Nice Weather... (Michael/Dare)

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"I've wondered why Magby's the only Hufflepuff I know," Michael said lightly, or, an attempt to be light. It didn't work as well as he had hoped. He flicked his eyes towards Anna for a moment but brought them back to Dare quickly afterward. He wasn't enjoying himself and began thinking of ways to escape, because he didn't care to continue in the tension and uncomfortable air around them. "I don't care if he's nice or not, I don't want to be near him in the water."

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"I'm surprised, you of all people, are afraid of the Giant Squid?" Anna looked back at Michael, knowing she shouldn't, but doing so out of habit of good manners. She glanced over to Dare, relieved that he didn't look nearly as uncomfortable as Michael, but still felt that he didn't want to be there either.

With an inward sigh, Anna set down her towel, placing her book protectively on it. If they were just going to stand around pretending things weren't awkward, she'd just do what she'd originally planned and go for a swim. She lifted one foot, balancing it on her leg to untie and remove her shoe before starting on the other. Unfortunately, in the middle of undoing a knot, she lost her balance and fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs. A soft cry escaped her mouth before she bit on her lower lip and reached for the offending ankle.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

If Dare had been surprised to see Anna suddenly start undressing--albeit shoes first--he hadn't had time to think about it. Before he knew it, she'd fallen, and Dare had reflexively moved to kneel beside her. "Are you all right?" he asked, hesitantly offering Anna a hand. It was intensely awkward, but as Dare threw an apologetic glance up at Michael, he knew he couldn't just leave her.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Even with the lingering uncomfortable feeling that permeated him, Michael couldn't stop his natural reaction of hurrying towards her with concern in his eyes. He opened his mouth to ask, but realized that it had already been asked, by Dare, and then he remembered. He was kneeling on her other side, and he pushed away the threatening awkwardness and turned his eyes to her ankle.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna rubbed her shoeless foot, embarrassed at her clumsiness. She moved it around, testing it and didn't really feel any pain. "I'm sure it's just a little twist or something." She set her foot down and started to stand up. As soon as she placed pressure on it, she immediately stopped, feeling the sharp pain again. She settled on the ground again with a sigh. "It's nothing really." She was a horrible liar, but she didn't want either of them to make a fuss. If they would just go away, she was sure she could hobble to the hospital wing and get it fixed in no time.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare glanced at Michael again, but forced back his reflexive reaction to the look in Michael's eyes. It made sense that he'd be concerned; he'd loved her--still loved her. As a friend, he reminded himself. Dare turned his attention back to Anna, who was obviously having trouble, and offered his hand again. "We'll walk you to the hospital wing," he offered. He didn't think it was assuming too much that Michael would want to go. She was his friend, after all, wasn't she?

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"You don't need to walk on it," Michael said, "It would only get worse." Sure she could limp her way up there, but they were willing to help, and so there was no reason for her to make the injury any worse. He tried to keep the unsure feeling at bay by pulling out his wand and summoning his shoes, then focusing on putting them on. He knew that walking up there wasn't going to be comfortable, because he highly doubted she could get up to the castle without leaning on someone.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna groaned at the attention. All she wanted was to crawl into a hole and hide. "Well I'm not letting either of you carry me up to the school like a baby, so I'll have to walk on it. I'll be fine, really." She looked between the two before focusing on retying her shoe that she'd been removing when she fell. She took longer than necessary before picking up her other shoe, her towel, and book. She was stalling, but only because she wasn't sure what they had in mind to get her to the castle without walking. She didn't want to be levitated with magic, nor did she want to be stuck in her ex's arms, or his current boyfriend's either.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Well you can hardly stand, let alone walk, and I'm not leaving you here, so you can suck it up and take the help," Dare said. His discomfort had been pushed aside for accomplishing what needed done, so he watched Anna, waiting for her to get her shoes on, and offered his hand again. "Come on, I won't bite, I swear," he said, bypassing annoyance and trying to lighten things again. "Just lean against me, we'll get you to the hospital wing, and everything will be fine."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael looked up at Dare, but didn't say anything. He knew, logically, that it would be better for her to lean on Dare, Anna and Dare didn't have a past relationship. That didn't mean he liked it. He stood up and glanced over where the sketchbook and rose lay, "Want me to carry that, Dare?" he asked, gesturing over. He would have offered to help with Anna, but something told him that it wouldn't be the best idea, the same something that was trying to convince him that Dare walking Anna up was the logical choice.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Err....Thanks." Anna accepted her fate; she knew they were only being logical and it was silly to continue to protest. She rolled her book and shoe up in her towel and tucked it under her arm opposite her injured ankle. She would have put her shoe back on, but didn't want to risk hurting it putting it on just to take it off again. She grabbed Dare's hand with her empty one, and allowed him to help her to her feet, or foot rather. She was careful not to put any weight on her foot, feeling like a flamingo while she waited for them to get their stuff together. She looked up, giving a weak smile to Dare as she held onto him for support.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare had looked up at Michael's question and nodded; it seemed like the less attention that rose got, the better their chances were of keeping things awkward instead of mortifying. He turned back to Anna then, who was holding onto his hand as though that would be enough. He could imagine how miserable this was going to be for her, but there was nothing else to be done about it, so he mentally gritted his teeth and moved closer to Anna. The hand he held got wrapped around his back, and he put his hand around her back, careful to avoid anything too intimate while still giving her enough support. He glanced down at her a moment, then out to the path back toward the castle, unable to look at Michael just now. "Ready?" he asked, knowing no one wanted to stay here any longer than they had to. Dare started on the path without waiting for a response, taking it slow for Anna.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael looked away from Anna and Dare as he went to pick up Dare's sketchbook, pausing when he saw the rose. He flicked his eyes up towards them but they moved quickly away at the sight, and bent to pick them up, then went over to them, only bringing his eyes up to them when he was beside of Dare. "Anna, do you want me to hold that?" He figured she was going to have enough problems walking without the bundle under her arm, not to mention he wanted to feel like he was actually doing something.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna blushed at the feel of Dare's body brushing against her side, his hand supporting her, and her own hand against him. She looked down as she tried to ignore the closeness which her mind automatically associated with an intimate situation. It was entirely inappropriate, especially considering her company. At the sound of her name being called by Michael's voice, she looked up. "That would be great." She handed the bundle over to Michael, afraid that if she held onto it she might drop it and her romance novel would tumble out. She hobbled slowly, barely touching her foot to the ground and taking as big of a hop with the other that she could. She relied on Dare's support, hoping that they could get though this as soon as possible.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

No one really talked after that. It was uncomfortable all around, but somehow it seemed like if they didn't verbally acknowledge it, they could ignore it. Dare didn't try to break the silence, knowing that would only make it worse for everyone. Even so, after a while, he realized he didn't have much of a choice. Anna was leaning more heavily against him, taking shorter steps, and when he looked down at her, she seemed to be concentrating on the motions. "Why don't we take a break?" Dare suggested, stopping. Not like Anna could go on without the help.