To: Pericles Dralt From: A Secret Admirer Closed

In response to @Breana Oliveire or rather, @Jack Burnett, that wily imp

When first Pericles began to read, a surprised smile spread into place. There was only one witch he'd met at the errand mentioned, who he already associated with feelings of friendliness, and the praise cast a humble shade of color beneath his gray field of freckles. The more he read however, the more that faded into a frown. He had enjoyed every encounter with Breana, but he had sought out her company with no ulterior motive. After all: it was his first time in a (sort of) public school, his first time making friends and attending classes. That alone was a fair amount of -whelming, alongside submerging himself in clubs and chasing an obscure mystery.

This letter was overwhelming. He enjoyed the girl's company, yet he had been so preoccupied with all this newness, he hadn't thought of anyone in a romantic light. He'd already tried to turn one friend away from what he predicted would be a catastrophic ball! If he said no, would they no longer be friends? Were they friends, or did she solely see him- he reread the line and physically winced- as the "boy of her dreams"? All he knew about Breana was the basics of her background and that she was a kind heart. It was all too much too soon. The letter performed the opposite of its intention: rather than forcibly evolving a relationship, which had been gradually growing on its own, Pericles was now struggling under the impression that Breana "couldn't stop thinking about him", that he had given her the wrong impression and incidentally infatuated her. This blew things entirely out of proportion, for what was in reality an innocent crush now sounded like some sort of obsession.

A few feeble attempts at responding were made before Pericles set his stationary materials aside. He sat stressed-out on the end of his bed, tucking spectacles into his pocket and rubbing the bridge of his nose. The things he needed to tell Breana were only appropriate to say in person, but how was he supposed to speak to her after this? He hated the thought of hurting her, though he morally could not force himself to try a "date" out of sheer guilt. He had no one to reach out to for advice on this particular subject, not without embarrassing himself (and her) horribly, and it served as the cherry on top of a mountain of already confounding contemplations. In the end, the young wizard made the terrible really decision to say nothing at all, for now. He would try and build up the courage to talk with her while she still had time to find someone else for the ball, or hopefully, avoid it and its hypothetical dangers altogether.

Worst of all: the letter wasn't even from Breana.