, to him, that Dustin was jumping to conclusions on why she had kept it from him. Yes they were best friends but being best friends with someone didn't necessarily spell out that person knowing every aspect of your life. Maybe the relationship had started in secret and it had just gone so far, the secrecy, that she didn't really know when to break that to him. Yadi could continue pondering, he honestly didn't think he could begin to understand what was going on in either of their heads or the whys, but he wouldn't know anything for certain until either Dustin found out and told him or until he talked to Evelyn himself. He had to talk to Evelyn anyway. Yadi became eerily silent at Dustin's next words. Blood stuff. And there was a woman involved with the blood stuff? He took a sip of his tea as he processed the information. Dustin must have gotten involved with a blood purist. If that didn't bring him back to his school days. He'd dealt with blood purists out of school but they were either much better at hiding it or he had the power to banish them from his presence because of his status as a celebrity so he didn't have to deal with many too often. It was unfortunate that Dustin had found himself liking one. And just by the way he was acting, he really liked her. It didn't seem at all complicated to Yadi, as he'd stated. He would end any effort he'd originally put it and never see her again. "But you want to keep pursuing her." he stated more than asked.

Tag; @dustin

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Dustin couldn’t help but glare at Yadi when he asked if Evelyn said he was a bad friend or if he was filling in the things that she wouldn’t stay, but obviously felt. Everyone who knew Evelyn knew that she wouldn’t say something as mean-spirited as ‘Dustin, you’re an awful friend’, but everyone who knew Ev also knew that she wasn’t the best at expressing herself, and sometimes filling in the blanks was necessary to get the whole scope of what she was feeling. Dustin mentally reviewed his logic again, trying to see if there were any flaws in it. He couldn’t find any, but there was also a reason that he hadn’t been placed in Ravenclaw, and his lack of logic (especially when it came to emotional situations) was definitely at the top of that list. “I guess I might have filled in some blanks.” Dustin mumbled mutinously. Now he didn’t even have a reason for being mad at Evelyn, which made the fact that he was feeling that emotion even more maddening.

Yadiel stated, more than asked, that Dustin wanted to keep pursuing his blood purist ex-girlfriend. “No. Yes. I don’t know.” Dustin said with a sigh. He had expected everything with Vi to blow over. He hadn’t even dated her for that long, but still, months after their breakup, he was still thinking about her, almost to the point of obsession. “I don’t want her to be ashamed of dating me or anything. But I wonder if I can… fix her.” Dustin knew immediately after he had spoken that he was going to get an earful about his choice of words. A relationship was supposed to be about loving someone, not about fixing them, and even if it was about fixing people… Some things just couldn’t be fixed.

@yadi

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When the kid glared at him, Yadi didn't even attempt to hold himself back and rolled his eyes in exasperation. He definitely did not look forward to this developmental stage in his daughter's life. Even though Dustin was a graduate and played with himself and a few adults, he was still a teenager and he acted like one enough that Yadi didn't even need to remind himself of that fact. Just in the this short time period he'd manage to get mad at him twice for his sarcasm and it wasn't like Yadi was being rude. He gave a slow nod as Dustin conceded to his point of him filling in blanks that were more than likely nonexistent. He took a sip of his drink before leaning back in his chair again. "Did you give her a chance to explain? Like you said, she's supposed to be your best friend so it's your opinion she values most." Once again his tone wasn't malicious, he was just stating what he'd figured out just from knowing the two of them and hearing about what happened from his seeker. "If you were this mad when you were trying to talk to her, she probably couldn't think enough to give you a proper answer."

He wasn't surprised at the kid's indecision. He was still at the age where he would entertain stupidity in love and relationships at the thought of missing out on 'the one'.He was still figuring himself out and still figuring out what he wanted in a partner so he was more willing to put up with things he didn't like in others. "You know, you can't fix that in her. You can't do anything about that ideal that she has because she accept anything that proves that ideal is the right one," he muttered with a shake of his head, once again recalling his school days. He was the top academically over all of his other housemates and yet those who were purists still found ways to criticize him because of his blood status. It was silly to Yadi that Dustin was worried about her being ashamed of him when he should be ashamed of her. Maybe it was his own experiences that clouded his judgement and he should be more openminded? Just as quickly as that thought appeared he mentally snorted.

Tag; @dustin

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Dustin couldn’t help but glare at Yadi again when the captain asked if Dustin had given her a chance to explain. He was angry, but he wasn’t stupid. He had given Ev a chance to explain… just not immediately, which was probably his problem, since in the time while he hadn’t allowed her to speak, he had come up with a hundred stupid theories about the reasons, and when Ev actually had explained herself, it was like everything was in one ear, and out the other. “She just says that she’s bad at emotions. But that shouldn’t be an excuse. Maybe for the first month or two, but never long enough to get engaged to someone and not tell me.” Everyone had their faults and flaws, but being “bad with emotions”, as Evelyn claimed she was, couldn’t excuse everything she had done. Every day she had made the choice to hide her relationship with Rocco from him, and even someone who was bad with emotions had to see that there was a problem with that! Especially because the Ravenclaw had proved on more than one occasion that she was actually pretty great with emotions, when people gave her the chance to be open and vulnerable. He had given her that chance, and she hadn’t taken it.

