Never Changing Who I Am (Karen)

[Deleted]

Brandon was excited. It had been a while since he last saw his pen pal, Karen, but they'd planned to meet here at the carnival today and he couldn't wait. He'd spent the morning with Adonia, which was definitely more exciting than he originally anticipated, but he enjoyed himself. The girl had so much energy and enthusiasm ... and little respect for personal bubbles, but he still enjoyed himself all the same. She knew how to have fun.

Now, however, he was standing in front of the ferris wheel, waiting for the familiar blonde girl to show. His eyes scanned the crowd, but he didn't see anything. After a few seconds, he decided to get some popcorn, deciding he'd snack on it until she came. Besides, he was sure Karen would help him finish it when she arrived. He walked over to a nearby vendor and bought some, making his way back to the ferris wheel slowly as he popped some into his mouth. He loved popcorn.

@karen

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Karen had meant to find Brandon yesterday but she had been... Distracted. Now, she had officially decided to find Brandon no matter what! She saw him, after some crowd searching, standing in front of the Ferris Wheel, looking like the Angel he was. She grinned at the site or him, deciding it was up to her to greet him, setting thoughts of Kara aside for now. She started walking faster, gently waving her have above her head to try and get Brandon's attention. She picked up the pace even more, until she was grinning broadly and almost at a run. Even Karen got excited about things that she loved, and she loved Brandon - that was for sure.

@brandon

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As he ate his popcorn, Brandon looked around for his friend, wondering if he was just early or what was taking her so long. Then, he saw her waving her hands above her head as she practically ran at him. Grinning, Brandon turned to a stranger nearby. "Hold this for a second, would you?" He asked, giving them the popcorn before they had a chance to object and opening his arms as he took a few steps toward Karen. "Hey!" Brandon said, totally and completely excited as he gave her a super-tight hug. "It's been forever!" Okay, maybe not that long since they met a few months ago, but it felt like ages. He pulled away, smiling at her as he walked back to the person who had his popcorn. "Thanks, mate," he said, taking it back and non-verbally offering some to her. "How's my favorite pen pal doing?" 

@karen

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Karen actually giggled when Brandon handed his popcorn to someone in order to approach her with open arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, too, offering her own bone crushing hug. "Hey, there!" she greeted with a soft laugh, which grew a little louder when he said it had been forever. It had certainly felt like it. She kissed his cheek as he released her and took his popcorn back, and she immediately reached out to take some as he offered. "Thanks, B. Yeah, I'm good! How are you? How's that golden smile?" she reached a hand up to gently tap his cheek in reference to said smile. "I hope this tournament has been keeping you entertained since it was hard for me to write the last few months," she frowned. Norway had kept her very busy, and she had a few new scars to prove it.

@brandon

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Karen hugged him back, which really wasn't a surprise to Brandon at all. He was positive that she was just as excited to see him as he was to see her, and a part of him was surprised that it actually was Karen instead of Kara, but he was fine with that, of course. He liked them both. He smiled as they both pulled back and she asked how he was. "I'm doing great! But you're going to have to tell me how the smile it," he winked at her and gave her his best smile, wiggling his eyebrows simultaneously so that she would know he was teasing. She touched his cheek and he laughed. "The tournament has been fine, but my friends have done a pretty good job at keeping me entertained. I did miss hearing from you though. How as Norway? Are you glad to be back? Are they going to send you away again?" Brandon looked around them at the crowds and grabbed a little more popcorn. "So ... what do you want to try first?" 

@karen

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She chuckled when he said that she would have to tell him how the smile was, giving a lovely wink and eyebrow wiggle that made Karen feels a tugging sensation at the back of her skull. Kara. She loved the playfulness. Karen stay conscious, though. "It's lovely, that's how it is," she answered, giving her own playful smirk.

He said the tournament had been fine, but that his friends were the ones keeping him entertained. Her smile softened when he said that he missed hearing from her, "I am glad to be back," she admitted. She had only lived here a year or less before going to Norway in the first place, but she liked it here. She liked being closer to Brandon, too. "Norway was lovely, though. The sun barely shines," she laughed, "so that was hard to get used to. Kara usually takes over at night so our schedule got all mess up," she admitted. "I don't think I'll accept another mission that takes me away from that long again... at least not for a while," she admitted.

