"If I didn't know any better," Blaise Zabini said in a low voice, "I'd say you were trying to avoid me."
Sitting down across from Elpis, he smiled. The hard expression on her face didn't change as she looked up at him.
"Good thing you know me so well."
Taking a deep breathe, the dark-skinned boy leaned forward across the table, working to keep his voice down.
"I knew to find you here," he rebutted confidently. "Because I know this is your favorite spot in the library."
"Sounds like something a stalker would say," she replied, not looking up from the parchment in front of her. Dipping her quill into the ink, she continued to write. Blaise smirked, leaning back in his seat.
"I myself don't have a preferred place in this particular part of the castle," he continued. "It's a bit drab for me. But if I had to choose, I see what's appealing about it, especially for you."
"Glad to see you being so wonderfully open-minded," she said, her voice monotone. "Good for you, Zabini."
"I know you don't like being noticed."
Watching her, he saw her eyelashes flutter, the hand that held her quill hesitating over the next word on her parchment.
"So you're an expert on me now, huh?" she said, anger rising in her tone. Blaise was taken back, furrowing his brow.
"Look, I-"
"No, you look," Elpis interrupted, slamming her palms down on the table as she looked him square in the eyes. Her voice was a strained hush, and he could tell she wanted to scream but was restraining herself. "Ever think about why I might not like getting noticed? Ever think maybe it's people like you and your buddies that I'm hiding from?"
Breathing deeply, she leaned back in her seat, a tired expression replacing the vicious knit of her eyebrows and flames in her eyes. Suddenly, she stood, quickly packing her things.
"Wait," Blaise said, standing as she began to rush away. He followed after her, easily keeping up with her quick steps with long strides of his own. Turning around as they came to the grand wood doors of the library, he blocked her path, holding his hands out to her.
"I know we've made a habit of it, but you don't always have to run off when-"
Ducking under his arms, Elpis pushed the doors open, walking past him without a backward glance. Groaning internally, he jogged after her.
"Elle," he called out pleadingly.
"Don't call me that!" she said, turning around to face him for a moment.
"That's what you told me to call you," the tall boy said simply, tilting his head as he raised an eyebrow.
"That was stupid of me," Elpis said quietly, almost to herself, her eyes flickering away from where his had met hers. "My mistake."
She turned around again, walking away from him.
"Are you going to make me chase you around the entire bloody castle, Elpis?" Blaise asked exasperatedly. "Because I will."
"Just don't say my name. Period. And I never asked you to chase me," she responded, aggravated. Turning down a corridor, one side with stone archways open to a snow-dusted courtyard, Elpis wrapped her arms tighter around the book she held to her chest.
"Please," Blaise said finally, reaching out and touching her shoulder. "Just stop."
Staring at the ground, she did stop. It was the first time she had heard him say something so gently, a desperation in his voice she didn't recognize. Slowly turning around, she faced him. With a sigh, Elpis rolled her eyes, putting her book away into her bag.
"What do you want, Blaise?" she asked, genuine confusion in her voice. She lifted her eyes to meet his, and there such emotion in them that the Slytherin boy felt his breath catch. Clearing his throat, he straightened his back, pulling his hand away from where it hovered in the space between them.
"If you had given me a chance," he said sternly, "you would've seen that I was trying to apologize."
"Oh, so it's my fault," Elpis responded irritatedly, her temper snapping like a thread pulled too tight at the reprimanding tone in his voice. "Of course it is! You're right. I should have been able to read your mind. You were so obviously coming to apologize. It's not like you've ever given me a reason to think otherwise! Right?"
Clenching his fists and groaning, Blaise turned around, dragging his hands down his face. With a huff, he turned to face her again, marching forward.
"You are the most infuriating woman I've ever met!" he shouted. Elpis raised her chin at him, her face stern.
"Right back atcha, Princess!" she shouted, scowling at him. Closing his eyes with a clenched jaw, Blaise sighed, the moment of anger leaving his body.
"I wanted to say..." he started, looking up at her with a calm face. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."
Her shoulders slumping and her arms uncrossing, Elpis looked into his eyes, her expression softening. She didn't know how to respond to the tenderness in his tone, an ache spreading in her chest like the icy winter air on her skin. Blaise saw a strange sadness deep down in her eyes.
"That was pretty awful what… they did the other day."
"Yep," she replied bluntly, straightening her back.
"You handled it pretty well," he said, smiling lopsidedly at her.
"I'm used to it," she said, no amusement in her voice. Instead, her face was placid, a severity to her features. "It didn't surprise me."
