As a teen there will be many times in your life where you want to bash your head into a wall, repeatedly, over and over and over again. These periods of abusive activity may come from:

1. Too much school work.

2. Annoying siblings.

Or 3, your friend's not-so-private sex life (aka Damian's not-so-private sex life).

However, what you wouldn't expect from me, being a 16 year old teenage witch, is to experience the symptoms of extreme head bashing due to an 11 year old Hufflepuf. An annoyingly curious little girl, as a matter-of-fact, who you can't seem to get rid of because you're stuck in a hospital bed for the rest of the day. And she just so happened to be in the bed right next to you.

Fantastic.

"Does your foot still hurt?"

I groaned into my pillow when Hailey Dalton asked me the exact same question for the hundredth time.

"Yes. It hasn't changed since two minutes ago." I managed to get out between gritted teeth. I closed my eyes and prayed to Merlin she would just shut her mouth. I hadn't managed to take in so much as one minute of sleep.

Yesterday, after that horrible incident with James, my friends had decided to stay with me for a few more minutes. Since I'd for some reason completely lost my cool. I actually cried over Potter. It was a shock to all of us, trust me. But to be honest, It wasn't so much for Potter that I cried, it was more because of him. He made me feel like crap by blaming our lost on me.

I only allowed the self-pity for a few minutes, though. When I finally managed to get my shit together and realized the prick didn't deserve my tears, I told my friends that they should go back to their dorms or Madame Pomfrey would make sure to give them a reason to stay in their own hospital bed.

It was the crack of dawn when they left, and I was slowly falling asleep… until Madame Pomfrey introduced Hailey to the bed right next to mine. One of her roommates had jinxed her because she got sick of Hailey's incessant word vomits. Her face was turning a different color every time she so much as said a word.

You can imaging I'd seen all the colors of the rainbow by now.

"Are you sure?" Hailey spoke again, and for the hundredth time that morning, a loud groan escaped from between my lips. "Because you fell from so high! That looked bloody painful! I don't know what I would've done. I probably would've died. Wow. You're lucky to be alive. You must be really strong. I can't believe no one caught you. Although, James Potter did try, but you already hit the ground when he was by your side, gosh, and to think he almost caught the snitch if you hadn –"

"Enough!" I sat upward in my bed. "Don't you think I know that?!" Hailey looked shocked, her face was now colored in a light green. She looked absolutely ridiculous. "Don't you think I know it's my fault we lost the bloody match?"

Hailey just looked at me wide-eyed, a shocked expression on her face. For the first time since I met her, little Hailey Dalton was stunned and didn't know what to say.

"Ali… no one is saying that it's your fault Gryffindor lost. James Potter abandoned the Snitch, if he'd caught it – which he almost did – you would've won. You didn't make him. It's not your fault James Potter wanted to save you."

"I didn't ask him to save me. Besides, he didn't. I fell and hit my head anyway."

"He tried. Because James Potter is in love with you."

I almost chocked on nothing and made this really attractive sound that was something in between a snort and a chuckle. "He is not in love with me. He just likes to annoy the fuc –" I stopped talking, realizing I should probably not unleash my obscene vocabulary on an 11 year old. "I mean… he just likes to see me all worked up, you know?" I shrugged one shoulder and leaned back in the bed.

Hailey blinked. "Are you Aaliyah Martins?"

I raised one brow at her. She knew I was. I introduced myself when she came in looking like an inflated tomato this morning. I nodded my head.

"Then yes, it is you who James Potter is in love with."

I scrunched my nose. "Stop saying his full name it's weird."

Suddenly, Hailey's eyes sparkled. "But it's such a nice name. James Potter. It just rolls of my tong like… like –"

"Oh god." I rolled my eyes and let my head drop in my hands. "Don't tell me you have a crush on the bloke, too? You're eleven!"

"I have not!" she said very, very, high-pitched.

"Is that why your face is bright red?"

Hailey tried to cover her face with her hands. "You know it's a jinx."

