Candyman

Looking from one kind of chocolate to the next, he twirled the oversized lollipop between his fingers. Dawson was quite entranced with the candy selection here. As a child, he hadn't really been able to eat much candy - the barstaff had better things to spend their tips and paychecks on, and forget about asking his father - he himself had to buy actual food with his money, the rest of it going into the college fund his mother had left him. Now a days, though, his aunt actually covered his food bill, so he had a lot more money than he was used to. Learning that Wizards didn't actually go to college had changed his entire outlook on life. He'd have to put more into his schooling, but he was prepared to do so. Besides, how hard could a place like 'Bauxbatons' be?

Tossing the chocolate upward and juggling them to be able to hold them all, he made his way to the register, his focus more on the candy than where he was going.

Thus, when he bumped someone, all the chocolate came raining down, wrappers crinkling as they hit the floor.

"Sorry."

Iva really wasn't a chocolate person. Sure, she had her share of sweets and such, but chocolates were always a treat to her. Her father had barely ever let her eat them as a child anyway.

So, when a piece of that candy landed in her hair, she was a little more than annoyed.

"Watch it, you-" she blinked, "Oh, Zander. Allo. Why are you here?"

The girl eyed her boyfriend's lookalike appreciatively. Was this how Damian was going to look in a few years? She could live with this.

Pulling a chocolate out of her mussed hair, her handed it back to the boy.

"Sorry." He said, accepting the chocolate and eyeing it before placing it on the top shelf. "I didn't mean to get in your way." He switched to Russian easily, obviously more comfortable with the language. "It is nice to see you again, Innokentiya." The long name rolled easily off his tongue, comfortably, as if he had said it a trillion times, though really this was only the first. "I hope that you are doing well."

Iva watched the boy with a disconcerting gaze, studying his movements, his actions. Her careful eyes watched for any signs of injury or the abuse he was clearly under. Normally, she wouldn't be so worried about a boy, but, seeing as he was Damian's..., she wasn't going to be unkind to him.

"No worries," she replied, "I have been meaning to find you anyway, Zander," She gestured to the counter to get him to pay. She didn't want to bother with shopping while asking him a question; one thing at a time.

Zander followed her gaze to the register, then looked at the candy in his hands. Oh. Was he expected to-

"I'm not buying these." He said in explanation, tossing one up, and then the other, easily beginning to juggle again. "I was just bringing them to this one." He tossed them over the register to the girl, who caught them easily with a doe eyed grin that he missed completely. "Just helping out, yeah?"

The girl handed him his reward for helping - a single chocolate bar - and he grinned at her in thanks before turning back to Iva. "You were looking for me?" He asked curiously, searching back in his memory for something he must have done wrong. Why else would she seek him out? "Why? I mean, I'm sorry."

"You better be sorry!"

Iva grabbed the chocolate bar from his hand suddenly, words hash but facial expressions light. She gave a small laugh, holding the chocolate away from him. "You should be very sorry! Staying in a house like that. Shameful. I cannot let you live in such a mess. Go home and collect your clothing- I'm taking you home."

She let that hang in the air for a moment before huffing. "You have an hour before I come and force you to come,"

Zander blinked. So he had done something wrong. Of course he had. He was Zander. Couldn't meet one person without disappointing them, could he?

Why, exactly, she thought that bullying him would make him want to live with her, he had no idea. Then again, it had seemed to work from everyone else. However, Dawson was not about to be abused by his little brother's girlfriend. It was easy to reach over and pluck the chocolate bar from her hands, his height giving him the advantage so that he didn't have to move his feet. He nearly towered over her, in any case.

"Right." He said, shoving the thing in the pocket of his shirt, high above her reach. "Do not pretend to know what I live like, yeah? You know nothing. You do not know what you are getting into." Shoving his hands in his pockets, he rocked slightly on the balls of his feet, glancing around. "You are a Popov, yes? It is obvious in the way you speak, and how you hold your head. I do not wish to live with Papa. I do not find it wise." He shook his head. "I wish to stay with my auntie. She, at least, feeds me and gives me a good place to sleep. I don't want to seem ungrateful. She has been most kind."

"You will not force me anywhere. The people you hope to rally for your cause won't come near me. Sorry." He looked down at his shoes. Couldn't even be kidnapped properly. It was most disconcerting.

Iva considered punching the boy for a moment. Her honor and means questioned and her height insulted, the Russian threw up her hands and gave a long sigh of annoyance.

"You know what? Fine. You can leave," she gestured to the door, "Ignore the only hand that is offering to help you. Go back to the person who beats you."

A hand reached up and grabbed his collar in an attempt to tug him down to the girl's level. "As a Popov, I have seen enough abuse cases to recognize one. And, you know what? The abused kids always seem to abuse their wives when they grow up." she let go of his collar, "Just a thought,"