Dresden Academy

Addy checked the fingernipping box under her bed to ensure that yes, she did indeed have chocoballs stashed away for an emergency (and didn't this entire fortnight just count as an emergency?) and tipped them out onto her bed to pick up and transport into Bernadine's room.

She poked her head out of her room to peer around the suite and see if anyone was about to notice her taking a detour into her 'mortal enemy's territory instead of yelling at Carly and Shell some more on the wizarding web. Finding it clear, she bundled the candy in her arms and scooted across Bernadine's way; letting herself in before anyone could spy them breaking character.

Stas was just zipping up his bag when Adelaide scooted in. Bernadine had told him all about their little arrangement, since he was in the know about everything else. He nodded to Adelaide, a friend of his friend and an enemy of his enemy; he considered her an ally whether or not she wanted that responsibility. He stopped and set his hand lightly on the outside of her arm. He might have offered her a hug, but that seemed a little too weird. He nodded his head once more and winked to Bernadine as he left her room.

B was glad she hadn't told Addy about her little arrangement with Stas, since it seemed to be shifting from fiction to reality with every afternoon spent studying together, sometimes ending in kisses. The lie was turning into the truth and she was not going to fight it. She made her way to her snack drawer and dug out an impressive pile of snacks and two mugs for cocoa before she plunked back down at the head of her bed. "So how are you holding up?"

Addy smiled at Stas on his way out. She liked him perfectly fine, though she had little interaction with him outside of Wandless. If he was good to Bernadine then he was her kind of people. "I've been better," she responded, eyes widening at the snacks her friend was unearthing. "Holy shit, B. How are you not the size of a house?"

Bernadine shrugged. "Good metabolism. You should see how my dad eats." She poured a packet of cocoa into each mug and handed them to Addy for the bit of magic mojo that would turn them from powder into a pleasantly steaming cuppa liquid chocolate.

She cupped her hands around each mug and liquified the contents easily, passing one back to Bernadine before starting on the other for herself. "I have," she reminded her with a grin. "Thought it was a guy thing." With the exception of Si, who was particularly persnickety about his waistline, all the males she knew tended to stuff themselves full of food without worrying about the consequences they never seemed to face regardless.

She settled at the foot of Bernadine's bed, shoving some wayward candy back into the middle between them. "So Abernathy didn't kill you too hard for being domestic, then. That's good."

B shrugged in response with a look of quiet resignation. She was falling pretty hard for Anastas, despite her inability to see much further into the future of their relationship. He'd pick her or Diana, but she didn't know which and she didn't really want to know. She wanted to enjoy the rush of not knowing for a bit. "I think she's trying to be supportive. In her way." Then she was laughing, because Abby's idea of being supportive was to slap her upside the back of her head.

"In her way," Addy mocked, laughing. Somehow, over the course of being friends with Bernadine, Abernathy's extreme reactions had become a source of comforting amusement rather than the infuriating triggers to violence they had been once upon a time. "Crazy girl. I almost miss her, you know?" And then she laughed even harder, because if Bernadine did know, she knew it in the exact same way that Addy didn't.

Bernadine laughed in return because that was easily the most ridiculous thing she'd heard yet. "I promise I'll never tell," she said raising her mug to clink with Addy's.

She clinked their mugs together in the toast. "You be my secretkeeper and I'll be yours," she promised, reaching for a chocoball and unwrapping it to pop in her mouth.

"Can I even do that?" she asked. It seemed like one of those special wizardy things that muggles and squibs weren't able to participate in. It was a bond in magic, one of which Bernadine still wasn't sure she was capable.

Addy shrugged. "Trust is stronger than magic." There was a secret-keeping ritual of course; the Fidelius Charm and binding a secret to the knower's soul but if you revealed a secret to someone you truly trusted, Addy believed, there was no need for magic at either end. Trust was a far stronger bond than anything that could be conjured artificially.

Bernadine smiled, but sighed in the same breath. Trust was a powerful thing and so far the only person she'd trust fully, completely, was the last person she thought she should. She was changing her mind about keeping some truths to herself; she knew that Addy wouldn't tell Abernathy, but that wasn't the only hesitation. This secret could endanger whatever weird thing was developing between her and Stas.

She popped a chocoball into her mouth and debated it a bit more. A swig of cocoa just seemed to gum up her mouth more with chocolate, but she didn't mind that at all. "I'll tell you a secret then," she said, swallowing over her decision. "Stas was pretending to date me to fool Cinna into thinking we were totally okay with each other and it was all just sexual tension."

