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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Oct 27, 2008 9:10:31 GMT -5
Dare wasn't waiting for Michael. He was sitting beside the lake, one long leg bent, the other stretched out in front of him, watching the water and thinking. But he wasn't waiting for Michael, not now. Michael was still in class. Dare had finished his Divination test first, so he'd been out the doors before the official end to class, and he'd made his way here, a place he'd taken to meeting Michael now that the Room of Requirement and the forest had become swamped with the whispers they preferred to avoid.
Dare's mind was on everything and nothing. The rings, sex, love, the future, the present, the past. He wasn't brooding so much as trying to piece things together, trying to figure out how he'd gotten here and where he was going next. It was a lot to think about.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 27, 2008 9:28:06 GMT -5
Markise knew that look before he even saw Dare's face. It was in the set of his shoulders, the arch of his neck and the way he hadn't even heard the crunch of shoes through the fallen leaves. Dare was deep in thought, and Markise couldn't help wondering; was he any part of those thoughts? Michael had said that Dare was going to send him a picture.
Markise sat down next to Dare without invitation, without so much as announcing his presence. Dare would know he was here by now. One of the benefits of having known one another so long was the ability to feel that nearness without any conscious effort. Had they really only been friends for five years? It seemed longer. "I really am happy for you," Markise said softly. It hurt to say it, when so much of him still wanted Dare back, despite Ariel, despite Michael, despite anything. Letting Dare go to give Kwami another chance was the most stupid decision he'd ever made.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Oct 27, 2008 9:31:42 GMT -5
Are you really? Dare wanted to say. But no, that was just spite. Markise wouldn't have said it if it wasn't at least partly true. "What changed?" Dare asked. He turned his head, looking at Markise through his fringe. "Why did you change? I mean, we all change, but...I didn't even recognize you in that corridor." Markise had been another person, beyond being tired or stressed. His voice was different, the way he talked, and now he'd reverted back again, at least a little. He was blond, but he felt a little more like himself.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 27, 2008 9:44:09 GMT -5
Markise looked down at his hands as he picked up an orange-gold fall leaf. "Everything changed," he answered. He spun the stem between his fingers, watching the colors flash as the leaf turned. Orange, gold, orange, gold. "You left, and...I had Kwami. You know how he messed with people." Markise's tongue swept lightly across his lips. "It was worse with me. You were right about him." Markise didn't look up at Dare. He knew he wouldn't see any I-told-you-so, just a silent prompt to go on, so he went on.
"The only people who knew were my family and him, and I couldn't talk about it with any of them, not like I talked with you, so I wanted to come out, to just stop hiding it." Markise brought up his free hand and wiped at his eyes. "Damn allergies." He set his hand down again and looked up into the sky, willing his eyes to stay dry. "So I started just being me, and Kwami dumped me because he wasn't ready to come out and everything went downhill from there."
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Oct 27, 2008 9:50:54 GMT -5
Allergies. Dare's lips threatened to quirk at that, but he held himself back somehow. "What happened?" he asked. There had to be a reason Markise had traveled so far, and Dare refused to believe that it was him, despite what Michael might think. There had to be something else, maybe not entirely something else, but something. Dare raised one large hand, settling it on Markise's back and rubbing lightly, calming and encouraging. He didn't think a thing about how it might look; after Michael, Markise was still his best friend, and physical contact had always been part of the equation, even when it was innocent.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 27, 2008 9:56:55 GMT -5
Markise closed his eyes at that contact, something he'd missed terribly in the past months. He had no delusions that he stood a chance with Dare, and he was with Ariel now anyway, but still, this was Dare. It took a moment before Markise opened his eyes and spoke again, looking down at the leaf in his hand as he resumed spinning it. Orange, gold, orange. "It started out with little things. My stuff would go missing, it'd get...vandalized. I heard stuff in the hallways, got shoved around." Markise licked his lips, knowing he had to go on, but somehow it had been easier to talk about right after it had happened, when he was still in shock. Now it was a nightmare, and he didn't want to relive it. "Would you hold me?" Markise asked softly. He could do it if he had that.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Oct 27, 2008 10:01:49 GMT -5
Dare's eyes flickered in the direction of the castle. Michael wouldn't like it, no matter how innocent it was. But when Dare looked down at Markise, it seemed such a small comfort, and all Dare could do was pray that Michael could understand. He wrapped one arm around Markise's back, knowing anything more would be bad for Markise being out, and leaned close. "What happened?" he asked again. This was something he couldn't guess. It was worse than being shoved around, and though part of Dare could guess, his mind refused to make the connection. Things like that didn't really happen.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 27, 2008 10:06:03 GMT -5
But they did happen, and they had. Markise told Dare everything he could remember through the flashes of pain, his hazy memories as he'd faded in and out beside the fountain. He told Dare everything he'd been told later, when he'd rested in Merlin's Medical waiting for his parents, then Brindle, to arrive. He hadn't cried when he'd told Brindle. He'd been the strong big brother, even if he knew she saw right through it. But he didn't have to be strong for Dare. Dare had always been the strong one.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Oct 27, 2008 10:11:03 GMT -5
Dare was left in shock at Markise's story. He couldn't believe that had happened to his best friend, just at the beginning of fall while he'd been with Michael. Dare threw propriety out the window and wrapped both arms around Markise. The world could go to hell, and if Michael came, he'd have to understand. Michael would understand.
