The party that evening was particularly low-key, and with my sore shin I wasn't completely fond on staying. Instead, I retired to my common room particularly early before realizing I needed to return some of my books to the library. I heaved my bag full of the books over my shoulder and began my slow journey. Limping really does slow down your walking time by tenfold, and lugging my books with me didn't help either.
Madame Pince greeted with a knowing smile as I unloaded my bag in front of her before she told me I could put them back where they belonged if I wanted to help her out. I shrugged, and carried as many as I could, slipping into the aisle dedicated to sophisticated spells and potions, placing books back on the shelves.
"Fancy seeing you here."
"You really need to stop stalking me, Wood," I stated simply with a laugh.
"Me stalking you, pretty sure you're the one stalking me. I was here first."
"I'm going to pretend you didn't suggest that," I rolled my eyes, "Go back to struggling at Charms."
"How's your shin feeling?" he asked, "You seem to be maybe able to walk on it a little more."
"Sore as all hell," I muttered through grit teeth before waving my wand and thinking 'Accio books' and they floated into my arms as I began putting them away as well, "It'll pass though."
"I would hope so. Need you healthy so I don't feel so bad for kicking your guys' ass."
"Someone's being a bit arrogant," I chuckled, "How are the Charms coming along?"
"Slowly," he admitted, "It'd go smoother if someone would tutor me."
"If I do recall," I murmured, "You decided moments after that to be a total ass."
He grunted in response and I plopped down in the chair beside him, "Do you mind?"
"Do I mind what?" I inquired, playing innocent.
"Why are you sitting next to me?"
"Because I can," I shrugged, "And my leg is a bit sore, so I'm resting it."
"You could sit anywhere else in the library and you choose to sit next to me right now," he stated pointedly, "Why right here?"
"I thought we were friends."
"Oh, so you're labeling us as friends now?"
"Trial run," I shrugged, "We'll see how it goes anyway."
"I see," he went back to his reading in Charms and waving his wand around some.
"So are you ready for your match against Slytherin next week?"
"Are you just trying to distract me from my studying?" he asked, and I shrugged, "Of course we're ready for Slytherin."
"Just don't blow it," I murmured, "Hate to see you knocked out of the running for the cup by the two teams we crushed."
"Shut up," he muttered, "We aren't going to blow it."
"If you say so," I giggled, "I suppose I'll leave you to studying. By the time I get back to my common room it'll probably be close to morning."
I pulled myself up before I began to start limping out of the library, picking up my empty bag off of Madame Pince's abandoned counter. She usually left at night and although she would kick out most of the other students, she had a special place in her heart for upperclass Ravenclaws, and probably figured Wood would be no harm.
The corridor was empty, lit by a few torches in the wall. I hadn't made it too terribly far before suddenly I found myself in the air and thrown over someone's shoulder, "Hey!"
"Did you really think that I could let someone limp across the castle? Let alone a pretty girl like you?"
"A what?" I asked, not really hearing what his response because I was pondering why I had to have a view of the back of Wood's shoes, the floor, and his ass, which honestly wasn't that bad of a view…but I'd rather not focus on that.
"Nevermind," he muttered, "Um, I don't really remember how to get to the Ravenclaw common room."
I burst into laughter, and sighed and said, "It figures you wouldn't remember it when I have this wonderful view," I said sarcastically.
"Does that mean you're checking me out?"
"Don't flatter yourself that much," I muttered.
"I think I can, I'm the one at the advantage here."
"How so?" I chortled.
"The way I see it," he paused, "We can go wherever I want us to. I'd be nice if I were you."
My response was just laughter as he trooped off in the opposite direction from what I had told him for me to go back to the tower. Instead, I found myself standing with him, just outside the owlry outside, gazing out at the stars.
"Are you okay to stand?" he asked, overly concerned.
"Yes, I would've been fine to walk though," I stated plainly, shivering a bit. I honestly wasn't dressed to be outside. Why did he and I always end up outside together staring at the stars? Before I could shiver again, I felt a warm engulf me as he had put his sweater around me, "No," I said, taking it off and throwing it at him, "You'll get cold."
"I'll be fine," he tossed it back.
I reciprocated the action, "No."
"But you'll freeze."
"I'm a big girl," I stated bluntly, "I can handle a bit of cold."
"Stop being stubborn," he groaned.
"You stop being stubborn," I narrowed my eyes at him before suddenly he shifted to where he was standing behind me, taller than I as he wrapped his sweater around me with him wearing it.
"We'll just share then."
His proximity is what was alarming me. My back was pressed up against his torso and his arms were wrapped around me so tight I could feel the bulge of his biceps around my own arms. I had to admit that I always liked more muscular guys…they just seemed more fit that way….Why am I checking out Wood?
"Merlin, you're tiny," he whispered softly, "It's crazy to think someone as intimidating as you are is actually really small."
"Shut up," I muttered, "That's why I have Roger and Harrison. And Mason, Travis, Vince, Cedric…" my voice trailed off, "Cho can be pretty scary too."
"They don't scare me," he said proudly, almost defiantly. His vocal tone then dropped, sounding almost meek. Bipolar, much? "But you," he hesitated, "You scare me."
"That makes sense," I retorted sarcastically.
"It does," he sighed, "It really does."
"Care to explain or am I just going to have to guess?" I asked, curious. It was weird that he was expressing that he was scared of me. It was weird that we were even talking about this at all. Was this normal topic of conversation? I tried to strain my memory to recall if Roger and I had ever talked about something like that, but nothing was coming up.
"I can't," he admitted honestly, "Not without things getting awkward."
"Try me. I'm the Queen of Making-Things-Not-Awkward," I insisted, but he shook his head, "Please?"
The foreign word I had just used seemed to be convincing enough. If he didn't know, my reputation wasn't one for saying the word 'Please', that's for sure.
"Okay," he inhaled, escaping his sweater to come face me, the warmth still wrapped around my shoulders. Both of our arms remained at our sides, his more stiff and forced, making his arms muscles bulge and I swallowed hard.
"Um," he hesitated, "You are the absolute most terrifying person I have ever met. I can't even begin to fathom how much you scare me, and most of it I don't think you have any idea what you're doing," he paused, sucking in an anxious breath, "You are the only person I know that can make training gear look attractive. You're the only person that makes my heart literally stop every time I see you, only to decide to run a fucking marathon in my chest. You are the only person who has such a strong control of my emotions that they change drastically," his face was inching closer to mine as I found mine moving towards his, almost as if I was in a trance while he spoke, "You're stubborn, and the smartest person I know. You demand things and believe straight to your core that you're right and you stick to that."
"Your eyes can kill with one look, yet I can't stop staring at them," his face was mere millimeters from my own, so close I could feel his warm breath on my face and the deep brown color of his eyes gazing down at me, "Your words cut like knives. You're amazing at quidditch. I'm scared to face you this year because if we make eye contact when you make a shot, I'm scared I won't be able to defend it. You scare me in that you're so damn beautiful that I can't stay away from you…"
We were frozen, less than a twitch away from our lips being pressed together, yet we were both frozen. Frozen in time, both hesitant about acting on what our brains were screaming at us to do. Pride was a dastardly thing. After what seemed like hours, I slowly inched away from him, and he mirrored the action, "I should, um, probably get back."
Wood nodded, not saying a word the entire walk up to where Ravenclaw tower was, well his walk and my limp. I awkwardly mumbled a 'goodbye' before slipping into my common room and hurrying as quickly as my sore leg would let me up to my dorm and under my covers before realizing I still had his sweater wrapped around me. 'Oops.'