Addy's eyebrows shot up. "Oh! Really?" She was a little confused. It didn't seem much like faking to her, though that probably said far more about her perception of relationships than she was comfortable admitting. "I-- wow. Fooled me. I thought you guys were for real."

"Oh, that's the kicker," Bernadine said with a giddy little giggle. "We're not really faking anymore. Abby's going to tweak a whole lot when she finds out how I really feel, probably worse when she realizes he might feel the same way."

"Oh! Snap! Things really never do work out the way you plan them, right?" She smiled and attacked another chocoball. "Maybe don't tell her for a while. Enjoy it in your own time." Well, unless she accidentally let it slip. "You fixed your phone problem, right?" She teased.

"I plan to," she said a little more introspectively than she intended. She was going to leave out the bit where Stas still had a girlfriend in Burnham and how much that complicated things, but she didn't want to overburden Addy with all of this when she had her own problems. Then she was laughing again, because Abernathy had chewed her out that very morning over the phone issue. "Oh yeah. You're Adelaide henceforth. No more mistaken texts. Ever."

Addy fixed her with a teasing look. "Henceforth? Someone's feeling British today!" She started laughing loudly, and then remembering that they were only in the dorms and didn't have the luxury of absolute privacy, stopped immediately. She put her mug down and went to the door to cast a silencing charm. "Goddamnit, I should have remembered on the way in. I hope those bitches are still busy gossiping on the damn web."

"What got up Carly's craw? My god. It's like she swallowed a mega-bitch potion or something." Ordinarily Bernadine ignored it as much as she could, at least until one of them tried to drag 'Abby' into it and then she had to respond or raise suspicion. "Don't they have anything better to do?"

"No, seriously. She's like... I dunno. She doesn't usually go after me, but right now she's all up on my balls. You know she was hitting on Tim at your party? I think she's pissed at me for getting in the way." She shook her head. "Not even my fault."

Bernadine set aside her mug and poked Addy's leg. "All right. Spill it then."

Addy shrugged. "After we got bored of spin the bottle Luka wanted to leave, so I went looking for Tim to say goodbye-- I mean, I would have said goodbye to you too, but you were Abby so it was kind of like... I would have had to punch you in the face to say goodbye--" She laughed, because how ridiculous was that whole situation they created? "And anyway I found him with Carly and she was doing that insane flirting demon bitch thing she does... and well, you know what happened after that. I guess I cockblocked her," she shrugged again.

She rolled her eyes, tilting her head around on her neck to exaggerate the gesture. "Not what I meant." She poked Addy again, this time with her toes. She didn't want to be indelicate though and push the issue. Addy and Luka had only just broken up, or rather realized their relationship wasn't going to work out. It seemed an insensitive time to ask how she was feeling about dear, old Tim.

"Well, you know Luka and I broke up." Everyone knew, thanks Carly. She hugged her mug of cocoa a little closer. "He hates me. Didn't even want to talk. I don't even know why he's mad; I'm the one who should be mad. He accused me of cheating! I would never!" That had really hurt her. Luka said he understood that she was mad about it, but he hadn't apologized. Which meant he believed it, and that just hurt all over again. She huffed.

Bernadine didn't quite know if it was her place to explain a bit of what Luka couldn't say. Sometimes she just knew too much, especially things she wasn't supposed to know. A sexuality crisis on Luka's part wouldn't ease Addy's conscience, nor would a bit of very vague frowning about the cheating. She hadn't cheated, at least in the physical sense and maybe not even the emotional one. But her thoughts kept turning back to Tim, too afraid to ask, too afraid of his rejection when she had Luka's affection.

No, Bernadine couldn't say anything about it and she needed to be supportive. "I'm sorry," she said oddly, because saying sorry never made much sense to her. "I'm here and I've got a surplus supply of chocolate everything."

Addy smiled tightly. " I mean... he's not completely wrong." And then she frowned. "I really like Tim. And he said he likes me too." Is it weird to be saying this to his sister? "But I still feel like shit about Luka." So maybe she was a cheater, after the fact.

"It's okay to feel bad about it. You had feelings for him and now it's over," she said gently. "Give it some time and when you feel better maybe you and Tim can explore what's between you." And then you can have your happily ever after.

"I just didn't want to lose him," she said softly. She felt like she lost everyone she cared about, somehow, some way. "He used to be pretty much my best friend."

