When It's 9 in the Afternoon (Brenda/Open)

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron frowned. He had no idea who Brenda wanted to trick, but if he had to guess, he'd say that Hufflepuff girl that hung around Brenda all the time. Still, it was kind of cruel, on both of their ends, and he felt mildly uncomfortable with the situation.

"Brenda, come on. That's not necessary."

He shot a look at Rabastan, but he had too much of a 'devil may care' attitude, worse than Cameron did. If he liked the idea, he was going to go for it. Cameron just didn't want to know about it or be a part of it.

[Brenda Blair]

Brenda ignored Cameron and focused on Rabastan. She was actually fairly confident that he would fail, and was already visualizing how her plan would work. Yes, it was mean... but Brenda didn't care.

"Does it really matter?" she asked. "Either you want to play or you don't. All you'd have to do is show a little interest in the girl. It doesn't even have to be a trick... let's just think of it as a payment for all the homework she's done for me over the years."

[Cameron Wilder]

Yeah, it was Daphne.

"Brenda, come on," he said again, cutting off any reply from Rabastan. "That's not a reward for doing your homework for you... it's mean, even for you." He hated to sound like the angel in this situation, but the Hufflepuff girl was a sweet girl, and Brenda was mean enough to her as it was. This crossed the line, because they all knew what Rabastan would do to her.

"And don't you feel like you're being used, Rabastan?"

[Rabastan Lestrange]

"Oh, sod off, Wilder," Rabastan said. "I'm only being used if I lose, and I won't."

He flashed a cocky grin at Brenda. "I'll think on it... but I'm in. I just have to consider my terms for a bit. Coming from you, it will have to be something good."

They were both ignoring Cameron now. Rabastan was always ready for a challenge. And girls knew what they were getting into with him, so he wasn't tricking them. Not really.

[Brenda Blair]

Brenda smiled wickedly. It almost didn't even matter what she had him do; she was excited by the idea of watching Rabastan Lestrange fail. Unlike him, she had a feeling that Linette would be the holdout, not Callie. He would just have to find Callie's weakness and prey on it. The trouble with Linette was, she didn't appear to have a weakness.

"You're on, then," she said. "And you know whatever you decide.... I'll do... anything."

She emphasized this word very carefully, so he would know she was serious. "That is, if I lose. Which I won't."

[Rabastan Lestrange]

Rabastan laughed. "Yeah, we'll see. You may not want to offer me anything. And you know, I'm going to get Callie first."

Yes, he had it all planned out. He'd still flirt with Bobby like he planned, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that she might be the easiest... not with suave moves and smooth words, but a little... negotiating. He was smirking to himself.

He still thought Linette would be easy, she would just take longer. He wouldn't have taken the bet if he had any doubts after all, because Rabastan Lestrange did not fail.

[Brenda Blair]

"Yeah, we'll see," Brenda said, laughing. "I'll need some sort of proof, too, you know. Either a witness, or a pensieve or something. And it has to be on the lips. Not that I need to tell you how to kiss...."

Either way, Brenda decided, this was going to be fun. It would be fun to watch Rabastan try to get each of the triplets to kiss him, even if he succeeded. And she really did welcome just about any payment if he managed to succeed.

"Come on, Cameron, lighten up, will you?" she said, nudging him. "It's not such a big deal. it's all just for fun."

[Cameron Wilder]

"Yeah, sure," Cameron said, feeling Brenda nudge him and bring him back into the conversation. It wasn't fun when you started playing with other people's emotions. Someone in this situation was bound to get hurt, whether it was Daphne or one (or more) of the triplets.

"Hey, I'm gonna go head out to the pitch or something. It's a little stuffy in here."

He just felt awkward about all of this, and didn't really want part in it. He wasn't going to complain anymore, though, and that probably made him just as bad as they were.

[Brenda Blair]

Brenda shrugged. "Suit yourself, Cam," she replied, dismissing him.

She wasn't fooled; she knew he had no taste for this. Fine; he didn't need to be a part of it. But now that she had the idea, she had no intentions of stopping it. The triplets deserved a bit of a take-down, in Brenda's opinion. And Daphne... well, it just amused her how easily the girl seemed to fall for everything. it was callous, but that didn't really bother Brenda.

She just hoped Cameron knew enough to keep out of it if he didn't approve.

"Should there be a time limit on this thing?" she asked. "Or just until the end of the term?"

[Rabastan Lestrange]

Rabastan watched in silence as Cameron got up and headed toward his dorm room to change out of the pajamas he was still in.

