Slow day (Open)

[blake]

School had been out for less than a week, and Blake had already been roped into finding a job. His father's final threat of Blake paying rent for his room had been the final kick in the arse to get himself moving. Of course, as long as he held a job, they'd pay for his escapades. This money was for him, and he knew exactly what he would do with that first paycheck. It would be worth the headache inducing magenta robs he hoped no one at school would see him in. Especially not some of his ex-flings.

Blake rocked back on his heels, few people popping in, and leaving after a few mundane purchases. The pimple vanisher was a favorite of a lot of the younger adolescents, their faces breaking out in the greasy fashion of every pubescent child. Soon, the store was empty once again, as he continued playing with the muggle magic cards. Many wizards were fascinated by the simplicity of the muggle magic, although Blake found it mundane compared to the wonders around him. He had been grateful a job here had been available. He would have died of boredom working anywhere else.

He was grateful for the slow day, being the only one on shift. He glanced up from the fixed cards as the door opened...

[marvel]

Marvel had just come from work, uniform still on his slight frame. Because he was in charge of the animals, his work clothes were extremely casual, with jeans and Converse being standard work wear. He had on the tan work shirt on, as well as one of his favorite hats to match. It wasn't often that he entered the joke shop, but something that day had compelled him to do so. Pushing open the door, he jumped slightly at the loud, obnoxious dummy that practically shrieked a welcome at him. Marvel stepped forward, glancing around the shop.

He was rather surprised to see Blake Walker behind the desk of the shop, playing with a deck of Muggle cards. The boy was too flighty, for his tastes, as well as a womanizer. It was strange, seeing the boy actually being able to hold a job. The Ravenclaw, while never judgmental and rude, still found it quite odd. He had nothing against the boy, but it just seemed rather odd to him. Ignoring Blake, he turned and began examining the curious items housed on the shelves, from Puking Pastels to Extendable Ears. As a Muggleborn, Marvel was always fascinated by magic, even though he'd been around it for six years.

[blake]

Blake looked up to see Marvel entering. Of course, they had probably never said three words in passing, but Blake could sense the distant air around them. The two had never really had a real go at it, keeping everything polite. Of course, he could imagine someone worse stumbling in on him in his post of humiliation. The Ravenclaw scanned the shelves, blowing Blake off. He watched him for a moment, wondering if he was simply passing the time, or if he was looking for something.

Blake continued to shuffle mindlessly. If course, Blake would never had said it to anyone else, but Marvel had been one of the exceptionally good looking boys that had caught his eye. Blake never acted on any of those feelings since transferring to Hogwarts, but Blake could still see why he appreciated the attractive boy. "Need help with anything?" He asked conversationally, still shuffling. Perhaps if he was kind enough, the boy wouldn't say anything to their comrades of Blake being reduced to a working stature.

[marvel]

Marvel practically jumped out of his skin when the other boy approached him. Smoothing out his shirt, he shook his head. "Just browsing," he replied softly, brown eyes taking in Blake. If Marvel had thought Blake being in a working setting was odd, it was even more so when he saw the boy up close in the ridiculously colored robes that served as the worker's uniforms. He briefly wondered if George Weasely put his employee's in the robes to provide even more humor to his shop, but Marvel said nothing.

Truthfully, Blake was an intimidating soul. Marvel wasn't afraid of anyone, nor did he go around judging people for their actions and looks, but there was something about Blake that made Marvel's skin crawl, though he'd never admit it. The boy was his polar opposite, so he assumed that the pair just had a personality conflict... which wouldn't be the first time something like that had happened to Marvel. Being such a quiet individual, he often conflicted with many Gryffindors, though they rarely antagonized him because of his ability to forgive and forget. Bullying was pointless if the target never held a grudge.