"Maybe he'll come back around," B offered quietly. "Give him time to sort himself out too. I'm willing to bet he's just as upset over losing you." In fact, I can guarantee it. "Just take some time apart and figure things out. I bet eventually you could be friends again and have a good laugh over dating briefly that one time."

"Thanks," Addy offered her a little smile, grateful for the kind words and the open ear. She wasn't so sure Luka would ever talk to her again, but she could hope for it. Bernadine wasn't often wrong, after all. She didn't dare voice the rest of her thoughts though; what if this was an awful mistake, what if she fought harder-- should she have? Was she a terrible person for turning straight to Tim once what she had with Luka fell apart? Was this going to strain her friendship with B? She figured she'd laid enough of her insecurities on her friend for the day and stuffed some more chocolate in her face before any of it spilled out.

"I'm not going to lie, I think Stas is going to end up on some kind of probation because of Carly," she offered with a little giggle after a contemplative chew on some rainbow shoestring licorice. "He threatened to knock her teeth and I can't tell if it was on my behalf or because she's fucking with all of his friends now." That was nice to hear, even coming from her own mouth. Stas had friends.

Addy smiled properly then, because hating on Carly was a nice, safe subject. "He's not the only one! I could have barged in there and kicked her in the face before, I swear. And Luka and Thorn seem pissed at her... Cinna's taking her shit awfully well today, weirdly. Stas might have to line up."

"My goal is to keep his Dresden slate as clean as humanly possible. If I can keep him out of a fight with Carly I'll consider it a success." She could laugh really, because Carly was doing this all to herself, lining up enemies around the block with her carefully chosen careless words. "Do us a favor and don't waste your valuable time getting into a detention because of her."

She rolled her eyes. "My valuable time. It'd be worth it, seriously. Think about it, if I could break her jaw and her fingers at the same time, that'd be like six weeks of total silence on her end. Really. Think about it."

Bernadine laughed. She didn't see that outcome for Carly, at least not at this moment. "She'd still find a way to start trouble." That girl needed some serious therapy. Or maybe a real friend, someone she could rely on so she didn't have to unburden all of her loneliness and rage on everyone else. "But if you're willing to sit in detention, you might as well make it worth your while."

"I don't really know what I want, anymore," Addy said honestly. "I kind of don't give a shit about detentions anymore. Like, what's one stupid afternoon out of my life? That'll really teach me a lesson, right?"

She leaned over and rested her head on her friend's shoulder. "You want to be happy. We all do. It's stupid and it's everything we aim for."

"And it's so goddamn hard." She tilted her head to the side to lean it on top of Bernadine's. "I dunno how to be happy yet. Think I'll just try avoiding all the things that make me unhappy. It's a start, right?"

"A good start," B replied and reached carefully to grab at a package of jelly beans. They were her favorite and they were very often nothing like what she actually wanted to eat. Strange paradox, that. She popped one into her mouth and ooed happily. "Caramel corn. Don't think I can top that one. Or ever find it again."

"You'll try, and it'll be earwax." Addy giggled. "I've got to stop being so negative, right? Bring some fuckin' happiness into my life starting with me, or some shit like that."

Bernadine giggled in turn. "Give it a try," she said, pushing the bag toward her friend. "Can't rain all the time."

She eyed off the jellybeans suspiciously, finally selecting a safe-looking pink one. She pulled a bit of a face while chewing. "Hmm... bacon? Not bad." She swallowed it and dared to try for another one. "I don't like not knowing what to expect," she said of the Every Flavor Beans. "It's kind of like when you go to drink some lemonade, and it turns out to be water, and because you were expecting lemonade the water tastes like crap instead of water."

Bernadine picked a robin's egg blue one. "This one's blueberry yogurt." She munched on it idly, eyed the bag and she could tell Adelaide the contents of the entire bag. "About 20% of the bag is something I wouldn't eat, but it takes away the fun if I pull them out." She shrugged away from the bag. "I try not to see what they are before I eat them. I'm getting better at turning it off when I want."

"What's this one?" She held up a brownish-red jellybean. From experience, she tended to avoid the brown, yellow, and orange ones. They seemed to have the higher incidences of being something gross. "Is it safe?"

She smiled at Bernadine's assertion that she was getting better at controlling her gift. "That's great, B. It's why you're here, after all. It's good to hear it's working."

