AN: Thank you for reading and reviewing:) ENJOY!
It was on her birthday, nearly five weeks since she had met Shawn, that she slipped through the barred window and shimmed down the drain pipe until the soles of her shoes scraped the soft grass. It was well past dark, likely close to midnight, as she slinked across the lawn like a stealthy cat. She slipped in and out of shadows as she reached the end of Privet Drive. Sitting behind a neat trim of hedges, keeping to the shadows, was Shawn.
She slipped behind the large patch of hedges and tumbled into his lap with a quiet giggle. She was breathless from running as she greeted, "Hey."
He gave a bright smile as he kissed the tip of her nose and replied, "Hello, Birthday Girl. How old are you now? Fifty? Sixty?"
Holly slapped his arm and playfully stated, "Shut up!"
Shawn chuckled and said, "I'm only kidding. Wow. You're sixteen now. So young."
She fought down the need to defend her age and retorted, "You don't mind kissing my young self, now do you?"
He grinned recklessly before slipping his arms around her back and softly molding their lips together. The physical tenderness with Shawn brought forth a relaxing comfort like that of a lazy, warm afternoon floating in the Great Lake. She liked kissing him, liked feeling his large palms rubbing her back, liked feeling his full lips on hers. Yet it was Snape that she dreamed of when she was alone in her bed. It was Snape's thin lips she wanted to explore. Snape's deep, quiet voice she wanted to hear whispering sweet words. Snape's lean, wiry body pressed against hers.
But she kissed Shawn anyway. After all, he was nice and funny. He was wild and he provided a great distraction from her life with the Dursleys. Holly finally broke away from his lips when he became a bit overexcited and tried laying her down in the grass. She quickly asked, "What are we doing tonight?"
She sat up and scooted further away from him, but offered a smile to hide her reaction. She wasn't sure if Shawn noticed, but he definitely didn't act like he noticed her rejection. He said, "There's a party a few blocks over. We will get there much quicker if we cut through the children's park and jump the fence."
Holly's eyes rose as she asked, "Are you talking about that huge mansion that Dudley and his pals hang out at? The one that is abandoned?"
"Yes," Shawn replied proudly, "My older brother and his buddies decided they wanted to throw a party last week. He told me to bring you. Says he has plenty of fun things to do."
"Like what?" She asked curiously.
Shawn gave a secretive smile as he stood up and held out his hand. She didn't miss the fact that Shawn didn't answer her question. A small part of her demanded that she be cautious, but it was overruled by frustration and boredom. She grinned and took his hand. As they walked down the darkened street, she kept throwing glances his way. She decided that she only liked Shawn's tall build because it reminded her of Snape. Regretfully, she admitted to herself that she liked Shawn's shaggy black hair for the same reason.
She tried to focus on what he was saying and pushed the guilty feelings aside as he challenged, "I bet I can beat you in a race to the fence."
She retorted, "We'll see."
She took off running and he ran beside her for a moment before tossing a cocky grin her way and lengthening his stride until he was several paces ahead of her. She kept running, enjoying the warm breeze and the excited pumping of her heart. Her muscles stretched in a good way as she kept running.
When Shawn reached the fence first, she didn't even care. Coming to a sliding halt, she laughed and said, "You won."
His breathing was a bit uneven as he pushed his shaggy hair out of his eyes and offered, "You want a rematch on the way back? After the party?"
She playfully punched his arm and retorted, "Yes. I'm going to make you eat my dust next time too."
He snorted and replied, "Okay, babe. Prepare to lose again." as he began to climb the metal fence. Holly laughed and they continued their playful banter for the remainder of the trek to the abandoned mansion.
The lights from the suburb disappeared after they jumped over the fence. They went down a steep hill and crossed a rickety wooden bridge. She commented, "I had no idea there was a gully right here."
Shawn looked at her in surprise as he said, "Really? You must not get out often enough, Holly. I've only been visiting my grandfather for a month and I already knew about this gully. You've been here for most of your life."
She shrugged and uncomfortably replied, "I told you that I go to a boarding school quite a bit away from here. I'm only with the Dursleys two or three months out of the year."
He grabbed her hand as they came off of the bridge. There was another steep hill except now they were climbing it instead of running downward. By the time they got to the top, she had a painful stich in her side. She couldn't help but think using magic to quicken this journey would have been a lot better.
"Port key or brooms…"
"What did you say?" Shawn panted loudly from a few feet in front of her.
"Nothing," She answered hastily, "Are we almost there?"
He grinned and asked, "Can't you hear the music?"
He took her hand again and pulled her through a thicket of brush. She strained her ears and could hear the steady pattern of loud thumping. Curiosity was eating away at her as Shawn dragged her underneath a wooden fence that was beginning to rot. She followed Shawn and crawled quickly on her hands and knees. She stood up, attempted to brush the mud from her jeans, but gave up and turned to Shawn. Grinning wickedly, he jerked a thumb to their left. Turning, Holly caught her first glimpse of the infamous mansion.