Merlin, what was it about Potter that made him so popular with the opposite sex? Okay, sure, he was more good looking than the average 17 year old guy, and maybe he had this one dimple in his left cheek that only appeared when he smiled, which made his eyes sometimes look green instead of hazel, and okay, that Potter hair was always so annoyingly messy but somehow cute–

Erm… anyway.

I hit my head. Don't judge.

He was attractive on the outside only. That's what I was getting at.

"Ali?"

I looked up at the sound of a familiar voice calling my name.

Jacob was holding a flower in his right hand, going with his other through his hair, looking like he felt a bit uncomfortable.

I felt my face getting hot when I remembered my appearance. I hadn't slept for 24 hours, I probably looked worse than Damian when he was hung over. Which was basically his everyday look. But still.

"Jacob? What are you doing here?"

"Erm… isn't it obvious?" he sat at the end of my bed, placing the flower I now recognized as a yellow violet in my right hand.

I smiled, remembering how I'd told Jacob that yellow violets were my favorite flowers after working with hundredths of thousands plants in the greenhouse last week. I brought the flower to my face and inhaled. Even though I knew violets had idle to no scent.

"So, how are you feeling?" he asked, his eyes scanning every inch of my face.

"Aside from the lack of sleep, I'm fine." I shrugged, going with one hand over my head in the hope to fix the mess that was my hair. "Thanks for coming by the way. You shouldn't have gone through the trouble."

Jacob let out a small snort, his upper body moving up and down as he did so. "Of course I had to. I was worried. You fell from so high."

"That's what I said." Hailey pipped in. Jacob looked up, almost as if he'd only now noticed the little purple-faced girl in the bed next to me. "I'm Hailey by the way." She granted Jacob with a small wave and covered half her face with the hospital bedsheets when she noticed his brows almost hitting his hairline in surprise.

Being the polite young man he was, Jacob did not question Hailey's stay in the hospital or her colorful face. He just nodded his head in acknowledgment and focused his gaze back on me. A stormy grey connecting with an ocean blue.

"Are you sure this is the way you want to spend your Saturday morning? Most normal people are still asleep."

Jacob let out a short snort. "Normal people are boring. I drink Firewhisky, sleep with my socks on and listen to Basilisk Poison And the Make-believe Dusters. I'm such a rebel." He grinned.

I gaped at him. "You like BPMD?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "They are only like, the best wizard rock band ever."

"They're my favorite band too!" I laughed, not believing the coincidence.

Jacob placed his hand over his chest and looked at me wide-eyed. "I think I found my soul-mate."

"Yea, if only I'd known it took half a bottle of Firewisky, an owl, hitting on a professor and one detention to find you. I would've done it much sooner." I laughed, and ignored Hailey's sharp intake of breath from my left side.

Jacob shook his head thinking back about the night we met. "I don't think I ever laughed so hard before that night. You're funny when you're drunk."

"Funny, stupid, what's the difference, really?"

I laughed, I couldn't deny he was easy to talk to. Whenever we talked, it felt like I could just freely express myself, both in terms of thinking and what I was feeling, without worrying much about how he'd react and without me hesitating there for a moment, thinking whether or not I should be telling him this stuff. I'd only know him for a week or so but it certainly felt like so much more.

"Oh good, you're awake. I need to talk to you now that the boys aren't h- oh, hello." Rose had made it from the front door of the hospital wing to the side of my bed in less than 5 seconds. And seeing as my bed was the farthest away from the door, that was pretty impressive. She turned to Jacob. "W – who are you?"

"Erm..." To say that Jacob looked startled would be the understatement of the century. But of course, who could blame him, one minute Rose wasn't here and we were talking about our shared interest in rock bands and then suddenly – there she was in all her morning glory.

She looked better than a few hours ago, her eyes weren't puffy anymore and she at least fixed her hair (probably with one of her favorite spells), but the bags under her eyes suggested that she hadn't slept at all. I didn't even think she went to our dorm, she was still wearing the clothes of last night.

