Wow, BIG apology for not uploading in forever! I actually wrote this back in October, but never got around to posting it what with school work and my social life. Plus visiting universities. Anyway, I'm sure you don't care about that but I do actually have something to say. I haven't decided who I want Sasha to end up with yet, so I figured I'd ask the readers. It will probably play a big factor in who I couple her with, so please take a moment to add a comment about who you think Sasha would be best with. Thanks so much, and I'll try to up date faster. Enjoy! ^^
Sasha dropped her bags by the side of her bed, an action mimicked by both Dane and Lena, although the latter dropped her bag next to her own bed.
"I promised Phil I'd help out with the play later on. Later on meaning now and helping out meaning sitting around while she stresses out about the casting list. You kids play nice, now," commanded Lena, wagging her finger like some school teacher would to a five year old child.
When the door clicked behind her, Sasha turned to Dane, smiling. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Hey, Dane?"
"Yes?"
"I like you, and I want to be your girlfriend."
His hair was curling a little as his hair dried from the rain. Sasha pushed it back from his face so she could better see his eyes. She noticed, not for the first time, that his eyes had tiny flecks of gold around the utterly black centre that was his pupil.
He groaned. "Don't be such a tease," he said playfully.
"How am I being a tease?"
"I would love for you to be my girlfriend, but I think we both know that can't happen."
"Do we now?" Sasha said mysteriously.
Dane's face changed from playful to serious in a heartbeat. "Did you and the werewolf come to a decision?"
"Don't call him 'the werewolf," Sasha whispered as she played with the collar of Dane's robes. "And yes, we did. We're going to get married."
Dane shook his head with his eyes closed tight. "Then why are you telling me this?"
"Because he also said I could date whoever I wanted."
Dane's eyes flashed open. "What, so we can share you? Sasha, I want all of you or nothing," he said, his voice rising. "I can't do this anymore. I hurts too much. I - no," he corrected himself, pointing at Sasha's chest, "- you keep getting my hopes up, and then thing never work out. Sasha, I'm sorry." He started for the door.
"Dane, wait!" Sasha cried. Things were not working out the way she had planed. "I wouldn't be his, I would be yours."
"Did I misunderstand or did you not just say you were getting married to this guy?" Dane said coolly as he turned his head a little, not a foot from the door.
"I know it sounds weird, but we wouldn't really be together. And he said we could get divorced. Dane, please..."
Sasha hated herself as she felt hot, salty tears starting to fill her eyes. Dane on the other hand seemed concerned enough to turn around when he heard her wobbly voice beg plead to him. It just seemed so unfair that after everything that happened, she still couldn't be with Dane. He walked over to her and gently wiped the tears away with his thumb. He then carefully pulled her head into his warm chest.
"Hey you," he said in an unusually soft voice, "no tears. I'm sorry I got so mad. I'm a git, what can I say?"
"No, you're not a git. But... you do care about me, don't you?"
"Of course I do."
"Then if we have a chance of being together, even for a little while, shouldn't we at least try?"
Dane sighed, considering the offer. "To be perfectly honest, I don't think I could not be with you."
Sasha felt a smile spread across her face. She continued to cry, but now they were tears of joy. She felt as happy as when Lupin told her she was free to date Dane, scarcely an hour ago.
"How did I get so lucky?"
Dane laughed, "Sash, you're a lot of things, but lucky isn't one of them." Sasha ripped her head away from his chest to look up at him.
"You're one to talk. You know what they say; breaking a wand brings seven years bad luck."
"If this is bad luck," Dane said as he squeezed Sasha closer, "I don't want good luck."
*****
"Ha!" squealed Lena excitedly. "I can wait to see the look on her face when she reads this!"
"Hey, you got a part, too, Lena!" said Sasha, pointing at her friend's name on the audition results which was posted outside the dance room.
"Is it a good one?" asked Lena, mildly interested.
"Beatrice?" came an awestruck voice from behind them. Then, angrily, "You can't even act! And Hero?" Callista snapped, turning to Sasha. "I heard your audition! It was rushed, and sloppy, and... pathetic!"
"If mine was so sloppy, why did I get the female lead?"
Callista turned a violent shade of red. "Well, maybe it has something to do with the fact that one of your best friends is the director."
"Mrs. Graham is the one who approves all the casting roles, not Phil, in case you've forgotten. I'm simply better than you, so you might as well accept it."
A sly grin spread across Callista's face. "At least my father loves me."
