That the two of them had been sent to each other by fae or fate to figure things out wouldn't have occurred to Aris but there's a sort of serendipity to it that makes sense on this unusual day and he perks up visibly, equal parts hopeful and curious and uncertain. Even if he's known for a while that telling Viola how he feels is a bad idea.
...Isn't it?
He shifts in the grass, turning a bit more toward the girl and starting to turn the thimble over in his fingers again. It's a restless gesture that isn't like him but right now it's sort of reassuring. He shakes his head. "...No. I don't normally do that stuff, you know? Does yours?"
Viola tips her head to the side, curious. "What's that stuff exactly?" She doesn't know.
It's difficult to read his expression—partly due to the mask obscuring his eyes and partly due to the magic at work, warping her perception of his face—but she can read the nervous energy rolling from his fingertips along the thimble he is working. She tries to put him at ease, exposing her own vulnerabilities. It seems safe, so long as she keeps her mask in place, too. "I don't know. I thought I was being obvious about looking for him on New Year's Eve," she confesses, "But I'm not so sure that he took the hint."
"You know," Aris returns, though clearly she doesn't know and even he finds the thoughts difficult to articulate, "...Getting serious and stuff. Dating. Whatever. It can get so...I dunno. Bad? When it ends." He doesn't typically put thoughts like these out into the world and he laughs sheepishly as he continues to turn the thimble, "...It's sorta scary?" He seems uncertain and so readily turns the focus back to the girl when the opportunity comes along.
"Guys can be sorta oblivious," he confirms, sounding genuinely apologetic and touching the back of his neck, "...Did you ask him to meet you or anything?"
On a cerebral level, Viola can understand what this boy means. She is aware that most people feel unhappy about breaking up and she can see why someone might choose to avoid the sensation of loss, altogether. But that isn’t how she feels. There is nothing worse to her than feeling nothing and she can’t imagine ever purposefully preventing herself from feeling more—whether that feeling be good or bad. That’s all too much to say, though. “I don’t understand the appeal of casual relationships,” she simply shrugs, shaking her head with a slight, lopsided frown.
In a way, Viola is relieved by the change in focus, too. It’s easier to address the facts. Although, the facts are a little murky. She doesn’t remember exactly what was said. “I told him...” she pauses to think and then recites the words as if she is reading them off of a page in her mind, “that I would like it if we ran into each other.”
Aris can't argue with the girl's frown or with her assessment of casual relationships. Hooking up at a party can be fun and exciting but that's all it is; it's a connection as insubstantial and fleeting as cotton candy. He mirrors her shrug wordlessly, then goes quiet while she attempts to recall the words she'd used with her crush.
"...What would you think if someone said that to you?" he asks after a pause. His earnest tone makes it clear that this is a sincere question and not meant to make a point.
"I would think they would like it if we ran into each other," Viola responds lamely. He doesn't need to make the point, she can make it for herself. She'll need to be more direct. But.
Her spine straightens and she squares her shoulders against an attack that he isn't making. "Would you like that, though? If your crush were direct with you? Doesn't that take all of the... excitement out of it?" That electric feeling deep in your belly.
Despite the tangle of uncertain feelings that this conversation is pulling to the surface, the notion of Viola confessing her feelings to him makes Aris smile, the expression bright at first but rendered bittersweet with embarrassment and uncertainty. That wouldn't happen. But if it did, he can't help but wonder what poem she'd have to go along with it.
"...If she was direct with me, I think my heart'd just about beat out of my chest," he says, lowering his eyes again and resuming the restless shoe-tapping, "I get what you mean, but I dunno...do those romantic rom-com scenarios every actually happen? I feel like if they feel the same way, it'd be exciting no matter what as long as you meant it."
Instantly charmed, Viola leans in again and rests her elbow on her knee with her knuckles against her temple. Looking up at him from this angle, his smile unobscured by a bear's snout, she almost thinks she recognizes him. But then the magic of the mask does its work and she is unsure again. Better not to think too hard about it or she might lose her mind. Who knows what sorts of tricks the faeries play? Besides, she doesn't think any of her friends are this helplessly smitten. Surely, she would know.
She plucks a blade of grass from its shaft as she considers his question, slowly so that the tender green shoot slides out in one, clean piece. "But what if they just don't feel the same way?" She raises one eyebrow, hidden behind her rabbit mask, "Yet."
This brings Aris fully back to earth and he nods slowly a few times before turning his gaze back to the girl and pointing a finger in her direction to acknowledge the point. "The other reason it's scary," he responds, tone superficially chipper but with an underlying resignation, before dropping his hand, "But it can go the other way too. What if they do feel the same way but neither of you ever say anything? Or if telling them would be what makes them think about you a different way? It's all..."