Dustin looked down at his hands when Yadi said that being a blood purist wasn’t something that he could fix in Vi. He had already known that, and that had been part of the reason that they had broken up, but hot, angry tears still sprang into his eyes at the thought. “I just feel like I can’t win with anything or anyone, Yadi.” Dustin said, sounding more defeated than he had in a long while. He had lost his girlfriend and he had lost his best friend. They had even lost the stupid game against Puddlemere because he had cared more about Evelyn than about winning, and that was maddening. He just needed something or someone to tell him that he was doing more with his life than just making mistakes, but Dustin doubted that Yadi was going to be that person. He loved his Captain, but Yadiel was too much of a realist to tell Dustin anything other than the truth, even if that truth sucked.

@yadi

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Yadi watched Dustin glare at him, yet again, and his lips twitched into a smirk for just a moment though he did roll his eyes, yet again, at the reaction. If he kept doing that, his face might permanently freeze into a glare. Then where would all of his fans be? Or would they try and mimic the action and turn it into a phenomenon? Either way, the kid was annoyed that he was offering insight and it was a bit amusing though a bit annoying that he was irritated by it. He agreed with Dustin when he said that the explanation Ev had offered wasn't a good enough one. He didn't know how long her and the Puddlemere player had been dating before she agreed to marry him but he couldn't imagine that it was a short enough time that keeping her secret had been easy and reasonable. Then again, he wouldn't know unless he talked to her about it. He would give her the benefit of the doubt though. He nodded at Dustin's words, finishing off the rest of his tea so that it wouldn't get too cold. "I understand that, but maybe this is one of those times where it does matter. Have you heard about Evelyn being in any other relationships? Has she talked about being engaged before now? It is possible that she really doesn't know how to handle this," his brow was furrowed in thought as he tried to remember Evelyn even once talking about a significant other since he's known her. He couldn't recall.

He began to feel frustrated when he watched tears pool in the kid's eyes. He sounded helpless and Yadi couldn't do anything to assuage the kid's fears and disappointments. What was there to say when his feelings were due to thinks he was experiencing? He wasn't even really sure what to say to him at this point. He knew that he had a lot of pent up emotion though and he either had to let it out or get over it by thinking about something else. Even then, how could he get the kid to focus on something else? "So. Right now, at this moment, what can you control?" his voice was low but study as he spoke. "In all of these things that feel like losses, where can you find a win? Or what can you do to stop your losing streak?" They seemed like silly, rhetorical questions but Yadi was really looking at Dustin, waiting for him to answer because actually wanted Dustin to think about it. Where could he find some good? Because it wasn't the end of the world and even with everything that he was feeling, he had to dig himself out of the hole by looking at the big picture.

Tag; @dustin

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“I’m trying.” Dustin said. His voice cracked, just as it had when he had told Evelyn the same thing, and Dustin hated himself for it. Why was it that he got so emotional about something as stupid as trying? He knew that answer immediately. It seemed like everyone was making it into his fault that he hadn’t done anything. Yadi said that he understood that Evelyn’s excuse shouldn’t have been an excuse at all, but then he went right on asking questions about what Dustin could have done to help see things through her eyes. No one was trying to make her see his side! He was trying so hard, but it seemed like the more he tried, the less he understood, and he was getting sick of the effort and sick of the feelings and sick of everything. The last thing he wanted to do when he was this upset was try to understand the other person’s side. He wanted someone to tell him that it was fine to hate Ev and fine to want to punch something so hard that he broke it in half and fine to want to cry until he couldn’t breathe. But if he had wanted that, then he wouldn’t have come to Yadiel. Dustin wasn’t sure if there was anyone in his life that would have told him that, actually… except for maybe Vi, and he definitely wasn’t going to go crawling back to her just because there was someone else hurting her more than she had.

Yadi tried to change the gear of the conversation, asking what Dustin could control, and what he could do to win something, or stop his losing streak. “I don’t know.” Dustin said, his voice still shaking with the effort of holding back tears. It seemed like everywhere he turned there was something new that he couldn’t control or some new challenge that he had to face on his own. He knew that Yadi was trying to help, but this was just making Dustin more desperate, and he was ready to get up and walk away so that he could at least cry in peace, without Yadiel judging him for being weak. “The only thing I can think of is to stop playing.” Dustin said. If he didn’t play the game – that was, he stopped even trying to deal with people and fix his relationships – then he was sure never to lose someone again. There was the obvious downside that he wouldn’t be able to win every again either, but Dustin was honestly at the point where that seemed like a small detail. He was too far in his own head, and his own head was a dark, dark place to be. He hated this.

