|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 25, 2009 22:26:51 GMT -5
The corner of Roland's lip twitched upward. It was funny, how they could go from such honesty, and then move back to the way things had always been. He felt that too much honesty could almost be dangerous... it was easy to get bogged down in emotions. Jamie now understood that Roland loved him, even if he hadn't said the words. And Roland knew what Jamie needed from him. To push further would have likely damaged what progress they had just made.
"Well, work would be better if I could make it through a day without arguing with my partner," he replied. "So what's this about a girlfriend?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Jamie Ferrera on Feb 25, 2009 22:43:12 GMT -5
Jamie gave Roland a sympathetic glance, not exactly knowing what fighting with a partner was like. Jamie never talked to anyone he had to work with, and it was hard to fight with someone who didn't know you. He doubted that he had any advise he could give Roland, and he doubted that his brother needed any. "Do you guys have different opinions on tactics?" He asked.
At the mention of Scarlette, Jamie bit his lip nervously. He had forgetten that his family knew about her, and that she was the reason he had gone back to Hogsmeade in the first place. He nodded slightly and mumbled, "her name is Scarlette."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 25, 2009 22:58:49 GMT -5
Roland gave an ironic laugh. "Yeah... we kind of disagree about everything. Even when we agree, we find a reason to argue. We're worse than me and Cyrus." He shook his head. "I'll figure it out eventually. Or we'll kill each other, whichever comes first."
He watched Jamie's reaction at the mention of his girlfriend. He was shy and embarrassed, but it was clear that Jamie really liked the girl. Roland couldn't help but wonder what that felt like. Had he missed out on something by never allowing himself to fall in love?
"Scarlette," Roland repeated with a gentle smile. "That's really great, Jamie. Are you taking her to the Yule Ball?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Jamie Ferrera on Feb 26, 2009 21:27:09 GMT -5
"At least you don't avoid each other," Jamie gave him a strange look when Roland started to laugh. "You could not be talking at all. Would that make it better?"
At the mention of the Yule Ball, Jamie wanted to slap himself in the forehead. Not only did he forget to mention it and see if she'd even like to go, Jamie was absolutely positive that he hated to play dress up and dance. It seemed to soon to get people back on track, although Jamie hadn't been close to anyone who had passed on. He gave Roland a dry smile, "I should get on that."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 26, 2009 23:17:11 GMT -5
Roland shrugged. "Probably not," he said. "You know how women hate to be ignored... That would probably just make her even more annoyed with me. Seriously, I've never been around anyone who could make me feel like absolutely everything I do is wrong... but she does."
He smiled at the look on Jamie's face when he mentioned the dance. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I never was a big fan of stuff like that, either. But I'm sure you and Scarlette will have a good time."
|
|
|
|
Post by Jamie Ferrera on Mar 6, 2009 0:00:16 GMT -5
"Perspective," Jamie mumbled. Maybe the girl was angry at him, and he was doing things wrong from her point of view. That could happen to Roland a lot, he mean one thing and the other person take the opposite way. They had just had a conversation about that not too long ago.
"I care about her time, since I don't think I could have one if I tried," Jamie sighed. He wasn't good at dancing, he was too tall to be graceful, and probably would look like a jerky robot. He wasn't very happy with picture in his head.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 6, 2009 14:53:20 GMT -5
Roland didn't say anything else about Riley. He was trying almost desperately to put her out of his mind, and talking about her with Jamie just seemed weird.
"Well, if you like being with her, and she's having a good time, I think you'll be fine, Jamie," Roland said. "Don't worry about the rest of it. The important thing is being with her."
|
|
|
|
Post by Jamie Ferrera on Mar 8, 2009 21:39:32 GMT -5
Jamie stayed solemn at this advice, thinking it over. He was stuck going, even if he wanted. If Scarlette didn't want to go, then she could just say no and they could do something else, if they wanted. But this was her decision, and he would just rather have her happy right now.
"I guess you're right," he mumbled. "But I'd rather just go to Hogsmeade and do something less, formal."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 8, 2009 22:50:03 GMT -5
Roland laughed. "Yeah. I know. But you'll be fine, Jamie. Stick to the slow dances--at least they're an excuse to be close to her."
He leaned back and looked at Jamie, wondering just when his little brother had managed to grow up so much. "And do me a favor, and keep an extra close eye on Amandine. She let it slip that she's got a date, and I'm trying really hard to refrain from visiting the little punk and putting a little fear in him."
|
|
|
|
Post by Jamie Ferrera on Mar 8, 2009 22:57:29 GMT -5
Close. Jamie and Scarlette spent a lot of time together, at least more then he imagined he would. He was a lot more talkitive around her, and it was easy to be close mentally. But physically?
"I already tried talking to him," Jamie's face turned to disgust, remembering the conversation they had in the common room. How he had told Jamie that he was not being a good older brother, questioning how he should protect Amandine. As if Dillon could understand Jamie's position. "I don't like him."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 8, 2009 23:05:20 GMT -5
It was probably the kind of thing only an older brother could understand. Amandine was the only girl in the family, so of course her three older brothers were going to be fiercely protective of her. Roland in particular felt the need to be protective of all three of his younger siblings, but he was most protective of Amandine. He knew what teenage boys were like... he used to be one of them.
He frowned. "I see. Well, I wish I could be here that night to keep an eye on him... but I trust you to do it, Jamie. If he touches her... well, don't let him touch her."
|
|
|
|
Post by Jamie Ferrera on Mar 12, 2009 20:59:02 GMT -5
Jamie's face had returned to the stone set expression it had been when DIllon was talking to him, "if he even looks at her wrong..." Jamie wasn't quite sure what he'd do. But he still needed to talk to Amandine about the encounter, and ask if she thought he was ruining her life, as Dillon had seemed to say to him.
