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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on May 16, 2011 20:13:03 GMT -5
Dare's immediate shock was short-lived, Mano's brief story pulling him along. He nearly laughed at the seriousness and formality of the language: inappropriate target for his affections. He kept a straight face though, and tried to follow along.
"Okay, so he likes someone he's not supposed to and he's going home to get a girlfriend?" Dare said, translating. "Is it like, a halfblood or something?" That was their main concern, wasn't it? Wishes to find a woman. "A guy?" Dare knew Michael would get a laugh out of finding out that Eros had the hots for some halfblood guy.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 16, 2011 20:50:52 GMT -5
Mano shook his head. "Yes, it's a guy, but no, he isn't halfblood, he's a Pureblood." He's me. He didn't want to say that, he didn't know how to say that. Maybe Dare would be able to assume it so he wouldn't have to say it. It was so strange to think, much less say. And how was he supposed to act about this, anyway?
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on May 16, 2011 21:04:11 GMT -5
The idea had already been seeded in Dare's mind, it had only been distracted. Now, that pause silently screamed at him that he didn't need to ask. Mano had looked horribly distracted when they'd come in, and he was acting downright human right now, with normal human emotions. "So he's got the hots for you," he guessed. And Mano didn't look at all pleased.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 16, 2011 22:58:39 GMT -5
Mano reached up and ran a rough hand through his hair. "I was going to let him hold his own," Mano said. He would have just let it go, because Eros had asked him. "And then we had sex. It wasn't normal sex, though. We've slept together before, but it wasn't like this." Now he was lost, how was he supposed to react to his best friend being interested in him?
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on May 16, 2011 23:35:25 GMT -5
Dare really wished he hadn't just heard that. He'd figured they all slept with each other, since they were so apparently obsessed with sex, but hearing it brought an unpleasant visual to mind. He wasn't entirely sure he could imagine Eros doing anything to begin with, considering how cool and uptight he always seemed.
"Okay, so, like... how can I help?" Dare asked. If Mano was asking him some kind of veiled question, he wasn't getting it, and he didn't want to guess. It was more than enough knowing that Michael's friends were doing it without knowing exactly how they were doing it.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 16, 2011 23:52:59 GMT -5
"What the hell do I do?" Mano asked, looking at Dare. "I know there was something similar with you and Markise. Even if I wanted it nothing could come of us, am I supposed to ignore it?" That didn't seem to be a productive way of dealing with the issue. But he really didn't want to deal with the conversation that would happen if he brought it up to Eros.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on May 17, 2011 0:05:29 GMT -5
Crap. Hadn't he just gone through this with Keith? Since when had he become the local relationship expert? He glanced back toward the door they'd come through, thinking that out there, Keith was having a good time with his new boyfriend, who he'd known intimately for years. Markise had gotten drunk and thrown himself at him at his and Michael's partnership ceremony, and now they rarely acknowledged each other in corridors. And he was supposed to tell Mano what to do?
He cleared his throat. "Well, me and Markise didn't work out," he started. "I didn't even know... how he felt until after I was partnered with Michael." It didn't feel right saying too much, especially with how well Mano had apparently known Markise. "We don't talk anymore. He's with Ariel, and I'm teaching, and there's like, nothing.
"My friends out there?" he went on, gesturing toward the door. "They were best friends like, forever, right? Then they decided they'd give it a chance, and I guess it was weird at first, but they look pretty damned happy right now. I guess like, the most important thing is that at least you know, and he knows you know. Just... if you don't want to try anything, make sure he knows where you draw the line." Because that had worked really well when he and Markise had tried to be friends without any touching at all.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 17, 2011 0:19:44 GMT -5
Mano shook his head. Neither option sounded particularly appetizing. "It's Eros," he said. "But at least he's going home this summer. He'll find some little princess at a ball or something and this will all be forgotten. But if we don't talk about it it'll just be there, all the time." And it would eat at him and eat at him. "Why did he have to do this? Surely he could have done something to stop it."
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on May 17, 2011 0:28:26 GMT -5
Dare arched an eyebrow at Mano. "Have you ever had feelings for anyone?" he asked, the words more honest disbelief than criticism. "You can't really help falling for someone. You said he was leaving though, right? I don't know how much he... likes you or anything, so I can't tell you what's going to happen, but if he already told you and he's leaving, all you've got to worry about is whether you want to be friends with him. Right?"
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 17, 2011 16:45:25 GMT -5
"Well, he didn't exactly tell me," Mano said, deciding to avoid the question of his past. "I kind of...ran off after we had sex and it clicked." And now he was wondering just why he was telling Dare. He did want to keep Eros as a friend. "He is my friend, but this...this is like a bludger out of nowhere." He couldn't have expected this.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on May 17, 2011 16:52:39 GMT -5
"I don't know what to tell you," Dare said, shifting on his feet. You either talk to him or you don't, keep him as a friend or don't, f~ him or don't. Even if you had a time turner, you couldn't go back and just make him not like you. And you're not even sure! You can't wish it away, so don't waste your time trying to. You'll drive yourself crazy."
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 17, 2011 17:09:26 GMT -5
Mano felt like he was already going crazy. "Thank you for listening to me," he said. "But I have to go." He wasn't able to just come up with an answer, and with no hope for a clue on how to bring it up or talk to Eros about it, there was no more reason to talk about it further. "I'll talk to him somehow."
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on May 17, 2011 17:23:08 GMT -5
"Good idea," Dare said flatly. He was only a little annoyed, but not so much at Mano as at the uncharacteristic helplessness he'd just seen. He'd always thought of the Society types as being powerful, having the means to do whatever they wanted, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized how few decisions they were allowed to make on their own before they were grown up and married. He was putting this together with Michael's usual desire to follow where he led, to let him make the decisions, and he wondered if the two were based on the same thing.
"You can talk to me any time," Dare said after a moment. "No judgement, and I won't interfere. Come around and bullsh~ if you want." He raised a hand in gesture of goodbye, then left before Mano could think to respond.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 17, 2011 17:52:12 GMT -5
Mano nodded, but didn't know if he could turn buddy buddy with Dare after knowing him without moving to that level for so long. He stayed behind in the room once Dare left, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it again. So far he'd failed, and he'd probably failed again now, but at least now he could say he had tried.
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Post by Keith Evans on May 17, 2011 17:59:59 GMT -5
Keith raised a hand to get Dare's attention when he saw him come out of the room they'd disappeared into. He and Matthew had sat down at a booth by one of the large front windows. They hadn't gotten Dare a drink, not knowing what he would want, but were sitting on one side of the booth with frosty drinks in hand as they talked.
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