A/N: Ah, a new fic. Let's just hope I don't discontinue this one too. Joking.
... Or am I?
Let's hope I am, because I have a whole plan for this fiction!
Posted on: 15th July 2017
Disclaimer: my name ain't JK Rowling. Alright, buddy?
Rated T due to language and dark themes. If you are light hearted then you should probably take heed of this when reading.
"How will you be on your own?" My best friend, Phoenix asked me. She was practically my sister, after I lost my mother to cancer at the age of 12 her family had been taking care of me. This was because her mother was my godmother. We had known each other since the age of five, and it felt strange leaving the house I now called home.
"I don't quite know frankly. I'll probably be homesick for a few days and then maybe I'll be fine afterwards." I shrugged as I sent a few more bags with magic.
"You know that's not what I mean Aud... It's just.." She sighed at me and began waving a hand in a circular motion. "I'm concerned. After everything that's happened I don't think you should go so soon. It's only been 3 days since you got a job and you're already not eating properly." She voiced her concerns to me and I bit my lip. I grabbed another bag from the red sofa on the side of the room. I ran my hand over the velvet of it, slowly tracing the golden details of it as I thought of what to say.
"We don't know what's going to happen to us in the future Phoen. But it's worth finding out. If I stay here for the rest of my life who knows what I'm going to miss out on. I know it's hard for you, it's hard for me too but... You've got to let me live my own life. I'll get though this. Just, let me try and do it on my own." She pursed her lips as her blue eyes began watering. I've always envied her upturned eyes, blue with purple specs in them. They looked so... Different. Beautiful, compared to my down turned plain black ones. I brushed aside one of her mink brown hair strands and pat her on the head. "It's alright, Phoen. It's alright." I hugged her as she began to cry in my shoulder. "Don't look so downhearted, I'm probably not going to see you for a while. I don't want to remember our last meeting as some depressing thing." I poked her cheek as she gave me a small smile.
"Right. Sorry. This is so not like me. Oh Gosh. I still can't believe our little Audrey is leaving." I rolled my eyes as she said this.
"Shut up. I'm older than you by 4 months you idiot!" I grumbled.
"Whatever. Facts. Anyways, how is the apartment?! Is it nice?! Is it big?!" Now there was the annoying Phoenix I knew.
"You went to see it with me..." I stated in an almost questioning tone.
"Oh... Yeah, I did. It was nice."
"Yup. I should probably go now. I've moved my stuff there and I need to unpack and stuff. Bye Phoen." I said as I hugged her one more time. Her thin lips moved to say something I couldn't quite hear. It looked a lot like goodbye.
It took me three days to settle into my apartment. I didn't have many things but it took a while having to buy things for the apartment too.
I felt exhausted after having to move my bed into my bedroom by myself. I could've asked for help from one of my friends but I didn't feel like being near people today. That happened a lot to me. I suffered from PDD which stands for Persistent Depressive Disorder, it's also known as Dysthymia since PDD is also the name of a learning disorder. I didn't tell people about this, the only person who knew was Phoenix.
When I was born my mother named me Audrey Jayna Aoi Kushieda[1]. Kushieda was the name of my father's family, Aoi was the name of his mother. He died before I was born but mum would tell me that I looked a lot like him. I had inherited her ash blonde hair and the shape of her eyes however. Jayna was the name of my mother, I had loved it ever since I was young. I was told that my family was a prestigious family in Japan, mum had said that one day she'd take me there.
We never went.
I planned to go by myself but Phoen said that I wasn't allowed because it was dangerous for a lonely girl like me. Apparently there was a lot of crime that happened in Japan. She said, as if I didn't know about that. My family was from Nagasaki, mum had told me. She had told me that an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on the 9th of August 1945. She told me that thankfully my grandparents weren't in Nagasaki at the time. They had apparently fled to Australia in 1943 and came back in 1980 to rebuild our family home. She had also given me a wedding photo of hers.
I looked over to the left side of the fireplace mantle where I had framed the magical photo. My mother was standing next to my father and my grandparents were on both sides of them. My maternal grandparents had died 2 years before I was born and my paternal ones were living in Japan. I would contact them once a month at least. They would tell me about my parents sometimes and how they remember coming to England and seeing me when I was 10. I still remembered the day I first met them.
My father had black hair and black eyes, he was wearing a suit to match those features. He looked practically identical to me as my mother had said. His nose was the same shape as mine, our cheekbones had the same definition to them, our lips were both small. He was smiling so happily, along with my mother. He was a mix of his parents whilst my mum looked more like her mum. Only inheriting her father's amber eyes.
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if they were both alive. What we would have done as a family.
Mum used to tell me stories of when she and dad went to Hogwarts together. She told me how they never really spoke to one another until their 6th year. She told me that he had asked her on a date on Valentine's Day and she agreed because she had a crush on him. She had then told me how they both liked each other and told me that she knew he was the one that day.
