Gifts in the Courtyard pv finished

Santario raised a brow at him when he asked her to hear him out and she listened patiently. She hadn’t realized though that the only reason that he had gone was to see her and this made her feel conflicted. Tonight would not be a night for confrontation clearly, she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to ruin a moment that he had clearly planned so well. Even Solkey was were with a music box… It seemed like he had put a lot of thought into this and she would feel badly if she ruined it by bringing all that up. What damage could one more day on shoving those feelings down do?

“Let’s be fair… As soon as I heard that god-awful music, I knew there was going to be no dancing period, with anyone.” Yes, she just insinuated that she had intended to possibly dance with more than one person. “That whole situation was a misunderstanding you didn’t see that Quinn was protecting that girl…” There was more to that sentence than she was saying because tonight was not the night for that. She bit her bottom lip and looked from his face to his hand before giving a small nod and gently taking his hand. "Yes, you may."

Although Kyle could find himself happily relax Santario was on edge because of the thoughts that reeled within her mind. However, none of this would show on the girl’s face as she would expertly fall in step with whatever kind of dance he started to do even if it was just a stand there and sway dance, she wasn’t sure if he even really knew how to dance. Though the courtyard was beautiful under the moonlight like this and she decided she needed to come back here at some point and take photos maybe on next months full-moon or a least close to it.

If Kyle was being completely honest he didnt really know how to Dance per say. He had seen a few different moving paintings with dancers in it and Duke had a munch of things he called movies, one of which was called Dirty Dancing though he was pretty sure that kind of dancing would not work in this situation. He placed a hand on Santario's waist and held her hand in his as he began a facsimile of a ballroom dance that was essentially sway dancing with some steps around occasionally.

Despite how much he wanted to enjoy the moment and just dance with Santario he was around her enough that he could tell she was on edge. Sure she was putting up a strong front, but it was something he had seen before and could tell there was a tension underneath though he was not sure what it was about exactly. Finally he stopped the "Dance" and took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Muppet...I...Is something wrong or something? I could be reading this wrong but it feels like you are on edge or something you know? Has something happened?"

In the bushes Solkey put a hand over her mouth and set down the music box before stepping back a few paces and then vanishing away.

Santario would have held a smile on her face until Kyle stopped the dance and stepped back from her. She, in turn, took a step back from him and clasped her hands in front of her. Those sharp sapphire eyes appraised him and before the words even left his lips, she knew that she wasn’t going to be able to deny the inevitable anymore. One can only live in denial for so long before things start to fray at the seams and it would appear that Kyle took the thread and started unraveling it like a fragile cashmere jumper.





Erik’s words rebounded through her head and she knew that she could not put this off any longer. Erik was right…“I’ve been putting this off for quite a while and it appears I cannot any longer. I am terribly sorry to spoil the evening you must have had planned, but… Kyle, I’ve been noticing that you have mood swings. One minute we are perfect friends and the next you are acting like I am nothing to you. You never communicate anything with me and it would seem that you would rather let any issues boil on the back burner until they boil over. Case in point since things were boiling over right now. “Do not think I did not notice how you approached Erik the night before the ball. You should have been happy that I knew someone who was willing to step between someone he did not know in quidditch gear with a beater's bat and myself. Instead, the hostility you showed spoke volumes. I was not in distress and I am in no more danger when I am in his presence than I am when I am in yours.

Her voice had been calm and collected as if she had thought about this over and over and over. “Then in the ball, your first reaction was violence… Even when it was clear that there was no more need to fight you still wanted violence. I have also been told by some people that you have bullied people, in fact, you said so yourself once before that you pushed kids into the lake. How you treated that one boy the first day we met forcing him to move. Then, shoving me to the ground probably as hard as you could, insulting me, and all in all… Making me feel like I am a foolish girl for even have wanted you to have been my friend. Though apparently he hadn’t been wrong because as she tallied up her grievances she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she shouldn’t have been his friend. It was only going to be a matter of time before his tendencies turned to her anyway. He had told her so and she had chosen not to listen hoping that it wasn’t as bad as he wanted to paint himself. She had been wrong.

