piece by piece (Dare)

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's gaze flickered up to Annabelle at the offer, then paused at the blush still staining her cheeks. It had been months since he'd had the urge to draw someone, but he hadn't seen a blush like that since he'd drawn Adara and he'd guess that her blush had been for totally different reasons. He blinked, then looked back down at the book, thinking of the other couple chapters that had caught his attention. He nodded.

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that. The breath and movement and meditation are what I'm really looking for, so it oughtta at least help." Yes, he was interested in the sex and yoga chapter, but he wasn't even sure it would do him any good. Not only for the fact that they weren't having sex, but because it might only apply to straight couples, anyway.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"No problem." Anna gave Dare a small smile, both glad that it might be useful for someone and thankful that he'd mentioned a chapter other than the one on sex. Anna sat on the wooden stool behind the counter, waiting for Dare to make a selection out of the catalog. "Does yoga really help with relaxing and clearing your mind and stuff?"

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Yes," Dare said. "Even after... after I stopped doing it I kept up the breathing exercises. That's why I need it again, it's been... busy," he said. Even as incredibly vague and uninformative as that answer was, he wondered if he'd said too much. He couldn't imagine that Anna was interested, either in his past or in recent months. It had been far more than busy, it had been a complete mental breakdown that he was still recovering from.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna hesitated at his words, hating that she had given in and read the gossip column. She didn't like thinking things that most likely weren't even true, but the articles kept coming to the front of her mind. Even if the things the Prophet said weren't true it was obvious that something was getting to him. She licked her lips before deciding to just ask what was on her mind. "Busy with...." She tried to think of the less offensive thing that the Prophet had said before continuing. "With the wedding? And everything else?"

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare looked back up to Anna from beneath his fringe. He told himself he shouldn't be surprised that she'd heard, even if it was bizarre hearing her bring it up. He hadn't missed that moment of hesitance, though. Nor had he missed the word wedding. "Yeah, pretty much," he said, then looked back down at the catalog, sifting through images and brief descriptions to find what he wanted. "We can't have a wedding, but close enough," he added softly, his absent-minded tone only a veil over the continued disappointment.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Oh. I'm sorry, I just thought-" Anna stumbled over her words, feeling bad for bringing it up if it wasn't happening. "The Prophet said you were so I just assumed....Nevermind. Forget I said anything." She realized she was quoting the prophet like one of those girls that lived off of gossip. She had even brought up the stupid column like an idiot fishing for news. Yes, she was endlessly curious about things, but she'd never stooped so low as to pay attention to hurtful gossip until now.

If it hadn't been for that Dahlia woman taking over and writing those blatent lies about her, Anna knew she would have never picked it up and searched out old issues to see what else she'd missed about herself. She'd ended up reading all sorts of things she didn't want to believe about practically everyone she knew at the school.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare looked up again, then back down, clearing his throat lightly. "No, I mean, we can't have a wedding. Civil partnership ceremony," he finished, his voice low. He chewed on his lip ring a moment, thinking about what Anna had said, before he looked at her once more, letting his gaze remain this time. "So you read that crap?" he asked. He didn't mean it to be rude, at least not toward Anna. But the stuff they printed was crap, even if it was based in truth. Or had been for the two issues he'd read.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna nodded in understanding as Dare talked, then looked down at her hands with embarrassment at his question. "Just recently. I was getting weird looks around school, and I figured it might be because of something said about me. After I saw some Hufflepuffs hide one and glare as I walked past in the Great Hall I couldn't just ignore it." She stopped talking to her hands and risked a glace up at Dare, wondering if he could relate at all after all the things it had said about him.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's eyes met Anna's, and more showed in the mossy green of his eyes than even he knew. One article had changed the course of his life, and though he wouldn't wish it away, not after everything that had happened between him and Michael, he was still dealing with the consequences. "We boycott the Prophet," Dare said simply. "Sometimes I wonder, but I wouldn't give them my money to find out." He still didn't know what had happened the last time. Just that he'd been villainized.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"I don't like the thought of spending money on them either, I don't even sell newspapers here because I don't want to contribute to it." She pulled her wand out and waved it at a cabinet with a Accio Prophet. the cabinet door opened enough for some obviously read papers to squeeze through. She put them on the counter with a guilty look. "People leave them laying around in the common room all the time. The house elves would have just thrown them away anyway."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's eyes sparked with interest, though he felt horribly guilty for it. Michael didn't even want to know, and he understood that. It was better not to acknowledge it than to fight back. They'd learned that the hard way. But still, he wondered. "I don't think I want to know," he said, eying the papers. The last time he'd picked one up had been in October.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna shrugged. "I guess I'm just too curious to let it go. Not knowing when it seemed like everyone else did drove me nuts. At least now I know what I'm up against." She picked up the most recent one and pointed to the section about herself. "Not only am I a closet lesbian, but I'm using poor innocent Markise as a cover-up boyfriend." She rolled her eyes, knowing that the things they had said about Dare weren't nearly as mild or amusing.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's brows rose in unison and he took the paper from Anna with lightly parted lips, scanning the section she'd pointed out. He was quiet for the few moments it took him to read it, then his lips spread into a grin and he let out a bark of laughter, hardly aware of how strange it felt to do so. For Dare, there was a huge difference between a chuckle and laughter. He looked back at Anna with gently laughing eyes. "Sorry, it's just... ridiculous." He gave her a teasing look. "So, how long have you been with Lucretia?"

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna's laughing eyes faded immediately. She knew he was joking, and if memories hadn't been tied to it she would have enjoyed playing along. She tried to force a smile but it was obviously fake. She wished she could joke about it, but it just hurt too much. "Since I found out Chase was engaged I guess." She hadn't meant to bite out the statement harshly and offered an apologetic look for her tone.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare sobered up at that news. He decided that silence was the best course when it came to Chase. He'd never even met the guy, but he held a grudge against him for what he'd indirectly done to Silver, and even for Dru, though he still believed she shared the fault in what had happened. He couldn't manage to say that he was sorry for Anna, despite all he knew. Anna had been in the Room of Requirement the night that Dru had come in so upset over that very guy. In silence, Dare set the newspaper down on the counter and pushed it lightly toward Anna. Just because it was all there it didn't mean he had to read it.