Dare held Markise a while, just letting things calm again at their own speed. Then he sat back, retrieving one arm and leaving the other slung almost casually across Markise's shoulders. "I'm glad you got out of there," Dare said. He couldn't be sure if he was glad Markise had come to Hogwarts, it was still too surreal, but he couldn't imagine the hell of even thinking of facing a place like that again.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 27, 2008 10:15:25 GMT -5
Markise nodded, one hand rising to swipe at the back of his eyes one last time. "No one more than me," he said with a shaky chuckle. He couldn't have gone back, even if the school administration hadn't kindly suggested that for his own peace of mind he might want to continue his education elsewhere. Markise looked at Dare then, at that odd multicolored hair he'd first seen at Mrs. Blackwood's funeral. It fit Dare somehow, in a way even his own hair had never quite seemed to fit him. "I missed you," Markise said softly.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Oct 27, 2008 10:22:12 GMT -5
Dare looked back at Markise, at those pale blue eyes still lightly shimmering, and his heart tugged. "I missed you, too." He felt a pull then, one he'd never give in to, but it was there all the same. A pull for one last long, comfortable kiss. He felt that pull and he turned his gaze away, out to the water without comment, letting the moment go as though it had never existed. "I love Michael," he said, as easily as if he were describing the weather, but with infinitely more emotion. "He loves me too." Markise deserved to know.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 27, 2008 10:26:19 GMT -5
Markise's eyes squeezed tight. "I'm happy for you," he said softly. It was himself he was sad for. For the chance he'd given up, the chance he knew he'd never get back. And Dare didn't even know. He was sure of it now. But he couldn't be angry. He loved Dare enough that he could put himself aside. Michael had said they had an amazing relationship. They were in love. They were happy. Markise was happy for them. "I'm seeing someone," Markise said. They were just getting things out now just catching up now that the worst was over. "I can't tell you who, though." Dare would know anyway.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Oct 27, 2008 10:33:50 GMT -5
Yes, Dare knew. It was that Logan guy, Ariel Logan, Markise had called him. "Just remember you're not alone, all right?" Dare cautioned. He'd liked Logan, but he knew better than to judge a book by its cover. "You can talk to me any time you want. I work at the club in Hogsmeade. That, of course, led to Dare's reassuring Markise that said club did indeed exist, as well as a description of the club, and Markise's promise to stop by some time.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 27, 2008 13:02:27 GMT -5
Ariel knew it was going to be cold soon, even if he didn't really understand how cold it was going to be, so he was headed down to the lake, hoping to get in some more swim time before it got too bad. He didn't strictly need to swim, for so long it had been what he did to relax, but he was still very relaxed from his time with Markise. His thoughts were pleasantly on Markise, thinking about meeting him in that empty room, when he saw that familiar form by the lake with another guy.
That made him stop. No, they weren't really in a relationship, it was just a way to do something they both wanted and keep it hidden from prying eyes. If that were true, though, then why in the world did Ariel's eyes narrow when he saw that arm around Markise? He made his feet move towards them, trying to figure out...it was that guy from the dorm. Dare? Was Dare single? Ariel had no idea, and so immediately his head was putting together scenarios that ended with him not having Markise.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 27, 2008 13:19:41 GMT -5
"It's too bad you work there," Markise said. "It'd be a blast getting all dressed up together. Go down there and turn the place on its ass." But they weren't in California anymore. Markise sighed. "Does Michael even dance?" A sudden shiver shot up Markise's spine and he turned his head, his eyes widening slightly when he saw Ariel. What was he doing here? Swimming. But why here? It was incredibly uncomfortable having the new and the old in his life mesh, even a little. Markise felt like he was being ripped from a dream. He also felt like Dare's arm was far too heavy. "Someone's coming," he said under his breath, leaving it at that.
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