Magic: Sweet Surprise

[Branden]

That's it.

Branden stalked toward Braeden, coming up behind the other boy in only a few strides. As much as he wanted to make him suffer, he remembered what happened last time; his hand still wasn't completely healed. So instead Branden bent down slightly to close the two inch gap in their heights and whispered quietly in the boy's ear, his voice colder and more menacing than he'd ever sounded; so much so he surprised himself. And he didn't even love the girl.

"You stay away from her," he mumured quietly, the edge in his voice clear. "She's nothing to do with you." He straightened up, pushed past Braeden and walked forward, gently wrapping his arms around Vivian. In that moment, he hated himself more than he ever had before. This wasn't for Vivian, none of it was. She was just a friend. But this was for his pride. He cursed himself inwardly, but he wasn't going to back down to Braeden. Not now, not ever.

And then he saw her. Waist-length dark blonde hair, those silver eyes, in a beautiful dress, hesitantly entering the hall. Branwen.

s***.

In that moment, he didn't think at all. Branden dropped his arms and took two steps back, glanced widly about him, turned quickly and disappeared into the crowd.

[Braeden]

Braeden laughed softly, and leaned close again to Vivian. “Love is fickle but unrequited…” He let out a long low whistle. He stepped away from her, and out of the seriousness of the infallible truth he had just disclosed. “Branden, what have you decided to make out of our little ‘let’s be friends’ present?” He said, coming to stand next to the boy.

As he watched his friend’s, in the loosest possible term of the words, eyes he knew.

“Immortalised in stone, now that it a good one…” He said, stoking his clean shaven chin. “I bet it would really catch her attention.” He nudged him in the ribs deeply, a sick smile on his face. It wasn’t that Braeden considered women stupid or inferior, at least not predominately. It was the fact they were so easily corrupted.

Although he seemed to be completely ignoring her, Braed was acutely aware of Vivian’s presences and expressions. He wanted to see her react. Hopefully explosively. He knew Branden deserved it. Braed was a little hypocritical when it came to punishment.

[Vivian Pryce]

If only Braeden knew how completely true that statement could be. Vivian didn't quite know if she wanted that moment in which she was in his arms to last forever or to end as quickly as possible. Despite how much she really did love having him close to her, the awkwardness of even a simple embrace sometimes took precedence over even as strong of an emotion as that. Vivian caught sight of that Prefect, Branwen, even before Branden did, and she knew that regardless of what she wanted, he was going to disappear as soon as he saw her. Viv didn't know for sure whether this was the girl, but based on gossip around the common room, and also her own thoughts on the situation, she was almost positive she was. Why was he even bothering to keep up the illusion by defending her? Vivian knew that he really didn't love her... no, not like he loved Branwen. Oh, the girl wasn't even single. What horrible beasts men were.

When he let her go and disappeared into the crowd, she let out a deep sigh, both of relief and disappointment. It was hard to imagine that anyone would have even the slightest clue of how frustrated she was right now, and she clenched her jaw and fists, muttering a couple almost inaudible curse words. She didn't like how Branden and Braeden behaved towards one another, and it would figure, that Vivian was caught right in the middle of it all.

Vivian was not a stupid girl, and she wasn't going to act like one. She could get depressed about this whole situation, maybe cry a little, make a fool out of herself. Instead, she shot a glare after Branden, wanting secretly to tear him limb from limb but knowing that she could never do that to him. Viv couldn't stare into those brown eyes and see pain and not want to do something to make it all go away. No matter how angry she became, she'd never be able to harm a hair on his head.

In a jerky movement, she lifted her hand to her head and rubbed gently at her aching skull. She hadn't invited him, he'd showed up anyway, and know he was only making this a more painful evening. Why must she be best friends with the birthday girl? It only made it so she couldn't leave with a clean conscience. She knew that Betta wanted her here.

"Oh d-damn it all..." she muttered, placing her left hand absentmindly on the wand in her pocket, closing her small hand around the handle. Why couldn't she have followed her own advice and stayed out of the way of everyone else? The friend she thought, almost knew, would never hurt her, was now causing almost as deep an agony as anyone would ever know. And now she was stuck here in the company of a boy that she would just as soon see drop dead.

[Andrew]

Normally in crowds, Andrew was still quite hard to miss. The white blond hair shown as a beacon for his location in any group, though he didn't manage to top many in height, falling just short of a solid 6 feet. He'd caught word of the party through his usual day at the school, though how he'd managed to catch such a minute detail and yet not manage to run into his sister was a strange mystery. It was half deliberate, really. He wanted to wait for the perfect time. The perfect moment to introduce himself to a few more of Vivian's friends, to further entangle himself in any little world that she'd managed to create thus far.

He was dressed appropriately for the color scheme of the party in simple black dress robes. The color didn't really suit him, as it made his features appear even more pale and washed out, contrasting sharply with the almost white hue of his hair, pale skin, and cool gray eyes. However, even then he was still devilishly handsome, a trait that seemed to run in his family from his father's side, a man who he just so happened to look almost identical to.

