 Brandon protests her evil schemes(read: goes along with them)! Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?
Brandon thought Evy was one of the sweetest girls he'd ever met. Innocent was 'a bit of a stretch'. The sweet, innocent smiles only convinced him further that she was doing this all on purpose. He forgave her, of course. He couldn't not... she was so genuine and sweet and enabling. But the blush stayed, and Brandon was six HUNDRED kinds of stressed.
He really really liked holding Xander's hand. But- but- the idea of holding hands in public was the third-scariest thing ever(not saying what the other two things were). And Brandon knew that it wasn't wrong to hold hands, but he was accustomed to every little thing he did being 'wrong'. Spilling something on his clothes was a little thing. Holding hands was NOT a little thing. And the fear of getting in trouble might have been irrational now, but the fear of being teased wasn't. Liking Xander was supposed to be a secret. A secret meant not everyone knew about it, Evy!!! And yet... now that he was holding hands with the two of them, he held their hands in a death grip. Fine, it wasn't a 'death grip' because he was gentle and didn't want to crush their hands. But it was a pretty strong grip.
"Walking is good exercise. And besides... we'd have to let go to fit in the doors." Letting go was NOT Brandon's plan. "That's not what Evy wants, right Evy?" He relaxed a little. Holding their hands more tightly made him feel... protected. Doubly. And it wasn't so awkward when he held both their hands. "It would suit your evil purposes to have us all holding hands forever, wouldn't it?" His tone was accusatory, but teasing. He squeezed her hand too, to let her know that he really didn't mind her evil purposes.
Was Brandon finally smiling? No- Maybe- Yes... It didn't have anything to do with being tricked into holding hands with Xand- FINE it did. It very much did. Just try not to make fun of him for it. He may be relaxed right now, but he was still sensitive. |