"Erm, Rose, this is Jacob, Jacob, this is-"

"Rose." He finished himself, a smile on his face and a sparkle in his grey eyes that made me forget about the terrible headache for a second. Just a second. "I know who Rose Weasley is... daughter of 2/3 of the Golden Trio and niece of the savior of the Wizarding World."

Right. Rose and I both just smiled awkwardly after that. Since I didn't grow up knowing who Harry Potter and his companions were or what they did, I didn't see in Rose's parents what other people saw. To me they were just normal people... who happened to have saved the world once when they were younger. Rose was an amazing person in my eyes, but not for the same reason she was for everyone else.

Jacob held out his hand to her and she took it, squeezing it slightly and letting it go again. "Nice to meet you." Well, at least he seemed cool about it. As opposed to Hailey who looked like she was about to explode from staring at the back of Rose's head.

"Erm, and Rose, that's Hailey." I waved at the spot behind her back. "My fellow inmate."

Rose laughed when she noticed the yellow faced-girl and waved at Hailey, who seemed to finally be able to breath. Seriously, Rose went to school here, along with the other 9 or so other Weasley kids, it wasn't like they never saw her before. The way people acted around Potter was probably even worse. People seemed to literally throw themselves at him. Not that the git minded or anything. I shook my head to get him out of my thoughts. He somehow always managed to pop up in there.

"Fellow inmate? You make it sound like a prison in here."

I shrugged. "Feels like it."

"And here I was believing I was making you feel better." Jacob grinned.

I grinned back, our gazes lingering a second longer than necessary. "You were."

"Oh, you're that Jacob." Rose exclaimed, her eyes finally catching the Ravenclaw badge on his chest.

I glared at her. Shut up..

Luckily, Jacob didn't seem to notice anything weird about her statement. "Are there any other Jacobs I don't know about? Because as far as I know there is only one of me in this school." He laughed.

"Are you sure? It is such a common name, I figured..." Rose pretended to care about this a second longer (which, granted, she was surprisingly good at) and then finally shrugged one shoulder, turning back to me. "I need to speak with you. Albus sent me, well, technically Scorpius sent me but-"

"That's who you were with the entire night? Scorpius?" My brows must've become one with my hairline in shock.

She shook her head vigorously. "No, no... only for an hour... or two, I was on my way to the dorm but then he saw me and needed to talk.. but whatever, the bloke is a surprisingly good listener if you ask me."

I blinked. "What did he need to talk about?" I sunk back in the bed. "Was it about the rumor?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, not that. We'd forgotten about that actually. Although," she glanced at Jacob who seemed to have no idea what this conversation was about anymore by the look on his face, and whispered through gritted teeth, "You still need to fix that."

I showed her my pinky finger. "I promise I'll get on it as soon as I'm out of here." I dropped my hand. "Now what did you need to tell me?"

"I- can't tell you now." Another glance in Jacobs direction made it painfully clear why.

Jacob seemed to notice and shook his head, grinning. "You two seem to have a lot to talk about. I'll leave you to it then. Nice to meet you Rose." He looked at me. "I'm glad you're alright. Just... promise you'll at least try to have some sleep."

I touched my cheeks when they turned a bit warmer. "That obvious?"

"Let's just say you don't look as... good. Which is something really hard to achieve for you." For a second there, I thought he was going to plant a kiss on my forehead, but he took comfort in squeezing my hand before he left the room with one last wink.

"Did he just call me…"

"Beautiful?" Rose gasped. "Who said chivalry is dead?"

I looked up at her. She was staring at the door Jacob just disappeared through. "I want one." She said. "Is there a Muggle website where I can order one like him? There must be, right?"

"Rose, you can't buy people of the internet. It doesn't work like that."

"Are you sure? Justin almost bought a dragon once."

"That's Justin. And a dragon is not a human." I rolled my eyes thinking about one of the many stupid things I had to help my brother out of before something terrible happened. "Now, what did you want to tell me?"

