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Post by Caelan Reynolds on Mar 18, 2010 18:15:52 GMT -5
"I guess that makes weird. I loved History of Magic. But I think I'm very detail oriented, and... well, you know how it goes. In the group of friends, I was definitely one of the studious ones."
She didn't read too much into his poor studying habits. She ran into a lot of kids who had the same issues he was describing.
"You know, a lot of tutoring is really just spending time with the kids. That's all a lot of them really need, anyway." She sounded like she was trying to convince him to come, and she backed off quickly. "But I understand. Of course. Thank you for walking me there, anyway. It's kind of you."
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Post by Damon Dearborn on Mar 22, 2010 14:06:35 GMT -5
Damon usually made no apologies for the way he lived his life, but somehow, she had the ability to make him feel guiltier than anyone else ever had. He was always the dreamer, the slacker, the charmer, the joker. Work, on the other hand, had never really been able to hold his interest. He learned what he needed to know, and that was all that mattered. What did it matter if he knew who started the Giant rebellion or what year it started in? He was smart in other things. But this girl, with her pretty eyes and shy smile, made him wish he had tried a little harder in his studies, so that he could see what she had.
“If you need someone to teach them about flying, or catching a Quaffle, or the proper way to make a paper airplane, then I’m your guy,” he said. “I like kids, but I’m more inclined to goof around and play than to teach. But, hey, if the kids are getting stressed or frustrated, I could take them out to do something fun.”
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Post by Caelan Reynolds on Oct 18, 2010 15:29:05 GMT -5
Caelan hadn't meant to make him feel badly at all, and she would have been mortified if she knew she had.
"Well, you know... I take them on field trips sometimes. To the zoo or the observatory or wherever. I usually get my friend Lucian to help out, but if you wanted to... Merlin. You probably really have no interest in the kids, I'm sorry. I just talk a lot... you probably figured that out already. Anyway... don't worry about it. I do appreciate you walking me back though. So..." she was grasping at straws, wondering what she could say to keep the conversation going. "You played Quiddtch in school? I was always kind of jealous of the players. I'm terrible at it."
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Post by Damon Dearborn on Jan 26, 2011 23:27:18 GMT -5
But maybe Damon needed someone to make him feel guilty once in a while. He lived a life that was too easy, and even the disapproving comments he sometimes got from his older brothers weren't enough to make him want to change anything. He didn't feel passionately about anything, like his brothers did about working for Voldemort, or Constantine about being an auror. Caelan clearly cared very deeply about the work she did with the kids, and for the first time, Damon found himself wishing he had something that mattered to him as much as teaching did to her.
"I don't have a problem with kids," he said quickly. "Actually, I like kids. It's just that, you know... I'm kind of still a kid myself. I'd probably teach them all kinds of bad things and undo all your good work. But... I wouldn't mind helping you with the zoo trip. I just feel like I should warn you... you'd probably have to have someone watching me, because I might just wind up in the hippogriff paddock."
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Post by Caelan Reynolds on Sept 6, 2011 0:04:24 GMT -5
Caelan glanced at him as they walked, taking a moment to gauge whether he really meant that he didn't mind kids or not. He seemed genuine.
"You know... that wouldn't make you a bad teacher. Most of the time, the kids who need the extra help really just need someone they can relate to... someone who can be a role model but is like them." he really might just be perfect for it, but she was only thinking out loud, anyway.
"Tell you what... why don't you come with me today, and see what you think of the kids? You don't have to do anything. And if you like them, we'll have you come to the zoo with us, too."
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Post by Damon Dearborn on Sept 28, 2011 0:36:13 GMT -5
Damon still thought he was a pretty crappy role model. The kids would probably like him, but only because he was about equal to them in maturity. But they wouldn't respect him, and they certainly wouldn't learn anything good from him, unless it was what not to do or say.
Still, the trip sounded like fun. He didn't really go to the zoo much anymore. He was too old for that sort of thing... even if he did have the maturity of a 12 year old sometimes.
"OK, you talked me into it," he said. "I'll come. Just be prepared... I'm seriously not kidding when I say I might be more trouble than the kids."
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Post by Caelan Reynolds on Dec 5, 2011 22:55:50 GMT -5
Caelan laughed again, shaking her head. "All right, all right. I'm prepared. But I don't think you'll be as bad as you seem to think you will be."
She cast another sideways glance at him, again cursing herself for being so clumsy. It was ridiculous. Really, how hard was it to walk without tripping or running into someone or falling down? At least he didn't seem too offput by it.