Sasha's eyes widened, but she otherwise remained motionless. The remark was so out of the blue, she couldn't even think of a response for it. Callista smiled even more at her silence. She pushed Sasha aside to take a look at the audition sheet.
"Margaret, huh? Well, I'm sure Mrs. Graham will think better of it once we get into rehearsals." With that she turned on her heels and left.
"Don't even think about her," said Lena, softly. "She isn't worth the time."
"Yeah. Let's just go to class."
"Okay," agreed Lena.
They walked to Etiquette in silence. Sasha focused her attention on not stepping on any of the cracks in the brick path. Even as she tried to ignore the world, she could sense Lena's silent agitation beside her. Once they passed the pomegranate trees which flanked the doors of the etiquette building, Sasha decided to speak. More specifically, to lie.
"I'm not bothered, Lena, really."
Lena answered quickly, in a rush, as if she waited for Sasha to say something before she spoke. "Good, because Callista Prewett is a slimy toe rag. Additionally, I don't believe for one second that you're not bothered, but if it helps you sleep at night..."
Sasha smiled and playfully pushed Lena. "Who needs a loving father, anyway, when I have you?"
"Aw, thanks, hun," Lena said as she held the class room door open for Sasha. The room was full of easels complete with canvas. The previous week they had started watercolour painting. "Which reminds me," Lena continued as they sat down. "Reading week is coming up and I was wondering if you wanted to come to my house since your mum is in Africa."
"Actually, Dane already asked me to stay with him," Sasha said, smiling shyly.
"Ohhh!" Lena cooed. "Say no more."
"Maybe we could make an appearance one day, though?"
"Please do! It's going to be so boring, all alone. Well, not all alone. My cousin is coming to stay with us," she lamented.
"Matilda?" Sasha asked in horror.
"The one and only. Thank Merlin. I would love to snip off those stupid red pigtails while she's asleep."
"I wouldn't do it. She'd plan out some horrible retaliation, probably involving blackmail. Why is she staying with you anyway?"
"Her parents are trying to integrate her into the wizarding world. I know her mom at least is muggle. Personally, I think they're just trying to get rid of her."
"I thought all of your family was pure blood?"
"Most of them are. I don't know, pure blood family trees are always really confusing. I think I'm even related to Callista somehow if you can believe it. Your mom's side is pure blood, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but in Russia they didn't really do that incest thing to keep the blood lines pure, so it's not nearly as confusing as it is in England. Accio Sasha's paint supplies," Sasha flicked her wand unconsciously. Lena did the same.
The six cakes of watercolour paint Sasha had used the previous week floated gracefully to her, followed by a cup of water and two sizes of paint brushes. She placed them on a small table beside her. Sasha lifted her head to stare at the bowl of fruit they were supposed to paint, full of determination. Last week's painting had been a dismal failure, but not this one. She got to work quickly, and, by the end of class, was left with no doubt in her mind that painting was not her thing.
She also noted, jealously, that it was Lena's thing. Within the 40ish minutes, Lena had completed the painting which would take the rest of the class the better half of a week to complete. She had rendered the fruit bowl perfectly and just looking at it gave Sasha a serious craving for grapes. Priscilla Hyde even gave a contemptuous 'humph' as Professor Mullberry doted over Lena's painting. But of course, Priscilla 'humphed' over a lot of things.
In history of magic, Sasha was finally able to start memorizing her script, reading it from under her desk. The constant drone of Professor Burnsbridge, lecturing the class about the power crazed squib, Rasputin, hardly registered to Sasha. She was absolutely devouring the script, and thankfully so, since the first rehearsal was that evening. She only managed to tear herself away when Lena kicked her leg, signaling that they had to go to care of magical creatures.
It would have been almost impossible to read the script during care of magical creatures since the class was doing field work, studying a minotaur in its natural habitat: a labyrinth fifty feet under the school. As a result, Sasha had to satisfy herself with running the lines she knew through her head, over and over again. Lunch couldn't have come sooner. Sasha eagerly followed the rope Professor Rutts had dragged down with them. Eventually, the faithful old rope did indeed lead her back to the surface.
Sasha swallowed a lungful of fresh air, gratefully. The bright sun stung her eye's a little, but they'd adjust soon enough. Other girls stumbled out of the crude hole nestled in the roots of a large jacaranda tree, covering their blinded eyes. Sasha couldn't get enough of the purple flowers. She vaguely wished her mother would put a spell on her gardens back home that would make everything always in bloom. But her mother couldn't. Her mother was in Africa.