"That soon?" My 8 year old self asked. Mum heaved a sigh as she showed me a photo of her and dad on their uniforms.
"Yeah, that soon. One day Audrey, you'll meet a guy like that. A guy who'll make you feel special, a guy who will love you with all his heart." I rolled my eyes at that.
"That sounds boring mum. Why do I need a guy?"
"Well you don't need a guy. You'll find someone my love. Someone that makes you feel like that."
"That's not the point mum! Why do I need someone in my life. Love sounds boring. And I'm not into girls. That's just... Well it's not weird really. Our nursery teacher married a lady. She was really cool too. Her wife would bring us cookies sometimes!" I told my mum, throwing my hands up as I made gestures with them.
"You may think this now but I know you'll think different later my little flower."
"Say mum... Say I did fall in love with a guy. How would I know?" My mum lulled over that for a moment.
"Well... You just know. But, I'm going to give you a warning. Don't force love. And don't think that someone may the one if something about them doesn't feel right."
The memory burned in the back of my mind. I remembered it a lot. My mum was sorted into Hufflepuff whilst my father was sorted into Gryffindor. It made sense that my mother was sorted into Hufflepuff, she was goldhearted and loyal. She never moved on after dad died. She simply told me that we had one true love in life, and he was hers.
I looked to the picture on the right side to see a picture of the four of us, my grandparents, mum and me. Mum was diagnosed with cancer that year and my grandparents wanted to see her that year. The last time I saw them was at the funeral.
At the center there was a picture of 5 people. It was of me, Cristal, Phoenix, Fred and George. The person who took the photo was my friend, Lee Jordan. Cristal's black hair had a streak of red and purple in it. Her grey eyes glinted mischievously. The photo was taken in my 5th year.
I had placed another photo there, but I didn't know why I still kept it. I got up and turned the photo upwards. The man who was kissing my cheek in the photo was my ex-boyfriend Rudolf. The photo was enchanted and his dark brown hair began to move because of the wind. I was smiling widely, playing with a strand of my hair. His dark grey eyes were twinkling with happiness in the photo. We looked so perfect, so in love. I still wondered what went wrong. Before I truly remembered. I didn't like thinking about what happened. I didn't like remembering what he had done to me. I tried to forget, to remember the better times. I bit my cheek as I turned the photo down again.
I felt exhausted. I remember hearing Phoenix tell me how I wasn't eating properly but I shrugged it off. I didn't feel like eating right now, I was too tired to do that.
I walked on the wooden floor, my bare feet making a small noise every time I walked. My room was in different shades of blue, with a soft blue carpet. I got changed into my pyjamas and fell asleep on the red sheets of the bed.
2 Months Later
Phoenix's POV
"Sorry I'm late Phoen. Epp." Cristal said as she nearly slipped. She was wearing a purple top with a necklace that Audrey gave her, along with light blue distressed jeans and white trainers. She had her wavy black hair tied up in a ponytail, in her hair was a streak of purple and she wearing dark eyeliner. She tucked her diagonal fringe behind her ear, looking around. "Where's Aud?" She asked cheerfully but I shook my head. Her smile dropped in an instant and started calling her on this Muggle thing called a 'phone'.
Cristal made us use these 'phones' when we had to contact one another quickly. She told us about these things called text messages and phone calls. She had payed for both of our phones, buying an updated version for Christmas every 2 years. She had told us about these things called apps. And Audrey picked it up really quickly, which wasn't very surprising I guess. Audrey had heard of a phone before Cristal mentioned it because her mother was Muggleborn and they'd shop at Muggle stores sometimes before her mother passed away. Cristal herself was a Muggleborn, her mother was a doctor and her father was part of the military. Anyways, after Cristal told us about this, Audrey had gotten the hang of it in the span of 3 minutes and began teaching Cristal things instead.
"Voicemail." Her usually jovial voice was filled with disbelief and after a second she began yelling on the phone. "Voicemail?! Voicemail?! Really?! At least pick up your fucking phone Audrey. We've been waiting here for you and you didn't even message us. Argh... I can't even. Come on Aud... I really miss you.. " she softly finished.
"She messaged me. She said sorry but she has plans. Well that's clearly bullshit. She doesn't have any plans. Who would she even make plans with?" I grumbled. I got up and picked up my keys, rapping them against the table. "Maybe just one drink before we leave..."
"I'm gonna get a brownie." Cristal told me causally, looking around herself.
"From where?" I asked. She simply sighed and gave me a forlorn look.
"Me and Aud used to come here a lot. We always complained about how they should serve brownies here and stuff and they actually listened to us... After we complained for the millionth time." I laughed at that.
"Sounds like you both."