The words to describe what it is are beyond him and exhales a laughing sigh as he drops back in the grass. His mask jostles a bit and one panicked hand flies to his face to make sure it's still in place before he says anything else.
"...I dunno. Maybe you just have to listen to your heart after all and hope for the best."
Edited (Very late seeing this typo.) 2020-03-09 14:47 (UTC)
Somehow, Viola always expects that everyone around her has their business sorted and she is alone in her confusion, regardless of the continuous evidence to the contrary. She isn’t quite delighting in the bear’s spiral back to square one but she is, at least, commiserating.
Well, maybe she is delighting a little. It’s reassuring to talk to someone who seems to be grappling with the same conundrums that she is, but more importantly, it’s captivating to watch someone wallow in heartsickness. It’s endearing. She’s endeared. “And your heart is telling you not to,” she asks with a coy grin, raising her free hand in air quotes, “do that stuff?”
Aris' immediate response to this is a guilty you caught me sort of smile but he doesn't say anything until he's pushed the thimble into the pocket of his jeans. The token might protect him from faeries (maybe??), but it also seems to be making him fidgety. "That might be more of a brain thing than a heart thing. For once," he acknowledges and pauses again before adding more slowly, "Like...I don't think she sees me like that anyway. And I don't want to mess things up because things are good. Even without all the..."
He waves his hand absently in reference to everything he's said before. Relationships and how they end. The feelings he can't articulate.
Looking up at the girl, he asks, "...I'm a hypocrite, huh?"
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peckenpaugh2020-02-29 10:57 am
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
...Isn't it?
He shifts in the grass, turning a bit more toward the girl and starting to turn the thimble over in his fingers again. It's a restless gesture that isn't like him but right now it's sort of reassuring. He shakes his head. "...No. I don't normally do that stuff, you know? Does yours?"
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
It's difficult to read his expression—partly due to the mask obscuring his eyes and partly due to the magic at work, warping her perception of his face—but she can read the nervous energy rolling from his fingertips along the thimble he is working. She tries to put him at ease, exposing her own vulnerabilities. It seems safe, so long as she keeps her mask in place, too. "I don't know. I thought I was being obvious about looking for him on New Year's Eve," she confesses, "But I'm not so sure that he took the hint."
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
"Guys can be sorta oblivious," he confirms, sounding genuinely apologetic and touching the back of his neck, "...Did you ask him to meet you or anything?"
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
In a way, Viola is relieved by the change in focus, too. It’s easier to address the facts. Although, the facts are a little murky. She doesn’t remember exactly what was said. “I told him...” she pauses to think and then recites the words as if she is reading them off of a page in her mind, “that I would like it if we ran into each other.”
Oof. Viola grimaces beneath her mask.
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
"...What would you think if someone said that to you?" he asks after a pause. His earnest tone makes it clear that this is a sincere question and not meant to make a point.
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
Her spine straightens and she squares her shoulders against an attack that he isn't making. "Would you like that, though? If your crush were direct with you? Doesn't that take all of the... excitement out of it?" That electric feeling deep in your belly.
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
"...If she was direct with me, I think my heart'd just about beat out of my chest," he says, lowering his eyes again and resuming the restless shoe-tapping, "I get what you mean, but I dunno...do those romantic rom-com scenarios every actually happen? I feel like if they feel the same way, it'd be exciting no matter what as long as you meant it."
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
She plucks a blade of grass from its shaft as she considers his question, slowly so that the tender green shoot slides out in one, clean piece. "But what if they just don't feel the same way?" She raises one eyebrow, hidden behind her rabbit mask, "Yet."
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
The words to describe what it is are beyond him and exhales a laughing sigh as he drops back in the grass. His mask jostles a bit and one panicked hand flies to his face to make sure it's still in place before he says anything else.
"...I dunno. Maybe you just have to listen to your heart after all and hope for the best."
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
Well, maybe she is delighting a little. It’s reassuring to talk to someone who seems to be grappling with the same conundrums that she is, but more importantly, it’s captivating to watch someone wallow in heartsickness. It’s endearing. She’s endeared. “And your heart is telling you not to,” she asks with a coy grin, raising her free hand in air quotes, “do that stuff?”
A Curious Little Bear & An Uncertain Rabbit
He waves his hand absently in reference to everything he's said before. Relationships and how they end. The feelings he can't articulate.
Looking up at the girl, he asks, "...I'm a hypocrite, huh?"