Rose turned her attention back on me. "Right. So, I was on my way to bed when I ran into Scorpius. Well, I didn't actually ran into him he was waiting for me-"

"He was waiting for you?"

"Yes, in front of the Fat Lady. He'd been there for half an hour-"

"Half an hour?"

"Yes. So, erm, the reason he was waiting for me was Al. Apparently, after Slytherin won Al felt so guilty for what he did. He told Scorpius his plan had been to distract James all along, so he could beat his brother to the Snitch. He just didn't realize he would hurt you in the proses."

I was stunned. Albus thought it was his fault I fell down? Everybody saw me pushing Spencer out of the way and getting hit by the Bludger. The part where Albus put his arm around me to get his brother's attention happened way before that… and had nothing to do with it. "He didn't do anything wrong. Technically."

Rose sat down on the bed. "That's not what he thinks. He's really beating himself up about it too. Scorpius told me Al even considered asking McGonagall for a rematch. But Scorpius talked him out of it because he'd rather swallow his tie than lose from Gryffindor." She smiled softly, in which I narrowed my eyes questionably at her but she ignored me.

"Still, it wasn't his fault."

"He thinks he put James on edge with that stunt he pulled. Since that moment on James couldn't get his eyes off of you."

I groaned, I was getting sick of Potter and this Quidditch game. Why did everything I did have somehow something to do with him? When people heard my name, they immediately connected it with Potter's. For once, I did something nice, I maybe even saved someone's life –even if that person was not worth saving- why couldn't they see that? I was getting sick of being James Potter's play toy.

"James did not fucking save me, Rose. I fell down. I hit my head. I sprained my ankle and Madame Pomfrey can't even find a bloody potion to fix that, so much for magic!" I yelled, letting all the frustration that had built up inside of me out. "I'm so sick of him. Why does Potter always have to be there? Even when he's not physically with us he's bloody with us. "Oh I saw him snogging a Ravenclaw on the first floor", "have you seen James' dive to catch the Snitch he's so good!" must I hear his name every hour of the bloody day!"

Rose just shrugged. "What did you expect, he's the saviors son."

"So is Al! But you don't see him running around doing every girl in this castle. Merlin, I don't even wanna guess how many girls James-"

"Ew stop. Cousin sitting right here."

"Sorry." I sighed. "It's just… so frustrating." I glanced at my friend. I noticed she wasn't wearing her hair in a messy bun like she always did. Her auburn hair fell down her shoulders and reached her lower back in thick, and shiny waves. And again, I narrowed my eyes at her. "How long exactly did you say you were with Scorpius?"

That question took her by surprise. "I don't know.. like, an hour or two?"

"It took him that long to tell you about Albus?"

"No. we talked about other stuff too."

"Stuff?"

"Yes, stuff. And then we went to the kitchen because we got hungry from all the talking-"

"Sure, talking."

Rose ignored me. "The lovely House elves made me a delicious sandwich. I think Scorpius ate a banana sandwich. Surprisingly good actua-."

"Rose, do you want people to believe the rumor about you two is real?"

"No. why would you even ask that?"

"Because I know you. There's a look in your eyes I've only seen once before."

Rose gasped and flicked my left arm that was resting next to her on the bedsheet. "There is no look!"

I shook my head, she was not getting away with denial. "There's a look. I don't blame you, he's quite a looker, but… just, did not expect for you to fancy someone like him. Although, your last crush surprised the hell out of me too-"

"I don't fancy Scorpius! And you promise you'd never talk about that again." She spat through gritted teeth, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Sure, you don't fancy him now. But come back to me in a few weeks from now, and all you'll be eating, breathing and sleeping is Scorpius Malfoy. Figuratively speaking of course." I paused. "Although maybe not just figurat-"

Rose's face turned a slight color of pink. "Don't you even dare finish that sentence."

