With the sun beaming down on me in the cool air a bead of sweat sluggishly rolls down the side of my forehead as I take a stance. Throwing my silver knife with determination, I aim for a knot on the usual tree in my courtyard at Hogwarts, missing the knot by a fraction of an inch. Bugger. Frustration seeps through my pores.
"No and no! Your aim is off a little and your feet are too close together. Move them more apart. Remember the two feet rule," Elliot said from nearby.
Elliot agreed to help me with my knife throwing skills today before Gina and Penn show up. Gina had an idea the other day. She thought that a picnic at Hogwarts would be fun, so I suggested having it in what I call my courtyard since it's typically on the quiet side. Penn didn't care where the picnic would be at as long as good food accompanied it. Gina said she would cook everything, so fortunately for us it worked out. I can cook but very rarely cook for anyone. Every once in a blue moon Penn manages to guilt trip me into making something for her.
Sighing, I move my feet exactly two feet apart. "Remind me why you're helping me again?"
Tossing me another one of my silver throwing knives, I catch it, Elliot grins faintly. "Because your endless suspicion found out I know how to throw knives and you asked for help, Miss Blackheart."
I bend both of my knees, smoothing swinging my right arm in a round motion with my knife held hand, preparing to throw the knife at the same knife once again.
"Stop," Elliot interrupts, causing me to pause and become more frustrated.
"Bend your front knee more and keep your upper arm in line with your shoulders," he says.
I remove Elliot's jacket, technically mine, from around me and toss it on the ground, stretching my arms out before starting over once more. The cool air nips at my bare forearms. Taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it, I move my feet two feet width apart, bending my front knee more than before, and stretching my arms out toward the knot on the tree. At this point that same knot could be mocking me. Drawing back my knife held hand slightly above my ear, I pull my arm farther back towards my back and quickly jerk my arm forward in line with the knot, releasing the knife and snapping my fingers back together immediately. The speed of the knife almost feels like slow motion, quickly fast forwarding as the point of the blade pierces dead center into the knot.
Picking up my jacket, I run to the tree, Elliot following me. Grasping the handle of the knife, I slowly wiggle it from out of the knot.
"Well, it's about time," I said.
"It'll take some time but with practice you should be able to do that in your sleep. Great work, Gwen," he said.
"Thanks for the help," I say as I lean my back against the tree, gazing down at the throwing knife in my hand. The cold silver glistened as though it were winking at me. I'm never going to part with it now.
"Not a problem."
"Have you been busy at work as of late?" Maybe I can somehow get him to spill the fact that Spencer was at the cafe.
Elliot looked at me curiously. "That came out of nowhere."
Rolling my eyes, I absently point the knife somewhat at him. "I'm just making conversation. If you don't feel like talking then I'll go wait for Penn and Gina out over there."
"I didn't say that, and watch where you point that thing." He slowly and lightly pushed the direction of the knife's blade away from him. "And the answer is not terribly busy."
"Gina said you took the day off from work the last time I was there," I said, lowering my knife held hand.
"My apologies, Miss Blackheart, I should have been there for the lunch you would of shared with me."
Grinning, I notice the amusement sparkling in Elliot's eyes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hinder, but my lunch is still reserved for myself and no one else. Not sharing food is a good forte from Penn."
"Nothing new there," he laughed.
The chill in the air seemed to drop down a few degrees, sending a shiver through me. Maybe a picnic wasn't the greatest idea for today. At least not in this kind of cool weather. Elliot took my jacket from me, breaking me away from my thoughts. Without a word spoken I watched him. Wrapping the jacket around me, my gaze caught his.
"You're cold," he said in a low tone of voice.
"I know," I said softly.
His hands lightly move up to the collar of the jacket, tugging the collar upward to shield my neck from any breeze. An invisible lump forms in my throat, a lump that feels like a mixture of both surprise and fear. Quietly, slowly, he leans in closer.