@yadi

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It was the way Dustin's voice cracked that made Yadi's brow furrow in confusing. He felt sad and the continuing frustration of not being able to do anything to assuage the boy's fears and pain were angering. Granted, the fears the kid had now were minuscule and would probably fix themselves, the emotions that he felt in the moment were very real and very important to the point where he knew the dam would overflow soon and Dustin would be lead to tears. He really needed to talk to Evelyn, much sooner rather than later to see what was going on between the two of them. Not only was his beater out for the rest of the week and couldn't practice, but he couldn't have his seeker distracted by this. He might as well sit out. He didn't want to lost any more players with so much to go over. "That may be enough. That may be all she's asking for. You might try talking to her again," he nodded somberly, his hand gripping onto the tea cup he'd emptied. That wasn't all he wanted to say to the kid. He wanted to question him a bit more to find out exactly what Evelyn had said to him and when they'd last spoken but he didn't think it was a good idea.

Dustin still couldn't get a grip; his voice was still shaking as he spoke saying that the only way he could think of was to stop playing. For just a moment Yadi thought he'd meant stop playing quidditch and his face had frozen completely until he realized he'd meant this 'game' he was playing with others. The game of relationships. His brow seemed to be permanently creased in thought, trying to figure out a way to get the kid out of out of the depths of sadness he'd fallen in. Only one thing came to mind and he didn't know if the kid would be up for it but he could always ask. "You feel like flying?" he asked suddenly. As a quidditch player, one of the best places he found himself was up in the air. When he was going through something, he'd always found comfort on his broom. When he'd gotten divorced, he'd flew around the training pitch, training and getting his speed up. Dustin didn't have to train, he just needed something to bring him back up. If he didn't the offer, he wouldn't know what else to offer. He wouldn't abandon the kid in the quaint tea shop to suffer through his emotions. He just, unfortunately, wouldn't know where to turn next for some sort of therapeutic assistance.

Tag; @dustin

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Dustin shook his head when Yadi suggested talking to Evelyn again. He didn’t know what to do, but he knew what not to do, and she knew that if he tried to talk to Ev again now then he was going to be too blinded by his anger to do anything productive. He didn’t want to make anything worse, and Dustin had a feeling that him going nuclear on Evelyn would definitely make things worse. Dustin watched Yadiel grip his teacup, and remembered his own beverage. He had only been sipping it to give himself something to do other than talk. It was a good prop to hide behind, but Dustin knew that the drink was going cold, though, and he’d hate to waste it. Dustin tipped his teacup back into his mouth, grimacing slightly when it ran down his throat. It was lukewarm at best. He wished that he could have warmed it up with a charm, but since it was a Muggle shop… alas, he was out of luck.

Yadiel asked if Dustin felt like flying, and Dustin paused at the question. “I don’t know.” He said, figuring that blunt honesty had been his way of going about this entire conversation, and there was no point in stopping that now. He didn’t know he felt other than bad, so if Yadiel thought that flying would help, then Dustin wasn’t going to say no to it. It was definitely a better suggestion than him going to talk to Ev, so Dustin supposed he ought to be grateful for it.

@yadi

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Dustin shook his head and Yadi was immediately disappointed. He was being stubborn, as he figured he would. He didn't seem like he had any plans on fixing his friendship with Evelyn. Yadi couldn't do anything about that, short of forcing the two of them to meet, but even then he knew the kid would continue to be stubborn and refuse to talk to her. He was going to regret it if he didn't do it soon though. If he valued the friendship like Yadi assumed he did, he would regret not having Evelyn later. As much as he cared about his team members, there was only so many 'too young to know' decisions he could talk about without ruining their learning experience. Or driving himself insane. "It doesn't have to be now. It doesn't have to be incredibly soon. But at some point you are going to have to talk to her," he began, "Or do you plan on keeping her out forever?" he said as he watched the boy pick up his drink. If that was his plan, Yadi wished him good luck with managing it but he would be damned if he let their tiff affect the team.

He was almost to the point of exasperation when Dustin stated that he didn't know if he wanted to fly. "Throw me a bone then. What will make you feel better?" he decided to ask instead though he was worried what the answer would be. He might continue on with the 'I don't know' answers. He might realize that the only things he could do were things he really didn't want to do if his stubbornness was anything to go by. He might run back to the blood purist girl. He needed a win. And they didn't have a game coming up for another two weeks so he wouldn't be able to get it from there. Maybe he just needed some more time. Yadi was at a loss.

Tag; @dustin