"Your lives are so cool." Hailey interrupted our conversation. We'd completely forgotten she was even there. "I hope that one day, when I'm as old as you, I'll have at least half of the amount of boys that seek for your attention. Boys my age are so stupid. They think girls are gross. So immature. When I'm 16, I'll –"

"Hailey. Stop. Please." I was trying hard not to laugh at the words that left her mouth. I mean, if only she knew I'd only kissed one guy in my life… a muggle… when I was 14… in the summer. Boys 11 or 18, they were all stupid.

Rose smiled and shook her head. "Just… enjoy life while you still can. Why dwell on the future when you can live in the present?"

She did realize she was talking to a first year, right?

Rose turned back to me. "I think you should listen to Jacob and get some sleep. We'll talk later."

I smiled at her. "Sure, my friend, sure."

ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

Ghosts, witches & creatures of fright
don't miss the call of halloween night!

Saturday, october 31st, 8:00 pm
room of requirement

I threw the flyer back in Damian's face. "I'm not going."

Damian gasped. "What do you mean you're not going? Halloween is your favorite holiday!"

"Erm, I don't know if you've heard." I sat up straight in the couch I was laying on and made some room for Damian to sit down. "But I was in the hospital for like, an entire night and was only released an hour ago."

He rolled his eyes. "But you're better now, right?"

"Yea, but that doesn't mean I'm up and ready to go dance and drink you under the table."

"You don't have to dance. Just get up, have a drink or two, forget about everything that has to do with life for a second, and enjoy." He shrugged. "Oh and don't flatter yourself, you can't drink me under the table. You just can't drink, period."

I glared at him. And then I noticed the adjustments he'd made to his face. There was a jagged line running down from his forehead across his eyes and down to his cheek. It looked horrifyingly real and was terrifying, but somehow Damian managed to pull off the pink flesh showing through the scar, and the fake blood running down into the corner of his mouth.

"You look terrifying. What are you supposed to be?"

Damian ruffled his copper-blond hair and gestured to his ripped white shirt that was covered in fake blood. Conveniently, you could see his abdomen through the gaps. I rolled my eyes and laughed at his obvious doing.

He shrugged one shoulder. "Like a dead person or something."

"You mean a zombie?"

"Something like that, I don't know. Just come with me!"

Wha… he was going to a Halloween party not even knowing what he was dressed as? This guy was clearly just going for the drinks and girls. I sighed. "Just go with Louis or something."

Damian stomped his foot to the ground and pouted. "Ali-i-i! Louis is a terrible wingman. You have to go!"

I cocked my eyebrow at his childish response. "I'm crippled! I have to walk on a crutch, and I don't even have a costume."

Damian grabbed the wooden crutch Madame Pofrey had given me earlier from the ground. I didn't want to run around with that ugly thing under my arm, but standing on my own two feet was just not possible right now. "You'll go as a hospital patient." Damian shrugged.

"You aren't going to let go of this if I say no, are you?"

Damian's eyes twinkled, knowing he'd already won. "Nell and Louis are already there. Rose didn't want to go. Said something about not trusting herself with a blond devil after curfew. Whatever that means."

I grinned and pushed myself off the couch. "Let's go then."

ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

A guy I vaguely knew was in Slytherin was barricading the door. His arms crossed over his chest made the muscles on them stand out even more. The door to the room of requirement was wrapped in orange lights that looked like miniature pumpkins. At his feet lay three jack-o-lanterns aglow and flickering into the biting Halloween air. There was a sign on the door that was meant to scare people away while they still could… but all in all, it looked like an ordinary cheap Halloween party thrown by some teenagers who grasped every excuse to get drunk on a Saturday night.

"Stop." The buff guy at the door pushed his big hand in my face before I could take one more step.

Damian pulled me close to him. "It's okay Grant, she's with me."

The guy nodded his head in acknowledgment. Why wasn't I surprised these two knew each other? "I'm sorry, no entering if you're not in costume." Grant looked me up and down.

"I am wearing a costume. I'm dressed as an invalid muggle." I waved the crutch around to emphasize my words, but Damian pulled my arm back down before I could harm anyone else.