She was letting it all out in that same calm and collected voice. “But most importantly, Kyle, did you bully a small Hufflepuff boy by the lake? He has short blonde hair, sketchbook, and he’s about this tall-” She held her hand up to approximate Jake Morris’s height before returning it to the clasped position it had been before. If he had thought that she had been formal before he had not seen anything until now. She watched him the way someone does when they think the person in front of them is going to lie to them. Even though there was no way he could get away with it if he wanted to try.

What Kyle had dreaded and always knew was going to happen was happening. It didn't matter that he was trying to be a better person, it didn't matter that he tried to do right by Santario. All that mattered were his flaws, and apparently Santario had been collecting a list of everything she didn't care for about him just to dump at his feet as if he didn't warn her from the beginning that he was no good and she was better off being far from him.

Kyle rubbed his face and let out a frustrated sigh. He and her had fun, He obviously cared about her and based on her seeking him out when she was scared and the time they spent where she rested her head on him and wore his scarf and put together the nice gifts for him he could assume she cared about him. Yet that apparently wasn't good enough. "Yeah I went after that runt of a Rabbit. He brought it on himself with how he acted" Kyle was trying to sound flippant like it was no big deal but the complete loss of control at the smell of fear rattled him and he still was scared about the monster inside that took control while the sun was up that day. He badly wanted to explain to her why his temperament was wild and aggressive at times, but he couldn't. In the end, Asshole and bully was better than a monster.

Kyle shrugged and put his hands into his pockets. "I told you I was no good and an asshole. You didn't want to see it. Now you do I guess" he shook his head and looked down at his boots

When Kyle spoke about Jake, Santario was filled with fury, but she did not move or change most of her facial expression. Her hands, however, gripped tighter, her eyes flared and then narrowed, and her voice edged on venomous. “That boy is smaller than I am and shy there was nothing he could do to warrant you bullying him. I swear to you, Kyle if you ever lay another hand on that boy I will do more than stand here next time. I hope I make myself perfectly clear because I am twice the size of that boy and I will not back down or run away. I hope your pathetic actions made you feel more like the man you aren’t.”

She needed to leave as she was dangerously close to pulling her wand on him as it was. How could he speak like that about sweet little Jake Morris… Her threat to Kyle was far from hollow. In fact, her rage was the only thing holding her together at this point. Inside she felt empty she had put all of her trust into the boy that stood in front of her. She had confided in him and she was an idiot… Trusting people and having friends was a liability. The more people you let in the more people will inevitably hurt you… I am better off alone just like I have been.



Kaegan’s words echoed in her mind… “Goodbye, Kyle DeRook. If she was not stopped, and if she did not need to react to anything, she would turn on her heel and leave. Waiting until she was far enough away from him before her walk would turn into a sprint to the Slytherin common room.

Santario attempts to leave the thread unless stopped

 

Kyle just wore the same hard expression as Santario delivered her little tirade, and even threatened him. If it was anyone else he would have laughed at that, as he knew he could cross the distance and drive her into the ground before she got any serious spells off. But this was Santario. Someone he thought was his friend. Someone who apparently lied when she said she liked him for who he was. He Tried to be a better person, She made him want to be better. And now it looked like it was for nothing. No matter what he did or how he tried to be better the monster in him was all that mattered. Trying to save a girl from a giant at the ball? Just a Violent act. Being defensive of a random slytherin coming at him aggressively after what happened to her in the common room? a sign of his flaws. Did she care that he let go Jake despite his monstrous instincts telling him to tear him apart as the smell of fear drowned his senses? No, all that mattered was he tackled the kid.

It was clear she never actually like him, She liked some idealized version of him he could never live up to. Why else would she demonize him in all these scenarios? It didn't matter. Kyle tried to be a better person, he opened up and let someone in. And he was repaid with the confirmation that he is no good and will never be accepted. She wanted to write him off. Fine. He didn't need her. He didn't need anyone. The only person who ever really was in his corner was gone. It was time for Kyle to accept that he was alone and always would be.

Defeated he sat down on the edge of the fountain, his brow furrowed with a scowl frozen on his face as he stared at his boots in silence, bathed in the moonlight. Eventually he muss his hair, rip off his tie and throw it in the water and leave the courtyard before stalking back to his own dorm room.

Leaves the thread