With A Tinge of Scarlet

Oh, she was angry now. That was better.

She flushed, but to her credit she didn't look away. Her eyes narrowed and even though she didn't lean forward, Keith felt closer to her, like her presence had extended a foot and was seriously messing with his pre-approved personal space. Her words lacked the stuttering, disjointed quality they had had in the beginning of the conversation, but it wasn't her same old "reporter interrogation" thing. This was different, colder, quieter, more personal than her almost indifferent curiosity from earlier. Before, she had just wanted a scoop. Now it was more than business.

No need to go soft on her now though.

"What do you mean by that," Keith repeated in a high pitched, mocking tone. "I'd just spend all day with my friends and hang out and everything would be sunshine and daffodils and fun!" He laughed and returned to his normal voice. "Come on, that's not what anyone would actually do. That's the answer you give your friends because you don't want them to think you're a control freak who's going to throw them into detention the first time you catch them out of uniform. Even though you totally are, because you're a massive asshole who doesn't think they can separate their emotions from their work so they go way overboard and end up graduating friendless and alone."

He shrugged. "So if that's your idea of a good time, more power to you."

He mocked her and a look of offense settled onto her features, mouth slightly open and eyes full of defensive anger. But that was soon to fade. It all changed at the words 'control freak' and her mouth snapped shut, her lips pursing as though holding back her words. The flush fled her cheeks, and she remained pale, staring at him with an unwavering stare, as he completely unmasked her.

Teddy had been afraid for four years that someone might figure out just how crazy she was. She had hidden by disguises for four years, but the ultimate trick was the disguise she had pulled on herself. Sucking up to professors, surrounding herself with people like Bella who were easy to please and quick to talk, dressing in frumpy clothing and ignoring everyone so she could become invisible. But she had been found out. Someone had seen it. And he was calling her an asshole. Oh, boy. Oh man. She could just... She could just... She could kiss him.

For whatever reason, Teddy found these accusations completely welcome. Because she had learned one thing about the way people told their secrets best. It was always in the accusations they laid upon others. And more importantly, someone had finally talked to Teddy about her. She had been talking about everyone else for far too long. It was nice that someone had noticed her.

Her gaze was unchanged- still cold, still intense. "Bravo," she said, curt and emotionless. "You're good. I didn't think I underestimated you, but I guess I must have. You're something most of the people in our house aren't- you're clever." She blinked, still unmoved. "So, if you know me so well, tell me. Would a friendless asshole who can't separate her feelings root around in the secrets of someone she actually respected just to sell them out? Or do you think that the friendless asshole might not really be looking for secrets? Maybe she was just looking for someone with something interesting to talk about."

Oooooh, he had touched a nerve.

And what a nerve it was. In all honesty, Keith had been rambling when he had been speaking - laying out a long, pointlessly extended metaphor to give the impression he was smarter and more world weary than he actually was. But somewhere along that crazy line of thought and speech, he had stumbled upon a goldmine of Teddy's insecurities and doubts. It was like taking a walk down the beach blindfolded and literally tripping over buried treasure - It never happened. But now that it had, he was going to take full advantage of it.

"You're good. I didn't think I underestimated you, but I guess I must have. You're something most of the people in our house aren't- you're clever," Teddy said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty awesome. But that's old news. Like, four years old," he replied.

Teddy simply blinked at him.

"So, if you know me so well, tell me. Would a friendless asshole who can't separate her feelings root around in the secrets of someone she actually respected just to sell them out? Or do you think that the friendless asshole might not really be looking for secrets? Maybe she was just looking for someone with something interesting to talk about."

Keith wasn't about to try and extrapolate off that comment. He knew better than to push his luck - he had gotten insanely lucky the first time, convinced her he was much more well-informed than he actually was, and so he wasn't going to ruin the illusion by going off on a potentially wrong tangent. No, he had to play things close to the chest here.

"I'm not going to tell you why you do what you do," Keith said with a shrug. "Because at the end of the day, that doesn't really matter. What matters is how you do it. And listen - you're doing it wrong."

He grinned. "The only person who can get you want you want is you. So don't bother so much with other people. Most of them are pretty boring anyway. Not me of course...but I'm one in a million. I think we both know that."

"I am getting what I want," Teddy said, her words coming out quickly as though a force were expelling them out of her lungs. "I am in the process, but how else do I get the knowledge of other people without involving them. Unless you suggest dumping Veritaserum in everyone's drinks." She quirked an eyebrow, as though testing to see if that was something he was interested. She had tried on her own. The bottle was on too high a shelf and there were spells keeping her from summoning it.

((my muse for her has sort of poofed. Sorry about the short post))