"Why didn't you tell me Spencer was at your cafe?" I choked out in a low tone.
Slightly scowling at my question, Elliot's facial features loses its warmth and is replaced with a coolness. The kind of coolness that you see when ice cold water is poured onto hot iron. He takes a step back. "Honestly?" he asked evenly.
"Yes."
"It wasn't a big deal. He came into the cafe, ordered a coffee and a pastry, and started asking some questions."
"What questions?"
"Mostly about you. He was trying to figure out why you were hanging out at the cafe so much with us instead of at your old hangout. Whatever that was. I sent him on his way without telling him much. End of story."
"A park nearby."
Elliot nodded nonchalantly.
"Why would he want to know that?" I asked myself out loud.
"He is buddy buddy with Edan afterall. Don't worry about him coming to the cafe. I'll take care of it. Gina already told me what happened when I wasn't there."
"You don't need to. I can handle it."
"Kill the feminist movement, Gwen. I'll take care of it."
"You don't have to," I said as I began glaring at him. Feminist movement indeed. He's lucky that I'm trying to be nice by ignoring that ridiculous comment.
"Yes, I do," he said, a hint of the warmth he had before returning.
"Why?"
"Because I care about you, Gwen," he said slowly.
The invisible lump in my throat returned. Taking a step away from him, annoyance shifted inside of me. "You shouldn't go around saying things as ridiculous as that."
Scowling, Elliot raised his hands in frustration tangled with annoyance. "You are impossible, you know that?" His voice took on an edge that wasn't there today.
"No, it's called being realistic, Mr. Hinder."
His irritated gaze held mine for a moment before he turned away, walking toward the center of the courtyard. Even the annoyance that he felt could be seen in his strong footsteps.
Way to go, Gwen. He shouldn't be this mad though. How could he possibly feel that way? It must be something in the food at that bloody cafe of his.
In the distance I spot Penn and Gina walking toward the courtyard, carrying a picnic basket and a blanket. I hope Mother Nature gave them the same warning that it's too cool for a picnic. Then again some of the coolness might chase away the annoyed fire stirring within Elliot.
Turkey sandwiches, grapes, strawberry tarts, green jello, pumpkin juice, and soda spread out on the picnic blanket. Elliot sits back on his elbows all the away across the blanket from me, eating a turkey sandwich.
"These are really good," Penn says as she munches on strawberry tarts next to me.
"Thanks. I took up cooking not long before I graduated from Hogwarts," Gina said, taking a sip of her soda.
Elliot took another bite of his turkey sandwich, glancing at Gina. Both of their eyes seem to hold some sort of a secret.
"Did you take a class here on cooking?" I asked.
"No. I took a non-credit course at a college in Dufftown on cooking. It helped to pass the time," Gina said.
Elliot plucked a grape off from its vine and popped it into his mouth.
"You can cook for me any time," Penn said, sighing softly between bites. The utterly sweet and delectable taste of the strawberry tarts sent her into a blissful yet brief moment.
"Just tell me when," Gina said in a low tone of voice, nearly hissing seductively.
"You really are a good cook, Gina," I said.
"So are you, Gwennie," Penn said.
"Thanks. Have any of you seen Madie? I've been trying to find her to catch up on some of her studies," I said.
Not a peep came from Elliot but Gina did shake her head in response.
"The girl probably came to her senses and realized how boring History of Magic is!" Penn laughed.
"I'll drink to that," Gina said, lifting her can of soda.
"Finally someone with a brain," Penn said.
Snickering, I glance over to Elliot. He has mostly spoken to Penn and Gina so far. Penn caught onto where I was looking and nudged my knee with her foot. I look over in her direction. She mouths Everything alright? to me. Instead of answering her I give her a simple thumbs up. Maybe she'll catch onto the sarcasm of that action.
"Do either of you take up potions?" Gina asked Penn and I.