The stupid girl remarkable hadn't seen him, yet, but he'd been watching carefully, casually chatting and taking small sips off a cup of red punch. His skills of observation were keen, and combined with his ear for gossip, he knew exactly who that boy was and what he was up to. Andrew was more of the talkative type than his sister, and he knew every little detail of her time here from one source or another. The tiniest observations of a few people could amount to a detailed record if you had the time and the mind to piece all the bits of information together into a solid timeline. Not only did Andrew know his sister, he now knew her routine, her favorite places, and who the bumbling girl had managed to associate herself with.

Branden would have breezed right past him if he didn't reach out and catch his sleeve, stepping with perfect grace into his path and grinning, only the slightest bit of malice in his eyes, that looked perpetually cold. Andrew wasn't acting like a warm person right now. There was always some attention grabbing feat somewhere that would keep eyes off of him almost perpetually, which offered a delightful opportunity to have a little chat with someone that appeared to be particularly close to Vivian.

"Hello, there. You must be Branden McArthur," Andrew began cooley, making sure that he had his complete attention. "Now, I doubt you've heard nearly as much about me as I have of you." His voice was smooth as silk and as poisonous as any concoction one could even conceive. Raising his eyebrows, almost invisible against his pale skin, he held out his hand for the boy to shake, taking in his appearance with disapproval. "I'm Andrew Pryce, Ravenclaw."

[Branden]

Andrew Pryce

It all came rushing back. Everything Vivian had said about them, about Andrew...

Branden yanked his sleeve away, his anger seething, only justbelow the surface. He stared defiantly into those cold grey eyes, meeting and matching them with his warm brown ones. "I've heard enough," he said in a low, quiet voice. He reached out and shoved Andrew's hand down, taking a step forward so that he was toe to toe with the other boy, taking full advantage of his extra height. he may not have loved Vivian, but Branden still considered her a friend. He doubted she would still consider him such, after what he'd done to her... but that didn't matter. he had every reason to believe this boy had hurt her - and tha tmaade hiim angry.

"I've heard enough," he repeated in the same, low, quietly dangerous voice. "I've heard rumours... stories that you hurt your little sister." Branden bent down, staring right into those stone-grey eyes, and whispered in the boy's ear.

"And now you answer to me."

[Troy]

Troy was in heaven.

I love you. Her words resounded in his mind, bouncing back and forth and filling his thoughts with their echoes. As they spun slowly across the floor, he bent down and softly kissed her ear, whispering gently. "I love you, Betta." He straightened up and closed his eyes, letting the music and the feelings wash over him in waves of joy and contentment.

Lady in red...

As he and Betta twirled across the open space, Troy allowed his eyes to drift open, and he began to observe his surroundings. Many couples were dancing, and others were simply watching he and Betta. There were a few lonely looking people scattered about, as there always are at dances - but almost immediately Troy spotted Vivian, Betta's friend, with a dark-haired boy kneeling at her feet. She didn't seem to pleased, however.

"Hey," he whispered. "Isn't that your friend?" he asked, nodding toward Vivian. Troy turned slightly so both he and Betta could see the ensuing drama, as Viv rejected the dark-haired boy, only to be approached by another, taller youth, and be encircled in his arms. Again, however, she didn't look entirely comfortable.

What happened next, though, made entirely no sense to Troy. The doors to the hall opened, but he couldn't see who entered over the heads of the crowd. Apparently, however, the tall boy could. He took one look at the entrance, released Vivian and disappeared into the crowd. Troy, utterly confused, glanced back to Betta to see what she thought.

What on earth had just happened?

[Elizabetta Morales]

Betta froze, mid step, destroying the symbiotic movements the two had been in the process of. Anger flashed across her dark brown eyes. She wasn’t sure which she wanted to kill more, Braeden or Branden. She stalked towards Vivian and Braeden, looking as menacing as one can at the meager high she was.

She stopped right in front of the boy, looking up into his eyes and spoke in slightly disjointed French. ”Je suis allé termine te vie.” The high pitched voice echoed from her discarded bag across the room. Braeden most certainly heard it. She doubted that someone in this hall could possible not have. Her eyes became more menacing as the word, ”Later,” echoed just inside the boys head.

She slipped in next to her friend but decided she didn’t want to fetch her doll. ”Troy, translate for me would you?” She leaned in close to her friend, but made sure Troy could see her gestures.

What’s up Viv? Where’s boy? she made a small carving gesture to indicate Branden rather than spelling out his name. Can I kill then both? She threw her arms around her friend a quick hug, realizing her almost instantly. Perfect moments were always corrupted. At least the memory of the first actual dance couldn’t be.

[Andrew]

Despite the fact that Branden's reaction would have scared most boys like him away in an instant, Andrew was not the kind to back down, and he looked completely unphased. He met the other boy's gaze with an amused grin stretched across his features, his cold eyes dancing with a bit of manic light that hadn't been there a moment before. Confrontations and arguements were always fun, because Andrew was a boy that knew how to twist his words around and lie and cheat. He could convince someone that the world was flat despite all recent evidence to the contrary, just using his eloquence and intelligent air to his advantage.