Her jaw dropped. The mansion had once been white, but now was a dingy gray color. Second and third story windows were black and jagged with missing glass panels. The grass was over grown in some spots and completely bald in others, but that wasn't the best part of the mansion. The most curious of all were the endless amounts of people. All different shapes, sizes, and colors. Kids were laughing freely and dancing in ways that Holly had never seen before. Exuberant music was playing from a large radio set up on a makeshift table. Shawn grabbed her hand and gently pulled her through the throngs of high-spirited kids.
Upon a closer look at the makeshift table, Holly could see endless bottles of liquor. She squinted, trying to read the labels, but none of the ingredients were familiar to her. The only liquor she knew of was Firewhisky, which Muggles certainly didn't have. Shawn chuckled and pointed to a corner of the mansion's patio. There were numerous tin pales filled with ice and glass bottles. Shawn fished out a bottle of clear liquid and twisted off the cap. There was a quiet popping noise before he handed it to her and smiled sweetly. "This will taste much better than any of that hard liquor."
She gripped the cold bottle in her hand and asked, "What is it?"
He laughed and stated, "An alcoholic beverage."
She rolled her pretty green eyes and retorted, "I know that much."
Shawn smiled, "It's an easy drink for a beginner."
She wasn't certain, but she suspiciously thought that he had somehow insulted her. She asked, "Is it going to make me drunk?"
He laughed and reached for a brown bottle. He twisted his cap off, took a swig, and answered, "No. It would probably take dozens of those to make you drunk."
Because she really wanted to know what alcohol tasted like, she took a cautious sip. A pleasant fruity taste burst across her tongue as she swallowed a second sip. Shawn was watching her expectantly. She gave a smile and said, "It's good."
"Alright!" He exclaimed, "Come meet my friends."
Holly felt uncomfortable and excited all night long. She felt odd and out of place among the Muggles, but she had fun anyways. Shawn was just as high-spirited as all the other people around. He kept up humorous conversations with her and his brother's friends, but Holly kept finding her eyes straying to the middle of the yard. Everyone over there was dancing. At least, Holly thought they were dancing. She wasn't sure and she knew she couldn't ask Shawn because that would clue him in on just how abnormal Holly was.
There was something enthralling about watching the way those kids moved. They moved in ways that brought a blush to Holly's cheeks and a burning feeling to her gut. Their actions were sometimes graceful and fluid while other times they seemed almost animalistic. She had seen boys and girls kissing at Hogwarts; Holly certainly wasn't a prude about it either, but she had never seen the opposite sexes so closely attached to one another before. A boy with blonde hair and a very muscular build had his hands on a red-headed girl's hips. Their legs were touching and so were their chests. The boy dipped the girl down and ran his lips from the hollow of her throat up to her lips. His hands roamed over her backside and up to her chest.
Eyes wide, Holly jumped and nearly squeaked when Shawn suddenly asked, "Are you watching that couple?"
"N-No." She stammered and then cringed when she saw the smile on his lips. She rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Yes. I was watching them."
Shawn grabbed the empty bottle from her hand and asked, "Do you want another one? A different flavor, perhaps?"
"Sure," She replied with relief at the change of subject, "But I like that flavor."
She felt no different after second drink. Or the third. It was when she was at the bottom of her fourth drink that she felt an interesting disorientation. She took the last sip of the fruity concoction before setting her empty bottle down. She found herself laughing a bit more at the jokes going around the circle of people as Shawn went to grab them both another drink. She was warm, despite the chill in the late night air. Shawn came back from the patio, handed her another bottle and sat close to her side. He laughed and asked, "Are you okay, Holly?"
She nodded and leaned on his shoulder. When Shawn leaned over and wrapped his arms around her waist, she let him. When he pulled her onto his lap and cuddled her next to the fire somebody lit, she let him. She felt relaxed and detached from the world. Her fingertips were numb and all that mattered was the dancing orange flames in front of her. Warm, yet not hot. Awake, but not too aware. She felt safe. She felt so far away from everyone who brought her any pain and danger. Nothing but strangers who didn't truly know her. She had no sense of time as she cradled her glass bottle in her hands.
After some time, she noticed people were stumbling through the hole in the rotten fence and going home. Shawn pressed a kiss to the side of her neck and whispered, "Do you want to go back to the Dursleys' house?"
Holly snorted and buried herself into the idle comfort of his arms. She sipped on her drink and replied, "No way."
A muscular boy who was definitely older than her came walking toward them. His eyes were identical to Shawn's. She laughed, "You're Shawn's brother."
He gave a charming smile and replied, "That I am, sweetie. Shawn, we're all heading out. You coming?"
He tucked a piece of Holly's wild hair behind her ear and shook his head. He said, "No. Holly and I are going to stay for a while longer."
Holly returned to staring at the dying embers of the fire while Shawn held her tightly. He interrupted her mindless trance by asking, "Can I kiss you?"
She wasn't really in the mood to kiss him, but she did think she should thank him for bringing her to the party. She had fun and was free from the Dursleys even now. For that alone, she could endure a few kisses in return for his kindness. She turned around in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck before leaning closer and pressing her lips to his.
