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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 25, 2009 16:58:46 GMT -5
Dare admittedly hadn't thought about Markise much between the reception in June and the beginning of school. He'd been with Michael, celebrating their partnership, their wedding, and the start of a new life together that was just as much a continuation of everything they'd had before.
Transfiguration had changed that. Yeah, he and Markise had other classes together, but it was Transfiguration they'd been so attached to. There was a huge history with them and Transfiguration, and despite what had happened that night, it just didn't feel right sitting across the classroom from Markise and having absolutely no contact.
Which was why Dare was heading out of the room at a clip today, his sights set on that blond head as it bobbed away.
"Markise!"
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Post by Markise Sterling on Sept 25, 2009 17:12:54 GMT -5
Markise's mind had already turned ahead to meeting up with Ariel, but that voice calling his name snapped him out of it. He stopped short, his heart beating wildly in the brief moments after it all registered. He didn't want to talk to Dare. He didn't want to face what had happened, and he didn't want to feel that sense of longing or that overpowering urge to kiss him that he'd felt for so long. He didn't want to want Dare while he was with Ariel.
He braced himself and turned anyway, books tucked against his chest like a shield. He looked up, and up a bit more, and shock set in. Dare was as attractive as ever with that teasing fringe and lip ring. He was just as tall, just as unconsciously assured, and there was that hopeful look in his eyes that had always melted Markise. The shock was that he noticed all these things and he didn't feel the pull. He didn't even know how. He saw all the same things, but the temptation was gone. He didn't know what to think as Dare approached.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 25, 2009 17:21:35 GMT -5
Dare couldn't identify the look on Markise's face. Was it shock? Embarrassment? Did Markise even remember that night? Would Markise even want his friendship after the complete rejection he'd given? He reminded himself that there had been no choice, no other way to do it. Markise hadn't been thinking.
"I uh, I wanted to talk to you," he started, finally stopping when he was close enough to talk at a normal level. It was so strange being this close to Markise after everything that had happened. It had been such a firm reminder of those couple months they'd apparently been together, and it was impossible to have the same distance he'd had then.
He diverted his gaze, the hand rising to rub at the back of his neck a betrayal of nerves he would have hoped not to show. "Um, about that night... the reception." He paused, took a breath, and looked back at Markise. "I'm sorry I pushed you to go. I mean, I didn't know, and..." He shook his head, looking away again. "If you don't wanna be friends, you don't have to, but, I miss you, y'know?"
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Post by Markise Sterling on Sept 25, 2009 17:28:08 GMT -5
Markise held his breath through most of Dare's speech. By the end, he was flushed with embarrassment at something he didn't remember. But he'd been told about it, and that was more than enough. Markise's gaze dropped, and he shifted his weight slightly, one hand abandoning his books to tug lightly at a strand of straightened hair.
"I'm okay," he said softly. He was, somehow. Through the embarrassment, he was okay. "I'm with someone else." He risked a glance up, then looked quickly away. "I'm sorry, I was really drunk. I stopped drinking this summer..."
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Sept 25, 2009 17:40:13 GMT -5
Ariel had been looking forward to meeting up with Markise, even if they had just seen each other during the last break. He couldn't help it, he wanted to be with Markise. He had gotten used to being so close to him over the summer and so now the time they had seemed to fly by and it never felt as though it was enough. It was something he tried not to think about too much.
He wasn't thinking about much further than the evening at the shop when he turned the corner, but even that was quickly pushed away when he saw that Markise was talking to Dare. There might have been a moment of panic at that, but it was soon blown away when he remembered that Markise was his and Dare would never do anything to hurt Michael. So he leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and his eyes moved over to Markise, hovering on the fingers playing with that pale hair.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 25, 2009 17:45:18 GMT -5
Dare's eyes widened slightly. Markise being with someone else was a surprise, and Dare's mind jumped directly to Ariel, but the next bit was an immediate distraction. "You stopped drinking?" he repeated. Dare had no idea about the extent of drinking problem Markise had by summer, but he had enough history dealing with it that it was still a shock. "Like, really stopped?" How? Why? What had gotten through to Markise after years of it getting steadily worse from drinking at parties to passing out at clubs? Dare couldn't imagine.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Sept 25, 2009 17:49:52 GMT -5
The shock on Dare's face was another sign to Markise that Ariel had been right. He'd been drinking so much that everyone he'd told was in disbelief when he said he wasn't anymore. He glanced away. "Like really stopped," he assured Dare. It took him a moment to look back up, "You don't have to take care of me anymore," he said softly. Would Dare be able to handle that? Would he really mind if Dare didn't miss watching over him?