[blake]

Blake shrugged. Marvel had never really been an open person, not with anyone. He knew it wasn't just him. He sat on the counter, pulling an extendable ear from the box and using it as a yo-yo. It irritated Blake when people were so introverted. He pitied them, almost. Life was too short to be anything but bold. There was no changing other people, but certain persons just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Tell me if you need anything," he was determined to keep this job, and to keep it under wraps. He had seen a beautiful necklace that would fit the crimson locks of Samara beautifully. It would be hers, no matter the humiliation. Of course, a month or two ago, Blake would have laughed at anyone who said he would be such a chap, and then ask them if they needed to be escorted to the hospital wing. Blake eyed the cute, silent boy, still wondering how someone could live in such a shy manner.

[marvel]

Marvel eyed the Extendable Ear in Blake's hand, watching it bounce up in down in the same matter a lazy cat would, with the right amount of indifference. He noticed Blake watching him, but said nothing. "I will," he assured quietly, turning his back on the boy and walking up the other side of the aisle. The amount of crude things that provided wizards with a cheap laugh at others expense was something Marvel would never understand, being one of moral belief and stature. He appeared once more, finding nothing of interest upon that particular shelf.

"So. How long have you been working here?" Marvel asked, inquisitive brown eyes flicking up for a moment to meet the other boy's gaze for just a moment before he diverted his attention back towards the selves. Set up in a display by the counter was a holding area for the multicolored Pygmy Puffs, something of a joke in the Menagerie's eyes. Still, they were adorable little beasts. Marvel set his hand inside, allowing the smallest one to clamber onto his hand. Lifting the small thing to his face, he watched the orange Puff curl up in his hand and do a small imitation of a cat's purr.

[blake]

Blake was shocked when Marvel spoke of free will to him. He had begun to believe Marvel had developed a distaste for his opposite. And more, it was conversational. Blake laughed. "Less than a week," he admitted. He felt as if it had been an eternity already. Of course, that pendant on Samara, signifying that she was is, would make the humiliation worth it. It was rare that Blake was the one being laughed at, and that only furthered the humiliation.

He surveyed Marvel, taking in the casual, normal uniform he wore. "You work at the Menagerie?" He stretched the ear between his hands, letting it spring back in the elastic fashion it had. Blake was admittedly jealous of the normal uniform that the Ravenclaw wore.

[marvel]

Marvel felt a small smile pull at the corner's of his mouth when the Pygmy Puff in his hand fall asleep. He had to admit, for being utter abominations, the little creatures were quite cute. He rubbed the little creature with his free hand for a moment before setting the sleeping Puff back inside with it's comrades. He looked up and leaned against the counter, watching Blake play with the Extendable Ear. "I see," he replied softly, eyes flicking back towards the more Muggle oriented merchandise displayed on the counter.

"Yes," Marvel replied, eyes finding Blake's once more. He couldn't help but feel a tiny bit awkward in the presence of the boy who was his opposite in virtually every way, but the small talk was making up for it. Marvel wasn't one to entertain himself with pleasantries, especially towards people so different from his reserved being. Still, there was nothing better to do with his time, especially when he and Blake seemed to be the only people within the store in the first place.

[blake]

Blake smirked as the quiet boy seemed to have a soft spot for animals. How practical. No need to talk. Even the answers were short, and minimal. Blake appreciated the effort of conversation on the shy Marvel's part, but it was beyond his realm of understanding how someone could remain so reserved and not end up in the looney bin. He boxed the ear once more, displaying it on the shelf behind him as he surveyed the Pygmy Puffs.

"They're on sale, you know," he said, for the sake of conversation. Of course, he wasn't going to be the pushy salesman, but silence killed Blake. It drove him mad.

[marvel]

Marvel couldn't help but smirk a little at Blake's rather pitiful attempt at salesmanship. He truly wasn't familiar with the grounds needed to work in a store, and just how to up-sale certain merchandise. "Quite frankly, I find the little creatures to be rather... un-animal, even for magical standards," he replied. Though he was a quiet soul, he was very opinionated, though he rarely directed his opinions towards negative thoughts towards another being. The only person he ever judged was his own father. Still, something about Blake rubbed him the wrong way.