He asked what she wanted to do first and she pursed her lips, looking around. "Maybe... bumper brooms?"

@brandon

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She teased him back, saying his smile was lovely and Brandon ducked his head, pretending to be embarrassed. It was so nice meeting Karen here. He really had missed her and messing around with her. "Oh, stop," he muttered back with a smile. 

Brandon nodded firmly when Karen said she was glad to be back. "You'd better be glad to be back," he teased her casually. He listened to her talk a bit about Norway and nodded. He could only imagine how difficult it would be for him to live somewhere without sun. "I don't know if I could handle not having sun," he commented, then started nodding vigorously. "Good. I don't want you to go so far away again. It was weird not having my pen pal. It's much easier to have you close by," he smiled. "But you know I'll always support you with whatever you choose." At least, she should know that.

He grinned at her idea, "Yes! I'm going to wreck you," he said as he started looking for that spot. It wasn't too far away and he started moving towards it. "Come on Karen. I wanna see what game you have," he teased.

@karen

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He pretended to be embarrassed which, of course, made her laugh. She shook her head, "nope. I must continue to flatter you my young friend so that you are better prepared when pretty girls do it," she teased. "Well, other pretty girls!" she laughed.

He was funny, charming and sweet, as she expected. She smiled softly as he said that he didn't want her to go so far away again and whatnot. "I promise I will be better at writing if I do. I was just all mixed up," she admitted. Really, the curses she had to deal with and Kara... it was a lot worse than she was letting on. "Thank you. You know I feel the same way," she replied, as he said that he supported her in whatever she chose.

Then he agreed to the broom game, being a bit cocky about it! Obviously in a playful way. "Oh, it's on," she said. She wasn't as competitive as Kara, but she tried to get involved in fun sometimes, for sure. She followed him and she rolled her eyes, "you are just lucky it's me you're playing and not by better half," she joked.

@brandon

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Brandon lifted an eyebrow at Karen when she said she was trying to prepare him for when others would flatter him. "Oh come on, Karen. We both know I have at least a year until that happens," he teased, referring to the hopefully successful career that he wanted to have. If he did as well as planned, then there would have to be at least some fans, and it was likely that some of them would be pretty and try to flatter him.

Brandon nodded when she said that she'd be better at writing if she had to go away again but that things were complicated. He nodded, "I figured." Then he gave a wry grin, "What else would keep you from talking to your number one pen pal?" Apparently Brandon couldn't help but tease her today.

He grinned when Karen started to act competitive. He knew Kara was competitive, but wasn't so sure about Karen, which made him think that this was going to be interesting. He laughed, "Oh I bet. Against you I have a fighting chance. Against your better half," he echoed her term for Kara and shrugged, "I'd probably get creamed," he admitted, his smile fading as he realized that. Brandon wasn't extremely competitive, but he also wasn't a major fan of losing. Hopefully Kara wouldn't come out in the middle of the game, but he knew anything could happen.

@karen

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He said he had at least a year before other girls fawned all over him and she scoffed. "Music or not, the girls will want you. You don't see yourself the way they do," a passerby may have thought she was flirting with him, but in all honesty she was just saying what she knew to be true. "And add the fame you're going to get... they're going to eat you right up," she said firmly, maybe even a little annoyed. She didn't like the idea of a bunch of girls trying to be with Brandon without really knowing him that well.

Karen chuckled. "Nothing else! Only insanity would keep me from you," she said with a soft smile. It wasn't even a really teasing smile, it was just grateful, really, that she had him at all. It made moving to Europe, and moving back, so much easier.

She laughed when he said Kara would probably cream him, which was true. "Alright, ready?" she said, stepping in and handing her tokens, mounting the broom in question. She was a fair flier, so she knew the proper way to mount the broom and all.