She felt off-balance and nearly fell, but he put his large hands on her hips and held her in place. They both laughed breathlessly before their lips were on each other's once again. Holly wasn't sure what was happening. Her body felt out of control and acted without her consent. She wrapped her fingers in his shaggy hair as her lips moved quicker and more heatedly with his. She could feel his chest heaving as his hands ran roughly over her body. She had no time to appreciate his touch because it was too fast, too rough. He groaned lowly as she tugged on his hair and pressed her entire body against his.
He cursed hoarsely and tore his lips from hers. They panted in the dark as he rolled them both across the wet grass until she was on top of him. Holly giggled in delight at the sudden movement before pressing her lips back to his and effectively cutting out any other thoughts in either of their heads. She was dizzy, but she wasn't sure if it was from Shawn's mouth or the alcohol. Shawn's hands were greedily pushing her shirt up and exposing her stomach and plain white bra, but she didn't care. She was too preoccupied with the new sensations coursing through her body to notice the dark shadow silently walking out of the night and toward them.
Shawn ran his hands all over her bare stomach, but he didn't touch her where she wanted him to the most. Frustrated, she nipped at his bottom lip with her teeth. He let out a loud groan and gripped painfully on her hips. She was just about to put his hands in the right place when she felt two slim hands grab her by her shoulders and yanked her off of Shawn.
She stumbled back with a high-pitched squeak, but was saved from falling by two strong arms. Her back was pressed against a lean, yet muscled chest and the smell of oceans and forest invaded her nose. Her heart had been pounding out of fear and the immediate need to fight, but now it slowed and her tensed body relaxed. Holly sagged against his body and whispered in relief, "Snape…"
There was a single heartbeat of time where he held her closely before he released her and stepped back. Snape came lunging around Holly as he eyed the dark-haired boy sprawled drunkenly across the grass. Shawn scrambled to his feet as he demanded, "Who are you?"
"That is none of your concern," Snape snarled, "You will be wise to pick up what little dignity you have left and leave."
Shawn eyed Holly before frowning and hotly saying, "No. I'm not leaving."
"It's okay," Holly took a wobbling step forward and placed her hand on Snape's chest. She looked at Shawn and said, "This is my guardian, Shawn, from my school. Just go home."
Shawn didn't move. He kept staring at Holly with rapidly blinking eyes. Idly, she wondered if he was as dizzy as she was. She locked her knees to keep from falling over and curled her fingertips into the fabric of Snape's robes. Snape's slim hands were suddenly hovering over Holly's shoulders as he hissed, "I will not tell you again. Leave or I will make you leave, boy."
It seemed as if Shawn might argue further, but after gazing at Snape's expression, Shawn turned around and stumbled off into the night. There was a minute of silence before Snape turned to her and demanded, "What in the name of Merlin do you think you were doing?"
Holly blinked and swayed slightly before replying, "Kissing a boy."
"Oh, you were doing more than kissing a boy. Pull down your damn shirt, girl."
Holly frowned, wondering what Snape meant. At her lack of a reaction, Snape scoffed and reached forward. Holly's eyes widened as she watched him wrestle with the fabric of her shirt before yanking it down and successfully covering her body from view. He stepped back and sneered in disgust, "Do you have no respect for yourself? Do you have no decency? Drunk and fondling in the grass like an animal."
Holly frowned and muttered, "I'm not an animal."
She blinked and added indignantly, "I'm not drunk either."
Snape dryly replied, "Yes, of course you aren't drunk. You just smell like you have fallen into a bottle of liquored strawberries."
"Maybe I did." She laughed at her witty retort until Snape grabbed ahold of her elbow and hissed, "Let's go. I don't have time for this."
"Where are we going?" Holly wondered curiously as Snape maneuvered her around the sloping hill. She stumbled so much that he finally grabbed her around the waist and instructed heatedly, "Hold onto me before you break both of our necks with all of your tripping."
Holly blinked slowly and stupidly asked, "Are you going to carry me?"
Snape snapped, "Unfortunately so."
Holly slipped her arms around Snape's neck and tried not to throw up when he abruptly scooped her up and held her against his chest. She curled her body up tightly and laid her head on his muscled shoulder as he began to walk. She mumbled, "How come we aren't Apparating?"
"You're mentally impaired and you could easily lose a limb if I was to try to travel by Apparation right now."
Holly blinked and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. Her words were slurring together as she said, "I like traveling this way much better."
Snape faltered and nearly slipped as he came to the base of the hill. His body was tense as Holly turned her head and pressed her nose into his neck. Inhaling deeply, she whispered, "I-I love the way you smell…like ocean and…the forest."
Snape's lips formed a thin line and his dark brow frowned heavily as he tried to ignore Holly's slurred whispers. He crossed the bridge and was relieved to see the outline of Privet Drive's suburb. His pace quickened, but he could still hear her speaking. She mumbled almost incoherently, "…Missed you…Left me…Snape…stay…Snape."
AN: This chapter is especially beautiful to me for many reasons. I am so excited to share the next chapter with you all. Leave a Review. Pretty please?:)