"Chocolate covered cherry. That one's a winner." Bernadine grinned, but then Addy's next thought dampened her smile some. "I think this is my last semester of pulling it off. I can't see the end, because it's too personal, but Mother Criss has been hinting that this is it. Either I'll have to come back as Bernadine next year or..." She didn't know. She trailed her thoughts away. She didn't want to lay this worry over Adelaide either. What happened next had her so confounded, so confused and even a little worried. Because Criss wouldn't tell her and she wouldn't let herself see.

"Ooo!" She popped that one into her mouth. It was chocolate cherry and it was good. She enjoyed it a little less once Bernadine told her she probably wouldn't be at Dresden much longer. "Do you think you got what you wanted here?" That was all that really mattered. She didn't need to get a qualification in Abernathy's name; just the knowledge and experience that she'd come for.

"More than I wanted," she admitted, the mood picking up again. It was everything that came after that bothered her. She knew that coming in. She'd get what she needed and then she'd have to figure out what move to make next. She didn't just get an education here; she had friends now and not just the ones that tolerated her weirdness while she was at school. There were people here who cared about her (even if most of them didn't know she was someone else). Dresden wasn't just a school for Bernadine; it had become something else entirely and she couldn't quite place her finger on it yet.

What she did know was that she couldn't go back to how things were before. Her life had changed and she would have to adjust accordingly. She took another jelly bean and ended up with salt. "Oh this is dreadful. I need some more cocoa." She coughed a bit, spit out the unfinished and partially chewed jelly bean and dashed to her treats' drawer for some more of the cocoa powder.

Addy couldn't help but smirk at the reaction to the jellybean. "And that my friend, is why these things are the devil." She reached for Bernadine's mug, holding it out for her to add the powder to heat and liquify.

"I'm starting to think about 'after Dresden'," she admitted conversationally. "I mean, I don't have any idea what I want to do, or any plans or nothin', but I'm starting to realize that there is an after that I have to think about." It sounded a little ridiculous to admit that she'd never really thought about what came after school. For the longest time that 'after' was marry Andre and have babies. She shuddered involuntarily.

Afters seemed to be the topic of the day. "You'll figure it out," she promised. A false start or two, a change of mind, maybe of heart. Addy would find her path and she'd be good at it. Bernadine smiled secretly, caught in one of those moments that bordered on absurd. To tell the truth or keep it inside because it was better for people not to know. That was the whole point of life, stumbling blindly forward until your foot caught on the edge of a path and you realized it wasn't so hard to keep your footing anymore. "We both will," she said with less certainty.

"If not, well, we can always hide out together," Addy joked. "Start running a gambling ring outta Vegas. You can sweep the cards and I'll wandless out the dice games."

Bernadine cracked up at that. "Don't they have some kind of wizard police for that?" Then she had a picture of them in handcuffs and evening gowns and it was just so absurd she couldn't stop laughing. "We'd be so terrible at it. They'd catch us in a minute."

Addy snorted. "You, maybe. I can apparate." Then she burst out laughing because there was no way she'd ever leave Bernadine behind. They could sit in a cell together and talk about how it was the worst mistake they ever made, or the best fun they'd ever gotten into.

"Oh very nice, leaving your best friend behind to rot in some dungeon surrounded by gambling criminals!" She punched Addy lightly and then snatched back her bag of jelly beans. "None for you!"

"You should have seen them coming for us! I blame you!" She rolled off the bed giggling, nearly taking all the snacks to the floor with her. "Besides, they'd probably have warded cells. We'd have to call someone to come bail us out. ABBY." Then she died laughing a little harder, because like hell that girl would bail Addy out of jail.

And then Bernadine was just done in, rolling off her own bed onto the floor with Addy, kicking her legs and screaming so loudly their suitemates were surely going to bust through her door and catch them.

They stayed on the floor, laughing for a few minutes, until the both of them were wheezing for air, flat on their backs and struggling not to die from laughing too hard. "Oh god, B. I needed that."

Bernadine took a minute longer getting her breath back. "You're welcome?" Then she was giggling, though this time not so violently that she couldn't manage to sit up and toss a cookie in Addy's general direction.

It bounced off the side of her face, but she caught it before it landed on the floor. She really did need that levity in her life at that time. "All this and cookies too? What did I ever do before I had you? Seriously." She sat up and demolished the cookie.

"No idea," she replied and grinned happily. Of all the things to come out of Abby and Addy fighting, Bernadine never expected this. It was definitely the best thing.