He didn't look like a mean guy, and in truth, he wasn't always. Right now, he looked almost demonic, however, with that expression on his face. He furrowed his brow, pretended to look hurt, and pouted his lower lip delicately in an expression that would make most girls melt. He knew the tactic wouldn't work on Branden, naturally, but it was still entertaining.

"Is that what she's been telling you?" he asked incredulously, his voice tinged with a very realistic sounding but nonetheless fake shock. Clucking under his breath, he shook his head, making his face fall and averting his gaze for a moment. "That silly girl... always saying suck crazy things, that is, when she cares to speak at all..."

The put down was blatant, meant to infuriate the taller boy even more. While Branden did have an advantage in height, Andrew was far more muscular and built, and was also a pretty experienced fighter. He loved to instigate, and had he been anything less than a member of a completely socially elite family, there would be no way that any respectable wizarding school on the continent would have allowed him on the grounds. He had a reputation, in some places, but as of yet, it hadn't really followed him here.

"Hurt my little sister? Why, I've heard rumors that you've done just that yourself." His words were meant to hurt Branden, because he knew that he did, on some level, care about the girl. His statement was oddly based more in fact than he knew, as few people really even knew how badly this whole mess was tearing up the girl. Andrew just might have unwittingly stumbled upon the magic words to make the other boy suffer.

"Answer to you? Hardly," he added, in one last act of defiance, trying to get under the taller boy's skin. "Haven't you ever heard of the family name? It's famous, you know, and you might not want to make enemies with anyone of the bloodline, which, you appear to be well on your way to doing..."

[Branden]

Andrew's last words fell on deaf ears. At his previous comment, Branden had frozen, the white-haired boy's words ringing in his ears. Part of him was rising up, opening his mouth, already beginning to deny it, say he would never hurt vivian, that he -

He what? Loved her? No. No, no, this was all wrong, what had he done? What could he have been thinking? What had he done to Vivian, he...

Oh, God...

Branden threw one glance back at Andrew - a look full of confusion fear, and regret - before turning and shoving his way through teh crowd back to where Vivian was. Hundreds more people seemed to have materialised in the last minute, and Branden had to push and shove and elbow his way through what felt like layers and layers of people, feeling like he wasn't getting anywhere.

"Vivian!" he yelled, pushing harder, almost knocking over a smaller kid with dark hair and glasses. "Viv! Viv, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

[Troy]

When Betta stopped, Troy couldn't help his heart sinking, but he told himself it was worth it; Betta needed to help out a friend. He'd make sure he and Betta got some time alone later.

He followed Elizabetta as she stalked across the floor, glaring at the dark-haired boy, before turning back to him and asking him to translate. Troy sighed inwardly. The romance from a moment ago had all but gone - Betta was all business now. Troy resigned himself to a long night, took a few stops closer and watched Betta's hands, translating out loud for Vivian. "What's up, Viv? Where's the boy? Can I kill them both?"

Troy gave a small chuckle at the last few words. Betta was nothing if not protective of her friends, and Troy could tell she was not hte sort of person you'd want to make angry.

Now he began to feel slightly awkward. He didn't really know Vivian. He wanted to get to know her - after all, she was Viv's best friend - but right now, there wasn't much he could do. He stood next to Betta, a sympathetic smile on his face - and that was it. As much as he wanted to help, that was all he could do.

He hoped it would be enough.

[Vivian Pryce]

The expression on Vivian's face was nothing short of venemous when she first heard Branden calling out his apology. In a way, she felt oddly relieved and happy that he was even bothering to say he was sorry, however, at the same time she was completely humiliated. He didn't have to drag the entire school into their own personal affairs, and him shouting after her would only bring more attention to her, and as it was well known, that was the last thing Viv wanted. Her face turned beet-red and she glared absentmindedly at Branden. If she'd had any idea who he'd just been talking to she might have fainted on the spot. Andrew was definitely not the person she wanted around, but he was still in the crowd, bobbing around, watching the whole event unfold.

Betta's words, translated by Troy, drew only the slightest of chuckles. This whole thing made her sick to her stomach, and all she wanted to do was leave and have a good cry. Funny how the things you wanted turned out to be the worst things for you...

"I-I-I ssuppose..." Vivian said dryly, her voice void of any emotion beyond quiet shame and anger. She he single handedly ruined Betta's birthday, and she felt that her stomach could sink no lower or knot no tighter. Wrapping her slender fingers over the hem of the sleeve that clothed her right arm, she wrung the fabric restlessly, rumpling and even threatening to tear it, though somehow she just didn't care.

"Th-there's the-the b-boy..." Despite the weak tone, the words still cut like the sharpest blade. She hoped that he heard her and it hurt him. Vivian didn't know if she could ever really forgive him. Though somehow she knew that she wouldn't be able to help, no matter how badly he hurt her, being absolutely head over heels in love with the boy. She was such a ditz, such an idiot.

This was all her fault, no matter what anyone said. This was what you got for opening up to someone. You got abused, taken advantage of. Staring blankly ahead, no tears threatened to escape as she withdrew more and more. Almost into a state of unconsciousness that any more activity with snap her out of... hopefully.