She laid her head on the Gryffindor table of the Great Hall, eyes closed, trying not to think. She was trying to do the deep breathing exercises that Professor Inets had tried to teach them in Divination. She ignored the throbbing and the hand that was now in her hair, brushing it back from her face. She knew that she should have tied it up, but couldn't be bothered in her haste to leave the dormitory.
"Another late night?"
The voice was warm and soothing on Alice's ears and she took another deep breath, not answering.
"Hell-lo. Alice," he said in a sing-song way. "Are you in there?"
"Don't," she said gruffly.
"Don't what?"
She could hear the laughter in his voice, and was very near telling him off, but in her heart, she was glad that he finally noticed her. His hand was still in her hair and something in her stomach tingled at his teasing. She felt his body close to hers as he sat beside her, straddling the bench. His fingers were brushing the hair over her shoulder, letting it fall down her back. She opened her eyes and looked into his warm brown ones. She couldn't help but to give him a small smile.
"Don't what?" he repeated.
"Don't sing." Her statement was firm and serious, but she could see the edges of his lips begin to curve; could see that he was trying his best not to laugh, and he succeeded for the most part.
"So what did the up and coming Celestina Warbeck do this time?"
"More like Janis Joplin."
"Who?"
Alice shook her head with a shrug. "How do I know? It's more of that crazy Muggle music that she listens to. Last night it was about a clown crying. Over and over again. And then the Queen sang, but I have no idea how she gets her voice to sound like a group of men. And the drums! Oh sweet Merlin, the drums! I can still hear them in my head. It's louder than Filibusters on Boxing Day."
She hadn't noticed Frank sliding closer during her rant. He 'uh-huhed' and nodded in all the right places, but soon his arm was around her shoulder and he was pulling her towards him.
She did notice when his lips met hers and she took another deep breath when she pulled away. She was about to ask what he thought he was doing right here in the middle of the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall staring at them – well, she would have been staring at them if she hadn't been preoccupied with her bacon for breakfast, but still, it was a public place and she and Frank were classmates and –
And he was kissing her again. Her eyes were wide open now and she saw the tiny lines around his eyes that said he was smiling and she realized that he liked her. He must have liked her – he hadn't snogged any of the other girls from their classes in the Great Hall, and the hand that was in her hair was raking through the thick mane that she needed to get cut short before her Auror training began in the summer and when his finger touched her neck as his mouth left hers, she shuddered. She didn't want the kiss to end especially since she hadn't really been part of it, so she moved into his arms, grabbing the back of his neck and kissed him back.
Her eyes closed and she knew his had as well. She leaned against his shoulder, and her headache was gone. This year would be special.