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Post by Chase Firebrand on Jul 26, 2009 14:56:43 GMT -5
Chase was still in a foul mood. His talk with Carolynn had pissed him off, and the one that had followed with his father hadn't done much to calm him. The man had agreed to pay for his fiance's new residence, but refused to spare a family house-elf, so he'd needed to summon his elf. One he'd been given because it had about as much respect for him as he had for the family name. It would do as he asked, but it knew every loophole and exploited them all. That was half the reason he hardly used the creature.
He was storming across the lawns toward the castle now. His clothes were grating on him, despite the fine cloth and the perfect cut of both shirt and trousers. He wanted to throw his highly polished shoes into the lake and be done with them. But no, he was only heading toward the school and the dungeons to change. He fully intended to put on his rattiest jeans, a band tee, his boots, and his most wicked fang earring. And he'd probably take a hefty number of points from students he met on the way.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Jul 26, 2009 15:19:04 GMT -5
Dru was heading from the post office back up the lawns to the school when she saw Chase, a very well dressed Chase, storming up the lawns. She turned her steps into a quick jog and came up beside him. "Hey, what's up?" she asked, eyebrows creased as she looked at him. She hadn't seen him like this...had she ever seen him like this? She'd seen him angry, but this was an entirely new level.
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Jul 26, 2009 15:33:31 GMT -5
"Nothing," Chase bit out, despite the obvious untruth in the statement. His eyes were flashing crimson, orange, and gold, but this was his problem, his and Carolynn's, and no one else's. Chase wanted to keep up his stride, but he forced himself to stop, to be polite since there wasn't anything that Dru had done to him. No, it was his b~ of a fiancée and his a~hole of a father.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Jul 26, 2009 15:41:57 GMT -5
Dru stopped and faced Chase, her eyebrows still creased in concern. "Come on, talk to me," she said, reaching up to brush lightly at his hair. Before she could make it to his hair, she pulled her hand back, remembering how everything needed to be kept hidden, and brushed back her own hair behind her ear. What had him so worked up?
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Jul 26, 2009 15:55:08 GMT -5
"You don't want to know," Chase assured her. He couldn't imagine she'd want to hear anything about Carolynn, considering how horribly things had gone when they'd dated, even when he wasn't cheating on her. He wanted to keep this separate, and he didn't want to ruin it. Dru was, strangely, what was going right in his life now.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Jul 26, 2009 16:12:36 GMT -5
Dru opened her lips to argue but bit her lip and dropped her eyes. He was probably right. But that didn't mean she wanted to forget it and let him go off like that. "I want to help if I can," she said after a couple of moments and looked up at him. She wanted to help him, just like she hoped he would do for her.
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Jul 26, 2009 16:26:44 GMT -5
Chase shook his head. "There's nothing you can do," he said, and after a pause, "I'm not sleeping with her." He hadn't since just before he and Dru had gotten back together. He didn't know how long he could keep it up if he wanted to soothe her apparently brittle pride, but for now, it was true. He didn't want to sleep with her, despite her skill and her amazing body. When she opened her mouth, it was all in ruins.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Jul 26, 2009 17:09:22 GMT -5
Dru blinked at that announcement. She certainly hadn't expected that. Not that she had really thought about it, but perhaps she had realized he probably was, since they were engaged. "You're not?" she asked, then dropped her eyes. Of course he wasn't, he wouldn't lie about that. "I mean..." But what did she mean?
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Jul 26, 2009 17:40:16 GMT -5
"I didn't choose her, Dru," Chase said. He could still remember their brief time in the Room of Requirement, in his bed. He'd told her that some day he'd settle into politics and an arranged marriage. She'd gotten angry, and that had been the beginning of another end for them. He didn't know what was different this time, but he still felt like he was walking on eggshells, even if he didn't let that feeling control him anymore.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Jul 26, 2009 18:56:04 GMT -5
Dru looked down, chewing her lip. "I don't understand why you're with her if you don't want to be with her," she said, shaking her head. She couldn't understand the complex workings that were in place for something like that. She tucked her hands into her pockets and then looked up at Chase again.
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Jul 26, 2009 19:25:00 GMT -5
"Because I have to," Chase said. "That's the way it is. I wouldn't choose, so it was arranged." It seemed simple to him, though he knew that not everyone was required to make sacrifices like that. Dru would be able to marry whoever she wanted some day. It wouldn't come with any perks—no power, no money or status—but at least she could break it off if she didn't want it.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Jul 26, 2009 19:34:26 GMT -5
Dru crossed her arms loosely over her chest and she looked away again, chewing at her lip again. It didn't make sense to her. Arranged marriages made her think of India and Royalty from the Middle Ages. It made her think of old high society and knights and ladies. Not Chase Firebrand. "You don't have to, no one has to," she argued, bringing her eyes back up to him.
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Jul 26, 2009 19:43:20 GMT -5
"No, I don't have to, but I'm my father's only son, and if I don't, a family that goes back past the Middle Ages dies, and it's my fault. I can't do that, and if I tried..." Chase broke off, his thumbs tucking into his pockets as he looked out over the lawns. He was silent for one endless moment before turning back to Dru. "Did you hear about Michael's father?" he asked. She was his friend, as little as he understood that; maybe he'd told her. It would be so much easier to provide an example than try to explain.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Jul 26, 2009 20:00:42 GMT -5
Dru looked up, confused, but nodded. "I know the basic story, why?" She knew that there had been a fight, and she also knew that the man was dead. She knew that he had been a Death Eater. What did he have to do with Chase's situation? She didn't even see why he had to marry someone his parents put him with just to keep up the family name, couldn't he do that with someone he wanted to be with?
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Jul 26, 2009 20:20:37 GMT -5
"I can get away with a lot of sh~ as long as it doesn't hurt the family name. I leave entirely and the family's got nothing, and no reason not to do everything in their power to change my mind. I lose everything, and I don't know if I'd be disowned or pursued. I was born into this. I was raised to do it, I'll do it." Dru had said she couldn't imagine the wealth not being worth it and now she said she couldn't imagine it being worth the trouble. Chase didn't get it.
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