Blaise furrowed his brow slightly.
"I don't agree with them," he said after a moment of silence. He studied Elpis, wishing he could see what she was really thinking, as he got the impression that all her words were thought out, that there was always something more that she wanted to say but wouldn't. And he was right.
A small smile came to her face, touched by the sincerity in his voice, but it disappeared as quick as it came, and she softly shook her head, taking a step back, away from him.
"I don't think that matters," she said. Confusion came to the face of the boy in front of her.
"How can it not matter?" Blaise asked, letting out an exasperated laugh. Elpis frowned, wishing she didn't have to upset him. Then her sadness turned to anger, and she clenched her jaw.
"It just doesn't, okay?" she shouted, her hands balling into fists. She turned around, beginning to march away again, but Blaise ran forward, stopping in front of her. His hands shot up to her arms, and suddenly, he was holding her, closing the distance in between them. Though they were strong, his hands were gentle as they held her, keeping her there. And though her mind was screaming at her to pull away, to fight him, Elpis didn't. She would never admit it to herself, but she didn't want to.
"You don't understand," she said, her hand holding his wrist. As her fingers found the skin beneath the sleeve of his sweater, Blaise could feel the plea in them. With a sigh, he slowly lowered his hands, tracing them down her arms.
"I understand us," he said simply. She looked up him, a hint of surprise in her eyes, and blinked, looking out to the white courtyard.
"Don't be ridiculous," she denounced admonishingly.
"You know, just because you're a know-it-all Ravenclaw, it doesn't mean you know everything," Blaise said, stepping even closer to Elpis; there were only inches between their faces.
"That was a contradictory sentence," she interjected bluntly. Seeing the look of indignation on her face, he smiled.
"I mean that in the best way," Blaise said, lowering his voice. His hand slowly went up to her cheek, brushing her dark curls over her shoulder. He could feel her tense up beneath his touch, noticing the small, inconspicuous breath she took.
"You," he continued slowly, his other hand delicately finding her waist, "are a clever, strong, absolutely maddening, and beautiful girl."
Looking into her deep brown eyes, he added, "Very beautiful, if I may say."
Elpis stared up at him, her mouth agape ever so slightly, and she took a deep breath, her body against his. He lowered his face, studying hers, and felt her chest rise and fall. To his surprise, she shook her head, averting her eyes to his shoulder.
"We can't be anything," she said, bringing her hands up to his chest. She meant to push away, but couldn't bring herself to, her self-loathing growing by the second.
'Stop,' Elpis shouted at herself, looking up at his lips. 'End this right now.'
"Don't you think it's a bit late for that?" Blaise replied, smirking as he brought his face closer towards hers. "If it's really the truth, then tell me you feel nothing. Tell me you don't feel the connection we have. Tell me you have absolutely no feelings for me."
As his lips hovered less than an inch away from hers, she opened her mouth to speak. When no words came out, he gently rested his forehead against hers.
"I'm not hearing anything," he said softly, almost in a whisper.
Elpis furrowed her brow, her fingers closing around the fabric of his sweater.
Just like that, his lips were against hers. She held her breath, her eyes closed, but soon relaxed in his embrace, her hands moving up and her arms wrapping around his neck.
'This is a bad idea!' she screamed mentally. 'This is a really bad idea.'
Yet despite what she knew was logical, nothing had ever felt so right. Blaise let his hand travel from her cheek, his fingers intertwining with her soft hair. She went onto her tip toes, pulling him down towards her as she kissed him back, their lips feeling as if they were sculpted for each other's as they danced. And Elpis didn't even recognize what he was doing with his tongue, but she was enjoying every second of it. Going flat on her feet again and unwrapping her arms from around his neck, Elpis finally pushed herself away, covering her mouth with her hand as she stumbled backwards.
"You're right," Blaise said smugly, holding up his hands. "I can really tell how much you don't like me."
"Shut up," Elpis replied, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder and erasing the look of shock on her face.
"You may have been able to deny it all before, but that just proved it. You fancy me."
"That didn't prove anything," she responded, walking away. This time, Blaise didn't follow, a bright grin on his handsome face.
"I'll see you soon," he called after her.
"This wasn't an invitation!" Elpis called back, stopping before she turned the corner, a serious expression on her face. "Like I said, my mistake."
Standing there alone in the snowy corridor, Blaise smirked to himself, recalling the softness of her lips and warmth of her skin. Her sweet scent lingered on him, and he looked down at his hands, remembering the way she had felt beneath his touch.
"Until next time, Elle," he said, turning around with a smile on his face.
