so wake me up when it's all over [ben]

"I can't do it, Ben. I just can't." Leonie Kirschbaum was pacing through her still closed shop, desperately trying not to run her hands through her hair. She had spent hours in the bathroom this morning, changing her hairstyle every few minutes. And then she'd spent even more time in her small bedroom, dismissing dress after dress until she'd found one she had liked. Right now it didn't seem like the right dress either. Was it too short? Should she show more cleavage? Was it professional enough? Damn. She wasn't ready. The blonde was panicking.

The former Klyk Vampira stopped in the middle of the room on the cream coloured carpet, her blue eyes fixed on her brother. It wasn't like her at all but she was about to have a nervous breakdown. Why in Merlin's name had she thought that she was ready for this? Maybe Ben had been right when he had told her not to move to London. The older wizard had hated the idea of her being all alone in London and he'd tried a lot to persuade her not to move there but in the end she had won the argument. It was her life and she would decide what she wanted to do with it. Everything had sounded so easy two months ago but now… She would fail. She would fail and then he'd rub it in her face that he'd told her so.

After another helpless glance at her brother Leonie closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She couldn't give up now. The shop looked good, everything was neatly arranged and decorated, and it would be a success. It had to be. There was no other option. The German knew all that but she was still nervous like hell. What if no one had read her ads in the Daily Prophet? What if no one would come? The idea of being all alone in the shop for hours horrified her and just thinking about it  made her feel sick. Slowly she opened her eyes again and relaxed her clenched fists.

There was still about half an hour left until the doors would open to the public for the first time and Leo had no idea how she should survive it. The suspense was killing her and once more she began to doubt herself. The girl hated herself for being like this but she couldn't help it. "Does my hair still look okay? What about the lipstick? I don't have any on my teeth, do I?" The blonde took a few steps toward her brother and forced herself to smile so that he could check it.

Benjamin leaned against the counter on which the cash register sat, his arms folded in front of his chest, one of his feet resting crossed over the other, sighing softly as he watched his nervous sister pacing back and forth before him. Nervousness was practically coming out of her pores, and for a moment he wondered, if she would hyperventilate and just end up on the floor. It was a sight he didn't enjoy at all, Leonie being one of the few people, he actually felt compassion for. No matter what she said, to him she would always be his little princess, and seeing her worried and doubting herself was nothing he was comfortable with.

Although he had warned her. He had told her this was too much, and hadn't held back his opinion that this wasn't right for her – not yet. She had just made it out of school and now she was starting her own business, all by herself, far away from home. London. And what a stupid idea that had been. Sure, his path hadn't been all that different after school, but things were different for her. At least, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was. Rationally, he knew that she was strong, independent and capable enough to go her way and show everyone what it meant to be a Kirschbaum. Rationally, he had no doubt she would be brilliant. Emotionally, though, he couldn't help worrying. To him, she was still his little princess and all he wanted was to protect her from the big bad world.

However, the time for arguments was over. He had tried to convince her to change her mind. He had pleaded and raged, and yet she hadn't swayed – and somehow he would have been disappointed in her if she had. There was no longer any point in making her feel bad about her decision, now was the time for support. And that's why he was here now, being the helpful brother she needed. He looked back in her slightly widened blue eyes, lightly tilting his head in reaction to her question, his eyes moving down to her teeth at her request. Unable to help himself, he allowed himself a little fun, uncrossing his feet and leaning forward, still staring at her teeth. "Nope, no lipstick, but… what's that weird… green… thing? What on earth did you have for breakfast?"

On the other hand, even he realized that this kind of joke was quite mean, so his serious expression lasted only a second before he chuckled softly, pushing himself off the counter and stepping close to the blonde, gently pulling her into a hug, careful not to disturb either her hair or her outfit. "You look amazing, princess. People will buy your shoes simply to see you smile, so don't worry, okay? You'll do fine. You will be just as much of a success as every other Kirschbaum before you. At least every normal Kirschbaum." He added the last comment in an afterthought, able to think of at least one (namely his younger brother) of whom he wasn't sure he would get anything useful done in his life. But that was a whole other story. Leonie wasn't like that. Leonie was like him. She would be wonderful.

Thank Merlin, she didn't have any… what?! "Ben!" Leonie punched her brother's arm, not so hard that it really hurt but enough that he'd definitely feel it. She'd only drunk some coffee earlier, too nervous to eat anything. Her stomach grumbled slightly but the blonde wasn't sure if it was from hunger or nervousness. She was pathetic, really. At least she knew her brother had to be joking; a very bad joke indeed. Before she could punch him again, he realized that it hadn't been that funny - clever boy - and when he hugged her carefully, she wrapped her arms around his waist.

Leonie pressed her face against his chest, not knowing whether to cry or to laugh. This was so ridiculous. She was strong, confident and independent and not some stupid, angsty little girl. She was more than glad that Ben was here, even though they'd had their differences, she knew that he'd never let her down, just like she'd never let him down. Normal Kirschbaum… The girl giggled softly, instantly knowing what or rather who her brother meant. "Yeah, I know. Not everyone can be as perfect as we are." The girl took a step back and tugged a strand of wavy blond hair behind her ear.

She felt a little better now, Benjamin's presence was calming her down a little and she quickly moved from one display to another, checking if all pairs of shoes were exactly where they were supposed to be. Everything had to look perfect. "You know, I'm sorry I don't have any shoes for men but if you ever want to get a gift for a girl, just come here." Leo smiled at her brother, hoping that he wouldn't mind her little comment. She didn't know if he was completely over Dieter already and she definitely didn't want to hurt him. She'd been sad when she'd heard that they'd broken up but she also knew that there must have been a reason for it.

The young woman had told her brother that she'd be there for him if he wanted to talk and she'd meant it but maybe he just needed some kind of distraction. Well, he'd surely get to see lots of pretty women here today. "I'm really glad that you're here but please don't distract my potential customers too much later, okay? They should focus their attention on the shoes and not on you." She laughed softly and checked her watch once more. Only a few minutes left.