A/N: Hello again! This little oneshot is the result of a small challenge that I set myself. I wanted to see if I could tell a story in less than 500 words, using predominantly dialogue, and without mentioning the names of the characters in the narrative. This is the result.
If you fancy having a go at this challenge yourself, please do and let me know (either by review or PM) and I will read and review! In the meantime feedback is encouraged and very much welcomed (and appreciated).
I hope you enjoy this little oneshot.
serenarian1 x
Obsession
She stared at him across the office; her brown eyes glowing with barely-suppressed anger. "Do you really think that I will do such a thing?"
"I don't know – why don't you enlighten me?" he asked sarcastically.
She flushed. "How dare you –"
"I hardly think it's a cardinal sin," he bit. "I mean, it's not like I'm asking you to break the law."
"This is worse!"
He rolled his eyes, biting down on his bottom lip. "I'm actually hurt," he retorted. "We have worked together now for how long? Six years? And yet you still seem to see me as some kind of social pariah…"
"It's not that, and you know it!" Her voice had risen a couple of octaves and he grimaced. She fixed him with a stern glare, and he motioned for her to continue. "I just – it's too soon for me to be seen out. Especially with you."
He sat down heavily behind his desk. "Your husband has been dead for nearly a year. Nobody in their right mind would be expecting you to still be in mourning…"
She shook her head, her eyes misting over. "You know as well as I do what they're like. They will never accept me moving on with my life in any way, shape or form. Being seen in public with another man will never be a good thing."
He stared at her, his grey eyes clouding over with unreadable emotion. She was so damn beautiful. He wanted to reach out and run his hands through her crazy hair. He had wanted to do so for years – since he had been lucky enough to be employed as her partner in the Auror office at the Ministry. Their relationship had started out as pure unadulterated hostility and had gradually progressed to a friendship. Recently though, he found himself wanting more. He couldn't remember how he had begun to find her attractive – only that he knew he did. They had shared an unexpected kiss at the last New Year's party in the Atrium; but since then she had fought him tooth and nail at every turn when he tried to take their relationship out of the friend zone.
Breaking off his thoughts suddenly, he rubbed his face anxiously. "The crux of it is that you don't want to, that's the issue isn't it? If you really did then you would just shut up, shut the door and say fuck it to everything…"
She had been staring at him silently throughout his tirade. The rest of his words were drowned out by her abruptly closing the door.
