piece by piece (Dare)

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be such a mood killer." She didn't want to talk about it though and glanced at the article again. "It was funny finding out that Markise was my boyfriend though. I can't wait to tell him we're dating. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of it." Markise was a safe subject for her and she clung to it, knowing that Dare was his friend and she didn't have to tread around Markise's secret. He was pretty much the only person lately that she looked forward to spending time with, no matter what they did.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare nodded, his lips curving in a smile that didn't reach his eyes. His fringe was in the way though, and he was looking down at the catalog, so Anna probably wouldn't notice. "He'll think it's great." It wasn't anything that hadn't happened before. There had been a lot of girls who'd liked Markise, usually as a friend, and he'd lain just like that as they stroked his hair. It wasn't hard to pick the truth out of the article that it had been based on. He turned the catalog toward Anna and pointed out a couple books that looked like what he wanted. Neither had everything, but together they covered what he needed, and they actually looked readable.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna took the Catalog and circled the books he pointed out with her quill so she could write out the muggle order form after Dare left. "He told me, did you know?" Anna wanted to make sure Dare knew for some reason, as if she needed to prove that Markise trusted her as a friend. She didn't want Dare to have the wrong impression and go tell Markise that she was interested in that. She could see it completely ruining the friendship that had formed.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"I know," Dare said. "He was drunk, wasn't he?" Dare realized after the fact that he shouldn't have said that, but he'd figured it out and it changed a lot. He'd been best friends with Markise for years before Markise had told him. He didn't understand most of what Markise did anymore, but he couldn't see Markise having just told someone after however many months. He'd never told any of their other friends, after all.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna closed her eyes at the stinging remark. She had no clue how to respond to that. It was the truth so she couldn't dispute it, but it painted their friendship in such a negative light. It hurt worse because she didn't think they would have ever become such close friends if that night hadn't happened. She didn't know where she would be if they hadn't bonded. She had no one else, not really. Her family was so far away that they didn't count and the other friends she'd made could hardly be considered more than acquaintances. "You're right Dare, he was a bit. But it all worked out for the best."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare kept his head lowered and his fringe shielding his eyes, but he nodded. "It did," he agreed. "Listen, I'm sorry I said it like that. I... it took him years to tell me." He left the rest unsaid. If Anna put anything together out of that, she was welcome to, but he didn't at all feel like announcing a moment of petty jealousy. "I think you're the reason he hasn't already left." Markise had said something about someone having talked him into staying to the end of the year, and who else could it have been?

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna accepted Dare's apology, it had been nothing but the honest truth even if it could have been worded better. She could understand how it might look to him, her coming in and finding out something like that when they were still new friends. Anna was about to comment that she probably wouldn't know if it hadn't been for that night when Dare added that last bit.

The words although said casually, sent a shock of alarm through Anna. "Wha-what do you mean?" They had another year after this one, surely Markise wouldn't transfer schools for his senior year unless he absolutely had to. He'd talked about going home for the summer, and that he was going to open up a store in New York, but that was in a few years, wasn't it?

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare looked up at Anna from beneath his fringe, his eyes widening slightly. "You don't know?" he asked, then mentally winced at how that had come out. "He told me a couple weeks ago that he wanted to leave and someone talked him into staying. I know it wasn't me, I'm not even sure I can get him to stay for the..." He paused briefly, then just said it. "For the ceremony." His gaze skirted out into the shop. He was fairly sure that Anna didn't want to hear about that.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

I'm leaving. She remembered the word Markise spoke by the lake, but she hadn't taken them to mean what Dare was saying. She leaned her elbows on the counter and set her chin on her fists with a frown. It hadn't been her that had talked him into staying so she shook her head. His mind had already been made up to leave at summertime. "It couldn't be me. He asked if I was leaving for the summer and said he was leaving, but I didn't think he meant for good." She grimaced, not liking the clenching feeling in her gut. "He can't just leave. What are we going to do?" Her eyes were looking at Dare, begging that he had some sort of answer already planned out.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare shook his head. "I don't know," he said softly. "I... talked to Michael and we're going to start taking Markise out, I don't know how much that'll help, but it's a try." And I gave him something in the hope that it'd keep him grounded. There was no telling with Markise, though.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

So many things popped through Anna's head at the mention of a club, none of which she felt even remotely comfortable bringing up to Dare. Knowing where Markise liked to go and Dare and Michael having been in the Daily Prophet for attending the same type of clubs, it was easy for Anna to figure out what taking Markise out meant.

Part of her was glad that he'd be going out with other people he was friends with even if the group of guys at the club were nice enough. The rest of her was worried. But Markise doesn't get along with Michael. He's not out, what if the Daily Prophet follows you again? She knew it wasn't her place to bring up either of those things but her skepticism of the plan showed. "Do you really think it'll work? I'd do anything to help keep him here too."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare shook his head again. "I don't know. I... we haven't been talking much, not until a couple weeks ago, so I didn't even know it was that bad." He'd had no idea until the moment the words had come out of Markise's mouth. He didn't tell Anna that Markise had apparently already packed his trunk. He didn't feel like adding insult to injury.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna gave a fake smile to Dare. She couldn't believe that Markise hadn't even said anything to her. "I didn't either." Am I that blind? We spent nearly every day together. What type of friend am I? "I mean, I...I knew there were issues, but to up and leave Hogwarts?" The thought did hold appeal, to get away from all the drama and not have to deal with it. She knew students transferring wasn't uncommon, but what other schools were there nearby? Where would Markise go? She didn't want to even think of that. He'd come around and stay, he had to.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare shook his head, at a total loss. He didn't tell Anna that Markise had mentioned not being able to be himself. He'd already insulted her once, and there wasn't anything productive that would come from saying the words. "I don't know him like I used to," Dare said softly. And yet Markise still knew exactly what to do and say when it came to him.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

There was a moment of silence as Anna thought about the situation. She wished Markise would walk in and tell her it was all a lie, but by the look on Dare's face he was telling the truth. "Am I supposed to keep it to myself that I know and not talk to him about it?" Anna didn't know if Markise had told Dare in confidence and didn't want to say anything she shouldn't. She knew about the separation between Markise and Dare that had been caused by Michael and wondered just how much of their old friendship they had salvaged. She didn't want to do anything that would ruin whatever friendship they had mended but she wasn't sure she could go without finding out what was going on directly from Markise.