"Alright class! I want a one foot essay on the domestic tendencies of the minotaur for tomorrow. That's all. Class dismissed," Professor Rutts barked in her gruff voice.
"Domestic tendencies? Does that include chasing a class of terrified girls around in a glorified cave?"
"Maybe she meant all the cleaning he clearly doesn't do."
"Typical men," Lena sighed.
"Typical girls, always talking about men," came a cheerful voice from behind. Davey, as usual, had been able to remain unnoticed by the girls until he was practically walking beside them.
Sasha snorted. "And you don't?"
"I've told you a million times, I'm not gay."
Lena snorted as well, "Okay, bud." Davey ruffled his bleach blonde hair, which, today was all swept to one side.
"You know what? You're right, Lena, I am gay. You certainly know more about my sexuality than I do," Davey said, his works dripping with sarcasm.
"Can't blame a girl for being suspicious. Doesn't really matter, though. I love you either way."
Davey swung his arm around the blonde girl's slender shoulders, "Thanks, Lena."
"No problem, hunny-bunny" she said brightly.
"How was muggle studies?" Sasha asked, changing the subject to something other than what (or rather, who) Davey liked to do in his very sparest of time.
"Extremely above average," Davey smiled pleasantly.
Lena made a face. "Really?" Sasha asked, suspiciously.
"Really. Jack came to class either drunk or high..."
"I'd guess both, if you mean Jack Fezziwig," interjected Lena.
"I do. Anyway, Jack came to class drunk and/or high," Davey said, stressing the word as he glanced sideways at Lena, "as usual, but this time Urafiki joined him in the festivities."
"Oh, God! I don't know why Ura hangs out with that low life."
"They've been best friends since the started school, what do you expect? Now, if you're done interrupting...?"
Lena brushed the comment off with an insincere, "Sorry."
"No worries. In any case, Professor Koizmi didn't realize that they were less than sober, but they wouldn't shut up," Davey said, waving his arms expressively. "They were going to get caught for sure, but then Professor Koizmi's perfect little angle came to the rescue."
"Dane?" Sasha blurted surprised.
"'S right," Davey smiled. "Your dashing soul mate. He told Koizmi that they had to go help set up for Quodpot try outs. Sort of makes sense since Jack is American and has been on the team every year. Still, only Osborn could get away with something like that. Not that it's generally in his character to stick his neck out for anyone else."
"Hey!" Sasha protested, mildly offended.
"The point," Davey cut her off, "is that I think you, Sasha Winchcombe, are the best thing that ever happened to that boy." Davey shook his head as they finally passed into the courtyard of Enchanted Rose. The roses did indeed smell very sweet in the noon day heat. "He used to be so cold. He never talked to anybody. I think you've melted his icy heart," Davey beamed as he playfully nudged Sasha's chin with his finger.
Lena had fallen silent as they reached the topic of boyfriends. As Dane wrapped his arms around Sasha's small waist from behind, Lena dropped her head.
"Hello, sunshine," he breathed happily into Sasha's thick, black locks.
Trying not to show she had seen Lena's reaction to Dane, Sasha twirled round in Dane's arms and threw her own around his neck. Smiling, she replied, "Hello yourself. I've heard you had an interesting muggle studies class," she added, tossing her head in the general direction of Davey.
Dane smiled. "I most certainly did. Speaking of which," he continued as he pushed Sasha's hair behind her ear with his right hand, "I have to go. I just came to see you for a second, but I promised Jack and Urafiki I'd go back."
Sasha's smile broadened. Dane, had, admittedly been something of a loner during his school years, a self inflicted one or not. Sasha could tell by the twinkle in Dane's eye that he was really enjoying the company of the two notorious partiers. As long as they were making Dane happy, Sasha wouldn't have cared if they were murderous drug lords.
Dane gave Sasha a quick peck on the lips before taking a step back. Sasha suddenly realized that he was changed out of his school uniform and wearing a white tee shirt and dark jeans. He looked good.
"David. Selena," Dane finally acknowledged as he backed away. Davey smiled and nodded as Lena replied, "Dane." She sounded suddenly tired, and Sasha doubted it was because they had just spent a good forty minutes running away from a crazed minotaur.
Sasha watched as Dane walked up the road to the Brixbee's campus, at one point waving before he left the courtyard.
"Come on," Davey urged, "let's get something to eat."