Marvel's gaze traveled back towards the Pygmy Puffs, some full of life and some preferring to stay rather lethargic inside the tank. "Still, their cute little abominations," he added thoughtfully, watching as one of the larger ones began play-fighting with a smaller Puff. It was rather amusing, seeing so many animal characteristics showing through in the creatures. Marvel briefly wondered how the Weasley twins had created such beasts.

[blake]

Blake was unsure if he should laugh or be offended at the obviously superior thoughts of the socially awkward boy. The smirk irritated Blake, as he had been attempting to act civil with his opposite. The fact that Marvel seemed to be judgmental was a riot to Blake. He scoffed inwardly. To consider himself above Blake, and remain so quiet was hypocritical, to say the least. He shook his head.

"Indeed they are," he attempted to keep up the conversation. He didn't want to be left alone in the silence again, and if the chap would pity him and buy something, it would be worth the pity. Blake continually thought of the heaps of humiliation he had piled upon himself, and had to continually remind himself of the prize at the end. However, when awkward boys like this started scoffing at Blake, that was where he began to get irritated.

[marvel]

Marvel couldn't help but notice the hint of malice in the other boy's voice. It was a small amount, but easily detected. Gryffindor's were fairly predictable creatures in that they were either brave and compassionate souls, much like their founding father Godric Gryffindor had intended them to be, or they faked bravery and replaced it with utter arrogance, something that annoyed Marvel to no end. Marvel was trying excruciatingly hard not to begin judging the boy, seeing as how he wasn't the sort to think he was above anyone else.

Blake was making that difficult for him. Marvel excused himself, eyes meeting Blake's. "I'm going to venture towards the Muggle merchandise, if you don't mind," he replied gently, turning on his heel and making his way towards the designated shelves. There were plenty of trick coins, supposed disappearing acts, all things that Marvel found amusing after finding real magic. Still, there were some things within the Muggle World that made Marvel wonder if people like Houdini had truly been wizards, and not just the common folk that they had pretended to be.

[blake]

Blake was grateful as the Ravenclaw turned to go investigate the muggle department. He took his position sitting on the counter once more, watching the clock for the last five minutes of his shift. For once, he believed he would have rather taken the silence than making conversation. When such a lesser boy would act so arrogantly, especially with Blake, he'd gladly spend an hour in silence. He closed his eyes, silently calculating how much more he would have to earn before that pendant was his. He knew one more paycheck, and it'd be in his pocket. Of course, three more shifts seemed almost unbearable with the headache-inducing magenta robes. He took up the cards once more, shuffling mindlessly.

[marvel]

Marvel stifled a small smirk as he pretended to examine the merchandise. Blake was obviously irritated by him, and that only seemed to further amuse the Ravenclaw. For whatever reason, Blake was the one person, besides his father, who broke his tough, forgiving skin down and made him a very judgmental person. It was a strange, almost frightening thing, but, surprisingly, Marvel was willing to let Blake be one other person whom he openly was annoyed by. It was something he'd never be able to explain.

Perhaps it was their personality differences, perhaps it was because Marvel could never step into Blake's shoes and fathom how the other boy could possibly use women the way he did. Marvel may not have been on par when it came to women, never have been in a relationship himself, but he did know what he felt was the right way to treat a woman, and the way that Blake went around it certainly wasn't it.

[blake]

Blake was thrilled as the clock reached the six, and he was peeling the robes from his shoulders. He moved toward the door, flipping to closed sign as he turned to Marvel. "Are you going to buy anything?" He asked. He knew he sounded impatient, but he wasn't one to conceal emotions or deal with pleasantries. The Ravenclaw had used the last of his patience, and Blake was dying to go make sure that pendant was still in the shop in muggle London. He brushed the dust from the counter, quickly counted the total in the register to verify that it matched the records, before he grabbed his bag, waiting for the arrogant boy to bring up his purchase.