After I chugged down a drink and Cristal had bought around 6 brownies, maybe more, we apparated outside Audrey's door. I banged on her door and Cristal was so startled she nearly dropped the brownies she was holding in her hands. "Don't make me come in there using force." I threatened half-heartedly, I heard a mumble that sounded like 'piss off'. I used the 'alohomora' charm and went inside.
I have no idea how the apartment looked like before but it looked like a mess now.
Boxes of pizza and take away were lying on the floor. The table had around 8 boxes of Chinese food and half of them weren't even finished. The sofa had a load of dirty clothes dumped on it and the kitchen looked terrible. There were pieces of glass scattered on the floor, a knife with freshly stained blood on it. The dishes were all over the place. Some in the sink. Some broken and lying on the floor. I tried not to step on them but it was hard to, when I was wearing heels.
"Audrey? Where are you?" I called out. I heard a grumble and I went over to the living space of the apartment. Audrey had just come out of her room, her ash blonde hair was now a light blonde colour. Her eyes had changed into a green shade. Her hair was a mess, full of visible tangles. Her shirt was plain black with long sleeves and she was wearing loose tracksuit bottoms. She was wearing white socks and grey slippers. The bags under her eyes were visible and she glared at me.
"Breaking and entering is illegal." She plainly stated. She moved her hand to brush away a strand, there was a red liquid that looked like blood on her hand. "Oh this?" She gestured towards her face. "Charms don't last forever you know. I just renew them every so often so they don't wear off."
"What... Happened to you?" Cristal asked, her voice nearly broken from shock. "What happened?" She let out a bitter laugh.
"Don't ask me what the fuck happened, like you care. Just piss off. Fuck off all of you. I don't want you here. I don't need you here. I'm perfectly fine you deluded bitches." She huffed at the two of us.
Cristal was about to say something when I cut her off, "It's alright Cris. I can tell where we're not wanted."
"Good." Audrey said as she pointed towards the door. "Exit's that way, and don't bother coming back."
When we left the room I heard something like the noise of glass shattering. I looked over to Cristal and shook my head. "Now's not the time to go back." I told her.
"What're we gonna do?" Cristal asked me.
"I've got an idea. But I'm not sure if this is going to work."
"What're you going to do?" She asked.
"Leave it to me, you'll find out soon enough."
The night had been exhausting but I didn't feel tired since I had a fuel of adrenaline coursing through my veins, pumping me. I sat down on my purple bed, the memory foam mattress sinking as I sat down. I got a piece of parchment and began tapping my pen against my knee. I didn't quite know how to put this down into a letter, it seemed too personal. I looked at the time, we had come early since it was now ten thirty pm. Great, he's probably awake.
I grabbed my leather jacket and apparated to the 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'.
It was cold but it wasn't windy. Living in England meant you had to get used to having crappy weather eleven twelfth of the time... If you were lucky that is [2]. The weather in England was something that most people would complain about but it was also something they'd talk a lot about.
It seemed like my timing was perfect because I came out to see Fred leaving the shop. He seemed startled when he saw me.
"Phoenix? Gosh, it's been a long time." He happily said as he strolled over to me. "Where's Cristal and Audrey?" I shook my head at him.
"I didn't come her for small talk. I'm sorry. I'd love to catch up but I came to ask you for a favour." "Yeah?" I nodded at him.
"It's about Audrey..."
A/N *whistle* Woah. Alright. I think I did pretty good for this chapter. Jk. I'm fricking hungry, obviously I did a bad job. Potentially...
I haven't had anything since breakfast which was a sandwich... I cri. It's like 4 20 so I can't have food for the next 40 minutes because the takeaway down the road opens at 5. Rip me.
Anyways, enough about my clearly crappy life. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I will *try* very hard not to make the next chapter as depressing as this one.
But, Fred's gonna be in the next chapter which decreased the depression of that chapter by 20% -
[1] Kushieda isn't a real surname as far as I'm concerned. I've checked on Google and there is no history of this name on there. I'm sorry if I've offended any Japanese people since I'm not really Japanese myself. If I have done anything to offend you please, let me know. But for the sake of this story and because of the fact that I love that surname let's just act like it sorta maybe kinda is.
[2] I may have slightly exaggerated the terrible weather in England but in my defence. It is terrible! Like right now it's cloudy and cold and stuff... IN THE MIDDLE OF JULY!
Right. Quick message to my co-author who I didn't inform about the existence of this fic to despite the fact that I messaged her like 30 times at 1 and she still hasn't seen my messages. I'm sorry Nemmie. No I see you rolling your eyes. Stop. No. It's not my fault you didn't read my messages Nems but I'm being the bigger person (despite the fact that I'm shorter) and saying sorry. Be happy.
Haha. Rate and review please.
-Leo