"He won't say anything, don't worry. I'll Crucio him if he does, anyway." Rabastan smiled at Brenda, moving to take place on the couch next to her. "So, if I win this little wager... I think the terms should be pretty equal, right? If I win, you'll need to romance a poor, unsuspecting student of my choice. And you won't find out who until I win."

He eyes narrowed slightly, smiling to see if she would if she would take him up on it.

"And we can't do end of term, because we'll have no time to enjoy winning or losing."

[Brenda Blair]

Brenda smirked and pressed closer to him so that her thigh was touching his. “I bet you think you’re going to scare me off,” she said. “I’m up to whatever challenge you’ve got in mind. I don’t care who it is. Do you have someone in mind, or haven't you decided yet?”

Rabastan should know her well enough to know that she did not scare easily. And she was always up for anything.

“But you have a good point. We’ll need enough time so that the loser can fulfill his or her end of the bargain. So… say a month? Or do you think you can do it faster than that?”

[Rabastan Lestrange]

Rabastan smirked. "Oh, sweetheart, I can do it faster than a month. In fact, I already have one of them."

He raised his eyebrows and wiggled them a bit. Brenda may not remember, but Rabastan had dated Linette for a very short period of time. He couldn't actually remember who broke up with who, either, but that was unimportant. They had kissed, and Brenda didn't put any restrictions on when the kiss had to occur... before one month, anyway.

"And no, I haven't decided yet. But you'll have your work cut out for you."

[Brenda Blair]

Brenda frowned. She had actually forgotten that Rabastan had dated Linette. She could hardly be blamed for this; after all, it was easier to keep track of who Rabastan hadn't dated. And it felt like cheating to accept a kiss that took place before the bet. On the other hand, it also felt like cheating to go changing the conditions at this point. But since when did Brenda care about being fair?

"Oh, no. No... just because you dated Linette, that doesn't count as a kiss. That was, what, a year ago? No... You've got to get her to kiss you again."

[Rabastan Lestrange]

Rab eyed Brenda for a moment. Linette would be the most difficult of the three of them and he knew it. Callie would be the easiest, though he was sure no one else would agree. Bobby, like usual, was somewhere in the middle.

He finally nodded. "All right, I accept this challenge. You'll be surprised how easy This turns out to be, Brenda."

He glanced towards the door where Cameron had disappeared. "He any fun anymore, Brenda?"

[Brenda Blair]

Brenda had produced a tube of lipstick from somewhere and began painting her lips a vivid red color. "I almost don't even care what happens... I kind of just want to see you kiss Callie Sanders. She's always acting so high and mighty and better than everyone.... it'll do her good to get knocked down a peg or two."

She knew, from past experience, that Rabastan was a really good kisser. Brenda kept a secret log rating all the boys she'd kissed, and Rabastan was still the best. He would be hard to resist, even for the fiery-tempered Callie Sanders. The very thought of it made Brenda smile wickedly.

At the mention of Cameron, Brenda followed Rabastan's gaze, her newly-red lips pursed. "He has his moments," she replied casually. "I think he's on his way out, though. He's spending too much time with a certain prissy brunette, and I can't have that."

[Rabastan Lestrange]

Rabastan kept to himself the fact that he thought Callie would actually be the easiest of the three to kiss. It was a talent he had for reading people... and it was dangerous when used well. He could get under a persons skin just as quickly as be could win them over. He could b a great manipulator.

So he just shrugged. "We'll see what happens. And I always thought Wilder was a little too.... nice guy for you. But whatever gets your rocks off. I must be out of the loop... What brunette is he eying? I'll kill hum if its one of the triplets."

[Brenda Blair]

"Nice guys have their uses," Brenda replied, flashing him a wicked grin. "Cameron can be a lot of fun.... as long as his conscience doesn't kick in. It's cute, really... he thinks he's so bad ass, but deep down, I think he's really a boy scout."

She was thoughtful for a moment, not quite reacting to what else he had asked. She was thinking about Cameron, trying to decide how much longer she should stay with him. There was a little over a month until the end of the year, and Brenda thought her "services" might come in handy to the other boys as the tension from NEWTs began to build. She shouldn't tie herself down to Cameron much longer. But he was cute... she couldn't deny that. She might even miss him afterwards, just a little.

"Oh, don't worry," she said, almost off-handedly, as if she only just remembered that he'd asked the question. "It's not one of the triplets. It's some Ravenclaw chick... Really prissy. Kinda mousy, too. Lyons, or something? I don't see the fascination, but I suppose it's his choice."