"Gwen is the master at potions," Elliot said evenly.
"Oh?" she asked.
"Master, no. Student, yes," I said.
"I took up potions when I went here too," she said.
"Were you any good?" I asked.
"I almost didn't pass my potions classes. One time I accidentally set my Professor's hair on fire with flame filled smoke," she said.
"What's wrong with that?" Penn asked.
"The smoke was only suppose to have humid rain drops not a burning inferno," Gina laughed.
"Think you could pass that recipe on to me? Gwennie could make it," Penn said.
"Penn!" I shouted.
"What!" Penn shouted in return.
We all laughed in unison, including an annoyed Elliot.
"A picnic in this weather? Are you all that stupid?" A voice said from afar, getting closer.
Glancing up, we all took note of Edan and Spencer walking in our direction. They stopped just before reaching the edge of the picnic blanket.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"Dear sister, that hurts. Mother taught you better manners than that. We went to the movie theater and Spencer and I were just walking back to the dorms from bringing our dates back home until we saw all of you," Edan said.
Penn leaned back on her elbows, raising her brow slightly. "And who would want to go to the movies with either of you?"
An assertive smirk crossed Edan's mouth. "Jealous?"
"Hardly," Penn snorted.
"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt," he said.
"Why would Penn be jealous? She has all of this food and a taste tester," Gina said.
"Taste tester?" Both Edan and Penn asked at the same time.
"Taste tester," Gina said. Leaning over to Penn, Gina presses her lips to Penn's. She lightly sucks on Penn's bottom lip briefly before pulling away. She looks up to Edan. "Tastes like strawberry," she says laughing.
Penn's dumbfound stare doesn't shift from Gina. "Well. That was fun."
Edan glares his eyes of fire at Gina. "Been there, done that."
I stand up, giving him a glare of my own, taking a step toward him. "Edan!"
Spencer raises his arms in front of me to stop me in my tracks. I eye him curiously with annoyance. "Don't start anything, Gwen," he says.
"I didn't start anything. Your good buddy did," I said.
"Who is also your brother," he said.
"I'm not even going to get into this with you."
"There isn't anything to get into."
My glaring eyes pinpoint Spencer as the target now.
"Lovers quarrel. Just like old times," Edan said.
"Put a pipe in it, Edan," Penn said as she popped a piece of a strawberry tart into her mouth but keeping an eye on Spencer at the same time.
Gina sat back, sipping pumpkin juice from a reusable cup.
Spencer's hand brushed up against mine, sending chills up my arm. "It could be a lovers quarrel, Gwennie, if you would just agree with our conversation from the other night. Then we could make up."
"What conversation?" Penn asked, chiming in.
Before anyone could answer her Elliot's fist met the center of Spencer's face hard. More like his fist told his face Goodbye rather than Hello. My jaw dropped, Penn spit out her drink, and Gina's eyes went wide. Penn jumped up to her feet as if she were ready to fight and protect anyone or anything.
"Damnit, Elliot!" Spencer yelled as he grabbed his face with his hand.
Edan began charging after Elliot. Elliot struck out his hand, speaking in a harsh tone of voice, venom dripping from it. "Don't even try it, Edan, or your ass is mine. You and Spencer start walking the hell out of here!" Elliot's shoulders tensed and the muscles in his forearms seemed to mean business.
Utterly speechless, I watch the scene play before me.
Edan grabs Spencer, who is calling Elliot every name of the sun, dragging him back to the dorms. Fire brew within their eyes and an aura of pure anger seemed to protrude from them. At least from what I was able to see. There are only but a million guesses as to what they are thinking at the moment.
Elliot looked at me once Spencer and Edan were out of the clearing. "Are you alright?" he asked evenly.
Swallowing, I slowly nodded to him.
"I would have liked to see them both get what was coming to them but one is better than none," Penn said.
Gina frowned, glancing up at Elliot who kept his gaze on Hogwarts.