That was one of Jamie's fears. What if Ama really did think Jamie was a terrible older brother, making sure she was ohkay and treating her like a baby? His fists clenched in anger and frustuatration.
"Do you think we're shielding her?" Jamie asked Roland, seriously hoping he'd get a straightforward answer.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 13, 2009 0:33:04 GMT -5
Roland's immediate answer to the question was that yes, they were... but what was wrong with that? It was a dark, dangerous world out there, and it was getting worse. Why should he not want to protect his younger siblings--not just Ama, but Jamie and Cyrus as well?
But the serious way Jamie asked the question gave him pause. It wasn't all that different from what he had discussed with Jamie earlier, about allowing him to make his own choices. Why shoud Ama not be allowed to make her own decisions as well?
Roland frowned, choosing his words carefully. "Maybe we are," he said. "And maybe we shouldn't shield her too much. But, think about it. We're not stopping her from going to the dance with this kid. She wants to go with him, far be it from me to stop her. And I don't know about you, but I trust Ama's judgement. This kid, however... I don't know him. Why should I trust him? The way I see it, it doesn't hurt to keep an eye on the guy while he's with her. If he proves to be as trustworthy as she thinks he is, that's great. If not, you're there to step in."
|
|
|
|
Post by Jamie Ferrera on Mar 19, 2009 0:05:00 GMT -5
Roland's pause made Jamie concerned. No little kid was going to tell him that he was wrong, especially one who made it sound like Jamie was a terrible person for wanting Ama to not live in fear of this dark pandemic that was obviously in full throttle now. People were getting killed, and shouldn't he protect Ama more then ever now, of all times?
"I might stop her," Jamie said. "It's not Ama I don't trust, it's Dillon."
Jamie really needed to talk to Ama, find out if everything was alright. But Roland made him feel a little like he was treating Amandine like Roland had treated Jamie. Jamie hated hypocrites, and although it wasn't nessecarily Roland's fault, Jamie felt like a bad person.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 19, 2009 20:58:30 GMT -5
Roland thought about this for a minute. He wanted Ama to be able to have fun at the ball, like any other normal girl. But Jamie had met the kid, and if he was this set against him, maybe there was something to it.
"What is it about this kid that you don't trust?" Roland asked. "Tell me everything you know about him, and I'll decide if he's a problem, or if you should just let Ama go, but keep an eye on her."
|
|
|
|
Post by Jamie Ferrera on Mar 26, 2009 23:13:31 GMT -5
"I gave him a talking to, and he told me I was interfering with Amandine and her life. And I admit that I might have been harsh, but the way he talked to me was disrespectful. I don't believe I would speak to the brother of the girl I was taking on a date in that manner," Jamie's eyebrows were knit together, and he was back to being furious. Jamie understood Dillon's point of view, but he would never speak to anyone like that unless they had started it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 26, 2009 23:44:51 GMT -5
"Hmmm."
Roland thought on that for a minute. There were two ways of seeing it, and he wasn't entirely sure which one was right. On the one hand, it would seem like a pretty dumb idea to insult the older brother of a girl one was interested in. On the other hand, Roland had a grudging sort of admiration for people who stood up for themselves when they were being treated harshly.
"I think you should try talking to him again," he said at last. "Just ask him what his intentions are, and try not to be judgemental. I know if I had been pinned into a corner like that, I probably would have come out swinging. But you're right... it's not exactly the best way to start a date by being rude to her older brother. If I had time, I'd talk to the kid myself... I don't think he'd have the nerve to talk to me that way."
|
|
|
|
Post by Jamie Ferrera on Mar 28, 2009 21:47:04 GMT -5
At first, Jamie was a little upset about the 'hmm'. He had hoped that Roland would have taken his side immediately, without question. But after the first few seconds of that reaction, Jamie felt a little selfish for thinking that way. He himself asked Roland to be unbiased in his answer. Just because Jamie didn't like Dillon and felt like he should kill him, his brother was right. He should be absolutely certain that Dillon was not a complete prick before causing his face to collapse into his brain. And eventually, Roland had said he was right, which made Jamie give a small smile, despite the predicatment.
"I appreciate the back-up. I beliebe I'll just watch like a hawk at the ball. Amandine is going to curse me for talking to him the first time, although I doubt she wouldn't even think about it if you had been the one to ask him a few basic questions. You would have gotten better results. This is so frusturating! I almost can't wait to leave this and work."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 28, 2009 22:36:57 GMT -5
Roland smiled. "You have good instincts, Jamie," he said. "And you did absolutely nothing wrong by talking to the guy in the first place. If I had been here, I'd have done the same thing. Of course, I probably would have terrified the guy to the point where he'd change his mind about taking her. Despite what he might have said to you, you're much nicer than I am. Just keep an eye on her. He'd be an idiot to try anything at all with you watching him."
He leaned back against the back of the chair, appraising his little brother quietly. "I don't think you've ever mentioned what you're going to do when you're finished school. Are you planning to follow in the family tradition?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Jamie Ferrera on Mar 29, 2009 23:57:26 GMT -5
"Thank you," Jamie felt a little better. Being complimented by his older brother gave him a little sense of gratification, and it made him glad that he had confided in Roland. "You probably would have had a lot better results then I did. I'll make sure nothing bad happens. And if anything happened while I wasn't watching.." Jamie didn't know what he'd do. He'd hope that it'd get back around to him eventually, and he'd be able to distribute an punishment he saw fit.
"I guess I am," Jamie shrugged. "I think I'd make an ohkay auror. I would like to see that no other innocent person gets harmed, although I doubt that'll happen. But saving one life might make it worthwhile."
|
|
