A/N: Written for HP darkarts Bloody Valentine 2016 on LJ. As long as CHARACTER keeps her/his eyes closed, she/he doesn't have to be reminded that she/he isn't with the one she/he really wants.

In, out. In, out. It is all very simple, yet so very complicated. In, out. A moan sounds from her mouth, echoing through the room like a ghost—a ghost of the girl he loves, but can't have. In, out. She told him she would leave him if he didn't get his act together, but he hadn't believed her. In, out. She was angry—she always said things she didn't mean when she was angry—so he had not taken any of her words to heart, though, looking back, he probably should have. In, out. The next day, all of her things were gone and he couldn't find her anywhere in the house. In, out.

Lee collapses on top of Angelina, both of them spent. His hand runs down her side and plays with her breast for a moment before he lets it fall to the bed. A hand to his shoulder is all it takes to get him to roll off of her. She does not waste any time with words. Instead, she stands and gathers her clothes. Lee knows that both of them are chasing ghosts.

Lee's habit of drinking and staying out in pubs all night started after they broke up. Unable to deal with the loss of yet another person he loved, he took to drinking. The numbness it offered him was soothing for a little while, but later proved that it would not be enough. The girls came afterward. Tons and tons of girls. He was unable to stop once he started. Angelina was the third girl in the past two days.

He ran into Angelina in a Muggle pub where he thought that he would not be recognized. Instead of looking pathetic drinking alone, they retreated to a dark corner together, drowning their ghosts in liters of Muggle whiskey. With too much alcohol in their systems, they made their way back to Lee's current place of residence. Their lips meant skin and clothes were shed quickly. Shagging Angelina hadn't given him the satisfaction he had thought it would. It only reminded him of her—perhaps a bit too much.

As Angelina reaches down to pick her purse up, Lee asks, "How's George?"

He asks because he is curious about how his best mate is doing, even though he has not seen him in ages. He thinks that perhaps Angelina might know since she was always a bit closer with Fred and George in school. Once again, he is wrong. The look that appears on her face is one of surprise, like she has forgotten that George even exists now that Fred is gone. Her dark brown eyes widen before filling with tears as she rushes out the room.

Lee flops back on the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes. It seems that he has ruined yet another relationship. After a few minutes of feeling sorry for himself, he checks the time and proceeds to dress himself. Apparating, he reappears moments later in front of a small house in a Muggle neighborhood. The rain that is falling fits his mood perfectly. Once he reaches her house, he stands in the shadows watching her be happy.

Alicia flips her long black hair over her shoulder and takes the baby that her sister offers her. She would be a good mother, he thinks. Of course, this thought leads to one of him and Alicia a few years down the road with a child of their own. He chokes on his own tears because his wish is never going to come true. The only way he can feel Alicia again is to have another girl under him, close his eyes, and pretend that it's her. The fantasy never lasts long, but is bliss while it does last.

So, even though it nearly kills him, Lee returns to the dark alley he appeared in and Disapparates to some other Muggle pub to get drunk and find another girl to shag. Perhaps, he will be able to find a girl with long black hair like Alicia's.