The buff guy eyed me wearily. "That's not a costume. You're wearing jeans and a top."

"Well, I don't know if you know this but… that's what muggles actually wear."

"Don't play dumb with me." one of his biceps twitched, and for a second I regretted opening my mouth, but then I looked at his face and wondered whether he had enough functioning brain cells to know how to use those muscles. Probably not.

"I'm not trying to play dumb. Muggles dress as wizards and witches on their Halloween, why can't I dress as one of them?"

"Look, Grant, she's had a hard day. I managed to bring her along last minute so she doesn't have a costume. Just let her in."

"Then throw on a mini-skirt and draw some whiskers on your face. You're not getting in unless you're ready to meow, check my pulse or suck the blood out of my neck."

I gaped at him. Was he being serious? "Is every girl in there a sexy cat, slutty nurse or dirty vampire?" I turned to Damian, who seemed to try very, very hard not to laugh. "I don't even know if I want to go to this party anymore."

A group of five people had arrived behind us and by the sound of it they did not appreciate having to wait behind the zombie/dead guy and the idiot who didn't even bother to dress up at a Halloween party.

"Look, Grant, I'm a muggle. See, I don't even have my wand on me."

Buff guy gasped. "Y- you don't have your wand with you?" he whispered.

I shook my head no.

"Wow, that's some scary shit. Just… go in."

He opened the door to let us in, and for a second we were standing in a dark, quiet room, until Grant closed the door behind him and the room transformed into a hurricane of people drinking and dancing around us.

The music was so loud I could almost feel it pulse inside my body, pressing my lungs together to mush. The bass thumped in time with my heart beat as though they were one, filling me from head to toe with music. I recognized the song that was playing, and couldn't help but be annoyed at the crutch under my arm. I wished I could just dance.

Over the roar of music, a distant, hazy chatter could be heard. I couldn't make out any words, but laughter rang in my ears and wouldn't seem to stop.

"I knew I'd regret this the minute I walked in." I told Damian, eyeing the people around us who were actually dressed in a costume. To my immense relief, not every girl in here was half-naked. Some of them actually managed to put together an awesome costume.

"Don't be ridiculous. You'll have fun! Starting with a drink!" Damian rubbed his hands together and stretched his neck in search for some drinks.

I eyed the orange solo cups everyone was holding and shook my head. My last drinking experience did not go so well so I'd have to try and refrain from making a total idiot out of myself in front of these people.

"Nah, I think I'll avoid the alcohol tonight."

Damian pouted jokingly. "Oh, man, and here I was looking forward to drunk Ali."

"Yes, I hear she's very amusing." I said dryly and his eyes gleamed with mischief. Damn it. I literally just walked into this one.

"As long as there're no owl's or swoon-worthy Ravenclaws around, you'll be fine."

Groaning, I hid my face with my hands. He was never going to let me live that one down.

"I'm only kidding." Damian wrapped his arm around my waist and escorted me through the sweaty moving bodies on the dancefloor until we reach a familiar pair. One dressed as an old president of the States and the other a not-so-modest bumble bee.

"Waw, Nell, you really didn't hold back this year." I eyed my friends naked thighs and knee-length stockings. The yellow-black dress she wore covered just enough of her skin. It wasn't absolutely scandalous, but not exactly the dress you'd want to wear to your grandmas 80th birthday party.

Nell smiled, her green eyes sparkling with kindness at my words. I always loved how much she appreciated the small things in life like a simple complement from a friend, or pancakes on a Saturday morning. "I've been going through my wardrobe lately. I like the change."

Louis puffed behind the ridicules black beard that was covering half his face. "Yeah, we've notice-"

I jabbed Louis in his side before Nell could hear him and smiled back at her. "Well, as long as you're happy with who you are, that's great."

"Mate, who the hell are you supposed to be?" Damian's question was clearly meant for Louis, but his attention was elsewhere whilst scanning the room, probably looking for a sexy elf to give a piece of his clothing later on.

