The Fix Is In

"I'm sorry, Will."

"Are you really surprised, though? I can't ever seem to keep something good going."

Izzy frowned. "That's not true..."

"Iz, when's the last time I kept a relationship going more than a few months?"

"That doesn't mean you never will. You just need to... work on not kissing people you aren't dating if they kiss you, for one..."

"How can I really work on that without having people who I am not dating kiss me? You know I learn by doing."

Izzy was quiet for a moment. "Um..." she muttered. "Learn to not do it by not doing it? Still technically learning by doing in a way."

Will cracked a smile on that one. "Worth a try, I guess. Thanks for listening to me babble, Izzy. I know it can't be terribly fun. Also... well, just warning you, things are going to be awkward between Cal and I for a while, probably."

Izzy nodded. "Anytime, goofball." She smiled at him.

Will smiled back. "I think my pity party is officially over. Yeah, it sucks, but it's not the first time something went wrong. Cal and I are good friends, right? We can get over a silly little incident. I'm not sure I want things to work out relationship-wise, since I really can't promise him it won't happen again... but I'd like to stay friends."

Izzy nodded. "That's a good way to look at it."

"When you've been through it as many times as I have, you have to learn to look at it that way. I don't know how well being friends will work--usually, I like a clean break. I'm too close to Cal to do that, though."

"It'll all work out. It always does."

"Except with Paul. And that one Ravenclaw girl I went out with who I dumped over a year ago but who keeps following me through the hall. And that one Slytherin boy..." Will stopped. "Iz, do I have a stalker magnet on me?"

"Apparently so..." Iz was trying to not look amused, because it wasn't really funny, but at the same time it was.

"If Cal starts getting oogly eyes now that we're broken up, I'm running off to Durmstrang."

"I don't think he will. Cal doesn't seem like the sort."

"He isn't," Will said, nodding. "I think he's one of the most normal people I've dated, honestly."

"Hmmm." Izzy shrugged.

"You," Will said. "We're done talking about me now. How are you?"

"I'm alright."

"I haven't seen you much lately. What have you been up to?"

"Nothing really." Izzy shrugged.

"I would apologize for making you uncomfortable being all PDA-ish with Cal, but I'm not really sorry about being PDA-ish, just that it made you uncomfortable. So, really, it'd only be half an apology."

"Oh. Okay." That wasn't even the real reason Izzy had been avoiding them, but she wasn't about to let Will know that.