A Street... Outside Honeydukes

This street isn't as cool as that of the Street outside of Three Broomsticks.

Nonetheless, it is cool in it's own way.

Walk on out, to the Street Outside Honeydukes.

Boris stepped out into the street, chortling to himself. A slightly disgusted yet mirthful expression crossed his features as he reached for his wand. With a number of cleansing charms he was once again fairly presentable, though had missed a bit of the syrup, powder, and gum on the tip of his nose.

"I take it the frogs vere a little much, then?" he asked Diana with a soft laugh as he approached her.

"Oh," Diana was slightly surprised to find Boris outside. She'd assume that he'd take a more active role in the candy craze inside. "No, not at..." She smiled wistfully. "I just couldn't really enjoy myself."

She then noticed the spot that Boris missed. "You have some... sweets over here." She gestured to her own nose.

Boris quirked a brow at her and put his hand up to his nose, laughing as his fingers touched something gooey and gritty. With a single swipe he'd gotten it off and, with a single shake of his hand, the sugary mass was flung to Merlin only knew where. "I noticed you came out here," he said after a moment. "Are you alright? Or is candy and food fighting just not your... how do you say, 'cup of tea'?"

Diana chuckled slightly at Boris' attempt in English says. "Why wouldn't it be? When all sweets imaginable are flying in the air?"

She then shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be snappish. I'm having a pretty bad day, that's all. Well it was alright until..."

She thought of her arguement with a certain Slytherin and shook her head. "Yes, a bad day."

"Don't vorry about it," Boris gently brushed off the apology. "Vy is it a bad day?" It was an innocent question, wasn't it? Thus far, Boris was actually having a pretty good day.

"Oh..." Diana looked at Boris in consideration. Should she tell him or shouldn't she?

Nothing telling him, well he'd find out anyway. But... telling him would finalized it. Cement the fact. Make it all to real. She and Darien Vaight were broken up.

She'd have to face the fact eventually, why not now? Well that was easy to answer... she didn't want to. Tears suddenly started begging to come out but she kept them at bay.

"I think my boyfriend and I just broke up."

"Oh," Boris uttered nonchalantly. Unfortunately, that had been his and Nick's goal, but he wasn't about to tell her that. For all that he boasted to understand girls when in the company of his friends, Boris had no idea how to appropriately respond to this. There was already tension between him and Vaight, even before Diana had agreed to go to the ball with him instead of the Slytherin.

"Vould you like to go get a drink or something? Just the two of us?" he offered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I vill treat you," Boris added, though was fairly certain he didn't quite have that English saying down. Wasn't it something like 'my treat'? Oh well... same difference, to him at least.

"Yeah alright..." Diana said nodded. "I'll like that."

She needed to take her mind off of things. She needed to be in the company of people. If she was left alone, she'd torturously play the Gladrags scene in her head over and over again, wondering what she should have said or done to make sure the outcome was different. Besides she wanted to make sure her date for the Yule Ball wasn't some psycho-path.

___

Inside Honeydukes, Nicolas watched the pair out of the corner of his eye. He smiled. He's plans were working wonderfully. He wrote a mental note to himself to owl his grandfather.

Boris smiled a genuine smile; not the smirks he'd been accustomed to bestowing to people since he was a little kid. "Vhere vould you like to go? Three Broomsticks? That other pub doesn't look very popular... Or perhaps that place? Up there?" Boris asked, gesturing in the directions of the Three Broomsticks, The Hog's Head, and Madam Puddifoot's in turn. The last one looked a little too cutesy for him the last time when he'd passed it, but if that's where Diana wanted to go he'd endure it. "I've only been around the village vonce thus far - tvice now..."

Puddifoots reminded her of a certain someone. Hog's Head was out of the question. Three Broomsticks it was. "Three Broomsticks." Diana said. "Listen Boris, I don't think I'll be very good company at the moment..."

Boris nodded, relieved with her decision. He'd almost thought she'd go with the cutesy place. The teen hovered at Diana's side, paying rapt attention the moment she said his name.

"Vos I asking for royal treatment? No... Do not vorry. You are having an off day - I can understand this," Boris replied sincerely. "If it vould make you feel a little better, a few months before coming here my previous girlfriend broke up vith me over a stupid argument."

Without thinking, the Russian adhered to the customs of his country and took Diana's arm in his. It was expected of men to be exceedingly polite and chivalrous toward women. "Shall ve?" Boris inquired, smiling widely.

"At least you weren't wearing something stupid when that happened." Diana snapped. Then she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to snap at you, it wasn't your fault." She said though her statement wasn't completely true. Afterall, would Darien really have reacted that way if Boris wasn't taking Diana to the ball?

But if she was honest, Boris himself had nothing to do with it and to be angry at him was unfair. She forced a smile. "We shall." And held on to Boris.

Boris quirked a brow at the sudden switches between emotional states, but didn't seem at all offended. To be honest that was mild compared to the dressing-downs he'd received by other girls that had been angry with him for his antics. But he decided that Diana didn't need to know that detail of his life.

With a nod Boris escorted his Yule Ball date to their agreed destination.

((To The Three Broomsticks!))