"Abraham Lincoln." Louis fixed the hat on his head that seemed to keep falling over his eyes. "Only one of the most iconic men to have ever lived. Not that I was expecting for you to know anything about muggle history."

"That's great, but I can see a lost kitten who can use my attention right now." And with that, Damian turned around and disappeared in the crowd.

"And I have to go look for someone." Nell grinned.

Louis' orange cup stopped halfway towards his lips when he turned to Nell. "Who?"

Nell shrugged and glanced at me. "The person who invited me to come here in the first place. Oh, there he is – I'll see you guys later!"

"Wh- it's a he?"

I grabbed Louis' arm before he could do something stupid like run after Nell and declare his love for her in a tipsy state like this. "Leave her. Don't let it ruin this night." I whispered, not feeling like having to deal with another Louis-heartbreak. "Let's just go dance."

I put my crutch against the nearest wall and dragged Louis onto the dancefloor just when a slow song started to play. Perfect, slow songs meant you only had to sway your hips left and right. No jumping required.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and let him lead. It didn't really help him cheer up, but at least he wasn't thinking about running after Nell anymore. His hands were on my waist, and finally his eyes focused on mine.

I grinned at his Lincoln beard. "I know you like to be your own thing, but, Abraham Lincoln? Really?"

He just shrugged and pulled the hat back in its place. "I didn't plan to go. I only went because…"

"Because Nell got invited and you wanted to be with her?" I finished for him.

Louis gave me a look. "You know, I'm still not really comfortable openly speaking about this with you. and I never even confessed anything."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "Oh please, even a blind troll can see you have feelings for her. Deep, passionate and strong feelings."

"I don't know about the adjectives, but I decided not to argue with a handicapped person." I flicked his forehead at that, but he ignored it. "How are you feeling? And I don't just mean the injury. I mean everything. Did you read that letter yet?"

I played with a loose strand of Abraham's beard to avoid to look anywhere but in his yes. "No. I gave it to Damian. He'll give it to me when I'm ready."

Louis raised on of his brows, and I smiled at how silly they looked in contrast with the black beard on his face. "And when is that exactly?"

"I don't know. When I tell him I guess."

"Well, isn't this cute."

My back stiffened as Louis' arms tightened around me. We were just swaying on the dance floor along with lots of other people, and I was more than happy in our own little bubble. I did not need to hear that voice again. After what had transpired last night in the hospital wing, I'd doubted hearing the voice again so soon.

"You're drunk." Louis noted and I was too scared to turn around and face the person standing behind me. If anything I shrunk further into Louis' side to seek support. I was not one for confrontation and that was exactly what was coming up next.

"And you look too comfortable with something that doesn't belong to you in the first place."

"What the hell are you talking about, James?"

"I'm talking about the knife you're planting in my back, cousin."

I turned around, holding onto Louis' arm for support. James was standing there, orange cup in hand and a look on his face I wasn't sure I should be scared of or feel sorry for.

"Ali and I are just friends, you know that." Louis replied, trying to keep his voice down so the people around us wouldn't hear.

People were starting to stare, waiting for the drama to begin. It was like they felt a sick sense of satisfaction watching these two guys, who basically grew up together, yell at each other. I knew that Potter was only acting like this because of the alcohol. Yes, these two weren't so close but they always had each other's backs when necessary. Why wasn't someone stopping them?

Oh right, because I had to.

"Leave us alone, Potter. You're causing quite a scene." I hissed.

Of course he just ignored me. "I'm not surprised you didn't dress up. Although I did secretly hope to see you all covered in black leather tonight. Or none at all."

One of Potter's friends took a step forward from the crowd. I remembered him as the one who actually stood up for me during breakfast. "C'mon, James, you don't want to do thi-"

"Shut up, Cole. I'm sick of you trying to watch out for me. You're not my brother. You're no one." James spat, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for Cole, on who all the eyes were now fixated. A frown appeared on his face, and with one last shake of his head, he glared at his friend and pushed away through the crowed.

James pursed his lips and cocked his head to look me up and down. "Now where were we?"