@brandon

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Brandon shrugged when Karen said that the girls would want him even without his music. He knew she was sincere, he could just tell from her tone of voice, but Brandon didn't see it that way. Girls had never really paid much attention to him- other than his friends of course- so why would anything change unless people started liking his music? He smiled when Karen said he was going to get famous. "You think I'm going to be famous?" he asked. Sure, that would be amazing, but Brandon wasn't quite sure if he thought it was possible.

"Good!" Brandon responded cheerfully when Karen said nothing would keep her from him. Then they reached the place in question. She mounted her broom and Brandon handed over tokens for himself before going to his. In all honesty, it had been a while since he last got on a broom, but he hadn't been terrible before. He just preferred his music. The bell went off, indicating the start, and Brandon pushed off, surprised when his broom only went a few feet in the air. He looked around himself in surprise. Weren't they supposed to go higher than this? Crap, maybe Karen would be able to beat him. He leaned forward, taking his broom back to the ground, and then pushed off harder this time. At least he was on the same level as the other fliers now. He looked around, trying to spot Karen.

@karen

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Brandon seemed unsure, but Karen nodded. "Of course I do! I mean, I need to hear more of your songs, but I really do. You did that recording with that artist in December, right? That famous kid who's in... another country now or something?" she remembered. "That was really good, and he's well known now since he's still doing records from there. Maybe you could play with him again, or he could get you in touch with his managers," she realized she was doing her deducting thing right now, and not really thinking about building him up anymore. She was just being logical.

The bell ran and Karen pushed off, flying above. At first she didn't see Brandon, and she frowned. But then he was up there and she grinned. "Watch out, Fisher," she warned before darting toward him.

@brandon

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Apparently Karen really thought he had potential as a musician. He nodded when she mentioned Zander. He missed the guy and was sad that he'd moved away, but also understood. He sighed, "We had talked about starting up a band once I graduated," he admitted to Karen, "but I don't really think that's going to happen anymore. He's so far away and I don't really want to go to Brazil, but he did give me contacts, so I'll be reaching out to them once I graduate." He hoped things would work out, that Zander's managers would like Brandon's music as much as they'd liked his. And maybe someday the two would be able to play together again. That would be awesome.

Brandon heard her voice from his left, and turned to see Karen darting towards him. Great. She was definitely better on a broom than he was. Brandon turned his broom away from her, facing a different angle as he tried to escape her. Still, the broom felt wobbly and unsure underneath him. He should really spend more time on brooms every once-in-a-while, just for situations like this. After a few seconds he turned around and looked for Karen, then deciding he might as well go for her. Otherwise he'd just be running the whole time. He sped forward towards her before another broom practically stopped in front of him and Brandon turned frantically so he wouldn't hit it, losing sight of Karen. Great.

@karen

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Karen nodded when Brandon explained that his friend had at least given him contacts before leaving. That was good. She let the conversation die, though, as they had more pressing matters at hand now. Like knocking each other off their brooms.

She sped toward him and he sped away, causing her to laugh. She kept pursuing him, dodging other people the best she could. Then he turned back to face her and she bent forward, gaining her own speed... but then someone got in between them and she turned, too, losing sight of him. As she looked for him, she managed to knock another person down which made her a little more confident.

She finally spotted him beneath her, "Brandon!" he called down, giving a little wave.

@brandon

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He could hear Karen's laugh sometime and Brandon looked around, wondering where she was. He really wasn't good at spotting her in a crowd, or anyone else for that matter. Really, there was a reason why Brandon was not a Quidditch player and this was it. When he was on a broom, almost his entire focus had to be on staying on the broom.

He finally caught sight of Karen, above him in the air, knocking someone else off their broom and Brandon watched curiously. Maybe he shouldn't have talked himself up about this ... oh well. What's done was done and there really wasn't much else he could do about it. Then she noticed him, calling his name. Brandon flashed a nervous smile. "Hey Karen," he responded, nodding. There was no way he was going to let go of the broom with either hand. "How much longer do you think we have?" he called to her curiously. He was trying to bide his time.

@karen