| Details for Finding Neverland |
| Summary: | Kaiden and Briar have their first real fight. It's a doozie. |
| Date: | 27 October 1937 |
| Location: | Hufflepuff Common Room |
| Related: | Sharp Swords, Sharper Tongues |
| Characters |
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It's another late night for Kaiden. He's resting on the couch with a textbook in his hands, turning the pages and doing his best to try and study. Something seems to be on his mind, though, as every few moments, he'll look up from the book and just go kinda glassy-eyed as he thinks something over.
Briar comes in with her hair wet and looking all warm and flushed. She's just come from the prefect bathroom. In her arms is the potted plant and she's singing to it softly, a lullaby even.
Kaiden looks up at Briar as she enters and gives her a bit of a distant, "Hey." before looking back down at his book, resting his head in his hand and his elbow on the armrest. There's no real joy to be found in the Hufflepunk today, it seems.
Briar has been out in the garden and then in the bathroom cleaning up all day, so she doesn't know about any of the school gossip. Frowning at her boyfriend’s state she wanders over to him and plops down next to him after setting the flowers down. "What's up buttercup?"
Kaiden shakes his head and flips through the book, saying, "Nothing, babe." After a moment he just claps the book closes and leans forward to set it on the table, laying his head back on the back of the couch.
Briar leans over once he's laying back and gives little sniffing noises around him. "Hmmm, yep, that smells like bullshit to me. What's wrong?" She gives him a poke in the side. "You still down about what happened with your sisters?"
Kaiden shakes his head and says, "Nah, I couldn't care less about that shit." He rolls his head over to look at her, quirking his lips and letting out a sigh before saying, "I got dark today, Briar. Like…really dark with Gabby."
Briar frowns and eyes him, "Baby? Why didn't you say so? Tell me what happened?" She turns to face him more and offer open her arms to cuddle with him as he reveals what ever happened."
Kaiden leans on her, resting his head on her shoulder, "Well, there's a rumor that Gabby was the one that gave Ria that black eye. I know you really don't care about my sister, but it's my place to protect her, y'know?" He shrugs and continues, "I was in the Club Room practicing one of those sword routines that Beery is always teaching me and Gabby showed up."
Briar's frown darkens all the more. "It ever occur to you that your sister can take care of herself, doesn't need your protection and probably deserved that black eye?" She shakes her head and then nudges him, "Go on."
Kaiden shrugs and says, "Well, I told her that if she touches someone I love again that I'm going to rain down on her and scorch everything she finds beautiful." He sighs and says, "I'm a fucking Sykes. We're all just the worst kinds of people."
Briar stands up suddenly pulling all support she was offering out from under him. "Don't you dare use that as some weak excuse. If you do than you really are no better than the rest of them. How fucking dare you threaten anyone like that! You vicious disgusting bully! Out! Go to bed! Can't believe you'd put me in this situation, 10 points from Hufflepuff. Lucian was right about you."
Kaiden looks up at Briar and says, "Briar, stop. I feel terrible about it! It's not like I'm telling you this because I'm proud of it." He stands up, not looking ready to step down from this conversation just yet.
Briar shakes her head, "Don't tell me to stop. You should feel terrible! Who the hell are you? I don't even recognize you any more. News Flash, you suck at being a 'bad boy' I'm with you because I thought you were different. If I wanted some fella that waves his bits about and pees all over things to mark their territory I would have stayed with Jack! The caveman act is sexy when we're in private, but to act like a fucking Neanderthal to a girl … that did what everyone in this school would love to have done by the way… is bullshit. I'm not the one that should stop. YOU should stop." When she calls Gabby a girl, it's not a gender title, more an age title than anything since Gabby is a year younger. "You're no better than Lucian. You protect a bitch from getting what's due to her, and she'll just continue to be a worse bitch because she knows she has fucking idiot cronies to do her dirty work."
Kaiden hangs his head and nods, saying, "I know…" He takes a step forward and pleads, "I am different, Briar. I promise. I just…my head got away from me and I got mad." He takes in a jagged breath, obviously trying his best to hold back some tears as he says, "I don't know what to say, Briar…I don't want you to lump me in with them."
Briar thrusts a pointed finger into his chest to point to him angrily and also to keep him from coming any closer to him. "You lumped yourself in with them when you used that name as an excuse for your behavior." She digs her finger in a bit harder her lips trembling with anger and her own tears in her eyes she refuses to let fall. "Figure it out. When you're done figuring it out, you apologize to every single person you've ever acted like an immature barbarian to and you do whatever it is they ask you to do to make it up to them. I'm going to talk to Beery and you'll be lucky if you remember what a sword even looks like if I get my way! *poke* Creaton!" Now she is moving for her plant so that she can leave for the Girls Dorm.
Kaiden turns to her as she walks to gather her plant and says, "I'm not going to let you talk to me like that! Yeah, I messed up, but it was only after putting up with Gabby's shit for so long and then her finally going too far!" He moves with her as steps towards the table and says, "You know that I'm not a bad person, Briar and I don't appreciate you going off on me because I needed someone to talk to about how bad I felt. You're supposed to help me with these kinds of things, Bri!"
Briar bites her lip, glowering at him. "Oh you can talk to someone like their destiny is in your hands, but I can't yell at you for being a great asshole? I don't think so. Have I ever once threatened your sister? After all these years of her being a complete bitch to me and everyone around her but you, your family and Lucian? No, good people don't go leveling threats to people like that Kaiden! Jesus fucking Christ." She shakes her head and pinches the bridge of her nose still clutching her potted plant. "I am helping you. I'm trying to show you what sort of reaction real people with real feelings have to the sort of behavior you and they bandy about like it's some fun child's game. You fucked up, now you're going to suffer the consequences. You're not Peter Pan, you're Captain Hook right now." The plant in arms actually begins to look rather wilted and shies away from the fighting, more so the name of Captain Hook.
Kaiden takes a step forward and grabs her arm, not forcefully, just showing that he'd rather appreciate it if she didn't storm off right now. He closes his eyes and sighs, rolling things around in his head for a moment before looking her in the eyes and saying, calmly and sincerely, "Look, I'm sorry I made you doubt who I am as a person. I was an asshole and I'm going to take care of it. I'll talk to Gabby tomorrow and see if there's anything I can do to make it up to her." He reaches his hand up and rests it on hers that is clutching the plant, "Just…please forgive me, Briar. I want to be your Peter Pan again."
Briar sniffs, dammit she wanted to leave the room because she doesn't want him to see her cry. "Then do those things and find Peter again." Her tone holds a weight to it that says without verbalizing that they are probably on 'a break' right now. But she'll take him back when he does find his Peter again.
Kaiden nods slowly to her and wraps his arms around her, saying, "I will, Briar. I promise." Even if he didn't want to do those things, he'd have to now. Kaiden can never turn down the requests of a crying girl. After a moment he'll let her go and sit back down on the couch.