That was it.

All it took for Potter to make my blood boil, to make me this unbelievably angry, was look at me like I was… like I was another trophy he needed to make his collection complete. A possession. A something, instead of a someone. That was what I was to him.

"Potter, you have no right to act this way after what you said. You made it abundantly clear you were mad at me. Then leave me alone. I'd much rather you hate me and not speak to me than to go back to your stupid game. You're drunk. Go home and sleep it off." I said, my voice sharp and cold to make sure he understood where I was coming from.

But his eyes were too glassed over for me to make out any sense of comprehension. "Oh, I am mad at you, Martins. I'm really mad." He moved forward, almost tripping over his own feet in the process. I'd never seen James as drunk as this. "I'm mad we lost because I got distracted. I'm mad, because you fucked up my future because of it."

He moved even closer, and I wasn't sure why, but I let go of Louis' arm when he tried to pull me away from Potter. James grabbed my shoulders, his eyes dark from all the alcohol I could smell he'd been consuming. "I'm mad, because you have me in the palm of your hand, ready to crush me whenever you want… and you don't even know it." He whispered.

His chest rose and fell rapidly as his dark eyes met mine. I saw the sorrow in them, the begging and pleading. Forgetting about where we were for a moment, I couldn't bring myself to feel angry anymore. I didn't know what it was he saw in my eyes but the torment on his face seemed to go away, leaving only remorse behind.

"James," I whispered, and I could see his eyes light up, almost as if a spark of hope flickered inside of him, shooting electricity through his alcohol poisoned veins. I touched the side of his face with the tip of my fingers. "I don't understand why I have to keep telling you this. But I guess… if you don't listen to me when I'm yelling at you, when I'm mad at you, maybe you'll listen when I'm calm." I whispered, pushing his loose hair behind his left air slowly. His grip tightened on my shoulders, almost as if he was afraid I'd run away before finishing what I had to say.

"You will never have me." I dropped my hand. "So, why don't you make it easier for the both of us. And just leave me alone?"

It took him more than a second to register my words. And once he finally did, his hands dropped down, one of them indecently touching mine, and the sudden feeling of his skin made me jump.

His frown deepened when he noticed the reaction I had to the physical contact. His eyes searched mine again, the connection between us barely a fraction of a second but in that brief snap shot of time, it was as if a secret had been told. One he wasn't even so sure of himself. He opened his mouth, and my name was playing at the tip of his tongue, but then we were disconnected.

The music was still playing, so it was impossible for people to have heard what I said, but somehow – as if Louis did hear me, he grabbed me by the arm, pulling me away from Potter and the people around us.

I could finally breath when we pushed passed Grant into the corridor. I leaned against the wall and dropped to the floor.

"That party was a mistake." Louis sighed.

"I knew I shouldn't have listened to Damian." I answered, ignoring the small part inside of me that wanted to run back inside and listen to what James Potter was about to tell me.

A.N.: HAPPY A FEW DAYS AFTER HALLOWEEN!

Has it been too long? I think it has. Well, here's a new chapter! Did ya like it? Was it worth the wait? Nah? Ok. S'cool. Whatever… uhum.

Since it technically is a holiday and most people have the week off, I am in a festive mood! :) After reading & responding to your reviews I realized I liked to get to know my readers better. So, therefore, I have a few questions I'd like you to answer (you are in no way obligated to answer them if you don't want to).

1.1. How old are you? (I know this is an M rated fic, for obvious reasons, but don't know how far into the world of profanity I can take this story… and let's be real for a sec, most of y'all aint 17 yet. And of course everybody no matter what age, gender, color, whatever, is forever welcome to this story!)

2.2. Where are you from? (It always amazes me to hear back from people all around the world. I love how our mutual love for fanfiction can bring so many people together!)

P.S.: let's finish this awkward/long arse A.N. with one more question that's actually relevant to the story: Who do you think Rose used to have a secret crush on? Hehee : I'd love to read some theories.

Until next time lovelies!