"The thing about kids is... sometimes you just need to be silly with them. I mean, they're these little people in this world of giants and everything is magical and sometimes, we try to make them fit our adult world too soon."
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Post by Damon Dearborn on Dec 21, 2011 1:14:07 GMT -5
Damon grinned at her. "That's true... with everything that's been going on lately in the wizarding world it's going to force them to grow up too fast. Sometimes I think we all need to just kick back and have fun, and be silly. Of course, then there are guys like me, who just refuse to grow up.... but that's another story."
He chuckled lightly. "All right. I think you've talked me into it. But if I do this for you.... I need you to do something for me."
He said this last part very seriously, working very hard to cover up a smile.
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Post by Caelan Reynolds on Dec 22, 2011 23:55:57 GMT -5
Caelan laughed, nodding at him. "There's too much to have to be grown up about. I'm not offput by your refusal to do so." That was one of the reasons, just a small one, why she liked teaching the younger kids, the first and second years. It let her see the world through their eyes every day, and it was a perspective that adults tended to lose. It was beautiful and simple and pure.
And here she was, waxing poetic in her head about childhood. She almost rolled her eyes at herself, but he seemed to sense this and spoke up, distracting her thoughts.
She frowned slightly at him in thought, and finally managed a , "What is that?"
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Post by Damon Dearborn on Feb 1, 2012 0:12:54 GMT -5
But if Damon was still a kid at heart, he was definitely not the innocent type. No, he was a bad kid, who played too hard, drank too much, flirted shamelessly, and worked... not at all. He was a bad example, and he honestly hadn't been much better when he was younger.
But Damon was utterly unconcerned about these things. He'd given her enough warnings, and she hadn't run in the other direction yet, so he figured she knew what she was dealing with.
"You agree to go out to dinner with me," he said boldly.
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Post by Caelan Reynolds on Feb 8, 2012 16:13:59 GMT -5
Caelan's cheeks blushed red almost instantly at the "condition" he set out, and she laughed a nervously. She was always the quiet, nerdy, clumsy girl, and was certainly not used to bold advances like that.
Her first reaction was to shyly turn it down, but what harm was there in going to dinner with te guy? After all, she'd already knocked clear into him, and he was still walking her to school and carrying her books and coming on field trips with her. He deserved a shot, right? It was just her own concern that he'd be uninterested after a date.
"Yeah... All right."
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Post by Damon Dearborn on Feb 8, 2012 23:01:49 GMT -5
It might have surprised Caelan to learn that Damon actually felt just as insecure about this as she did, but for a different reason. She was beautiful and sweet and just shy enough to be appealing... but she was also smart. She liked books and learning, and Damon... didn't.
While it might have been a little harsh to say that Damon wasn't smart (he had been a Ravenclaw, after all), he had never gone out of his way to work or to learn. He was a quick learner, but he never put a lot of effort into it, and really would rather goof off and do something fun than learn or study. So in a lot of ways, she was in a different league from him.
But that had certainly never stopped him before.
"Great!" he said with a smile. "How about tomorrow night? Seven o'clock?"
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Post by Caelan Reynolds on Feb 23, 2012 1:43:51 GMT -5
Well, he certainly had no intention of letting her be shy about this. She almost laughed at his enthusiasm and nodded. "All right. I'm free then."
She felt her cheeks flushing again. She didn't think she'd ever actually been on a proper date before, and what did that even entail? If he thought she was in another league, Caelan was thinking the exact same thing with the same sense of unease.
"Where are we going?" she asked, hoping he'd tell her so she'd at least know how to dress, and hopefully avoid that awkward moment.
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Post by Damon Dearborn on Mar 3, 2012 1:44:17 GMT -5
The terrible truth was that Damon didn't really date very often, either. Oh, he met girls, usually in bars or clubs... and he often brought them home. But he hadn't been on an actual date since his seventh year. Back then it had been your standard "dinner and a movie" type deal... but he wanted to do better than that with her.
Hogsmeade was fine, but there weren't a lot of places to bring a date for dinner. Le Repast Cher was expensive and ridiculously fancy. He thought she'd be intimidated by it. But the Hot Panini and the Royal Dragon were both too casual. He wanted something in the middle.
"London," he replied. "I know a great Italian restaurant there... not too fancy, but not exactly casual, either. And then I was thinking we could go to the observatory or something like that... or do you like theatre? We could see a play or something in London."
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