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 25, 2009 17:55:27 GMT -5
The shock wasn't fading. You don't have to take care of me anymore. Dare wanted to argue, but he couldn't. He didn't have the right to take care of Markise anymore. He'd given it up long ago, for the most part, and he hadn't even noticed. His hand swept up, rubbing at his eyes a moment, then brushing back a fringe that fell into place all the same. "I know," he said at last.
Why was this so confusing? He'd come to touch base with Markise, to tell him he had no hard feelings and to ask if they could be friends again somehow, and everything was in a jumble again. "So, like, do you not want to hang out anymore?"
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Post by Markise Sterling on Sept 25, 2009 18:29:53 GMT -5
Markise blinked, and his eyes rose. "No, no I didn't mean that," he said, brows drawing together. "I just... I want you to know I'm better. I'm happy now." Would that even mean anything to Dare? Markise had hidden so much for so long, and held so much in. But he'd been miserable last term, very close to suicidal a couple times, though no one knew that but him.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Sept 25, 2009 20:37:25 GMT -5
Ariel could hear their voices, if not their words, but he could have figured out what they were talking about if he tried hard enough. His eyes flickered over to Dare and he shifted, only to pause when the word happy floated to him. It was Markise, it had to have been Markise. And he knew it, somewhere he knew that Markise was happy, but he had never thought about it, had never heard it. He took a few steps closer to listen, eyes locked on Markise. He knew how miserable Markise had been, even if he didn't know exactly everything that Markise had wanted to do. Was it because of him that Markise was able to say he was happy?
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 25, 2009 22:02:01 GMT -5
I'm happy now. Dare's mind stuck on that. When was the last time he'd seen Markise really happy? Aside from the bachelor party, when they'd all been drinking? He didn't know. He was about to say something, maybe to ask another question, when his eyes caught on motion in his peripheral vision that approached, but didn't near and pass by. He flicked a glance over, and his eyes paused. Ariel.
Before the summer, seeing Ariel wouldn't have set off any bells, but Dare knew so much more than he wanted to now. And Markise says he's happy. He might not have believed it if it wasn't for the look on Ariel's face. Dare shifted his head slightly in Ariel's direction, then looked back at Markise. "It's him, isn't it?" he asked softly. It was so disappointing. Dare had thought Markise would get over it.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Sept 25, 2009 22:08:16 GMT -5
Markise followed Dare's brief gaze, confused by the question until the moment he saw Ariel. His eyes softened, warmed, though everything else about him remained frozen in his usual effort not to give anything away. When he pulled his eyes away to look back at Dare, he nodded all but imperceptibly. Yes, it's him.
He could give a fair guess to what Dare was thinking, but it wasn't true. "A lot changed this summer," he said, even more softly than Dare. "It's nothing like Kwami. I'm really happy."
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Sept 25, 2009 22:20:47 GMT -5
It wasn't hard to guess that they were talking about him now. Oddly enough, that didn't bother him. His mind had caught on that look in Markise's eyes, one he saw often enough, but rarely within the castle. What did Dare think of him now? They had never talked, had never had a good conversation or anything. Last he knew, Dare still hated him.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 26, 2009 17:21:30 GMT -5
Dare didn't understand, despite the small voice whispering in his mind that people could change, offering images of Michael as proof. But Michael's an anomaly, he argued. Michael had always been good, he just hadn't recognized it in himself, so he'd followed the wrong path. He'd done horrible things, and he'd hated himself for it. Who says Ariel doesn't? Dare shook his head. "Seriously, Markise?" he asked softly. That look in Markise's eyes said yes, but he couldn't believe it. The guy was a total a~hole.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Sept 26, 2009 17:26:39 GMT -5
Markise's eyes flickered annoyance. "Yes. Seriously," he said. He looked determinedly at Dare, willing him to pull that trick where he seemed to see everything. There was no way Dare would believe him if he just told him. There was no way he'd be able to explain well enough. "I was drinking half a bottle of wine a night and vodka on weekends when he caught me. I haven't had a drink since. I feel the best I can remember feeling for like...as long as I can remember. Things change."
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