Sorry these take me so long to write, it's definitely the hardest story I've ever worked on, no joke. Difficult perspective. Thanks for the patience, and thanks for reviewing, peeps, u all rock. read! enjoy! review!
Chapter 3
Tom and Joe woke the next morning to sunlight streaming across their bedsheets (actually, sleeping bag for Joe, he was camped out on Tom's floor to save from renting his own room for the night). They got ready for the day and were leaving their room when Tom took a glance at himself in the mirror.
"Lookin' good!" said the mirror. Tom and Joe laughed.
"I better," said Tom, "I'm seein' my girlfriend today!"
"Oh, that's soooo cute," exclaimed the mirror sarcastically.
"Shut up," chuckled Tom as Joe tried not to fall over from laughing. They headed down for a quick breakfast and out into the Alley to wait for Lana and Becca. It was a glorious Sunday morning, perfect for the last day of summer holidays. They sat at an outdoor table to wait.
Becca came first. She appeared from the brick wall/entrance. Tom and Joe ran to greet her, embracing and smiling and chatting about their summers. Becca was a small, skinny girl with long brown hair and big, brown, loving eyes. It was impossible not to like her when you saw her, and certainly no different when you were best friends with her.
And then came Lana. She came through the wall like a dream into reality, or so Tom liked to put it in his hopelessly romanticly poetic head. She was tall and slim, with long, flowing, waving blond hair, sparkling, hypnotizing blue eyes, and a fair complexion. She ran to Tom and embraced him, and he took her into his arms happily. She stood back a little, moved his hair back out of his face with her fingers, and kissed him.
"PLEASE!" Joe and Becca shouted, hands over their eyes, "No P.D.A.s!!!! Please! Sickness!" Lana and Tom laughed, and walked, Tom with his arm around her, over to a table where they all took their seats.
"Tom!" gasped Lana, "It's so so so so good to see you!"
"You too," said Tom, breathless with happiness. How did you become so lucky? he asked himself Where else could you hope to be than here in Diagon Alley with your two best friends and the most perfect girlfriend on Earth!?
They all ordered drinks and chatted about the gossip of the summer, then went shopping. First to Gringotts, where again Tom considered his luck- he had all the money he'd ever want or need here, left to him by his mother, thankfully protected from his greedy father. They all took some from their banks and headed off for books, supplies, sweets, even a few tricks from Zonko's for Joe and Tom. All in all the day went perfectly, the weather stayed fine, they got everything they needed, and enjoyed a delicious dinner together before Tom headed home with Joe for the night.
"Tom," Joe murmurred, peering over the edge of his bed at Tom who lay in a sleeping bag on the floor, "You're still not asleep. It's..." he checked his clock, "1:47 in the morning. You've got like 4 or 5 hours til you have to wake up again. What's wrong?"
Tom didn't break his wide-eyed gaze at the ceiling as he replied, "Not a thing. Not a single bloody thing, Joe."
Joe laughed. "Go to sleep, Tom."
"I can't. I know I spent a whole summer without her, and yet..."
"Yes?"
"And yet, it's like it hurts more every second to be away even for tonight."
"Tom, your mushy love stuff is grossing me out."
"Oh, you were the same way when you were dating Rachel. Don't deny it."
"Maybe, but not quite so mushy!"
"That's cuz you're not quite so poetic, Joe, that's your fault."
"I'd say it's yours, pal."
"Perhaps. But I miss her."
"Tom, I don't know if that's healthy! Even when you're at Hogwarts and see eachother every second of every day, you will still be apart at night... I hope." He laughed. "You've just gotta get used to it."
Tom rolled over, frowning. "I know, Joe, I know."
"But I have to admit-"
"Hm?"
"You've got the hottest girlfriend in the 6th year."
"I'm grateful for your interest, Joe, but-"
"I'm just kidding, she's yours, don't worry."
"I know. Joe?"
"Hm?"
"We've been together for 5 long years, Joe."
"Us?"
"No, dope, Lana and I."
"Again, I'm just kidding. So?"
"Joe, you're my best friend-"
"So tell me."
"I want to marry her, Joe!"
"Wow, big surprise."
"What do you mean?"
"Every student and teacher at Hogwarts knows that."
"Really?"
"As if you two couldn't be more obvious about it. But, Tom, you're... well, you're... that is to say you're... well, you're only 16, Tom."
"I know. People get married at 16 all the time."
"About a hundred years ago."
"Nah, it's legal now, though."
"In some circumstances," Joe murmurred quietly.
"Speak up, Joe, can't hear you."
"I said," Joe repeated in a slightly louder but no less timid voice, "It's legal in only some circumstances."
"Meaning...?"
"Meaning you have to have parental permission, pal."
"Bloody hell," Tom whimpered, turning to face the ground and burying his head in his hands, "Nothing can ever work, Joe! Nothing!"
Joe sat awkwardly, not sure what to say.
"Tom, that's no always true."
"It is!"
"You never know, your father may have nothing against you marrying someone-"
"Oh, he'd do anything just to spite me. Anything. The truth is I'll probably not talk to him again, now that I'm not seeing him this summer or anything."
"You might-"
"For Christ's sake, Joe, he's the one who sent me to the bloody orphanage!"
There was a silence as they both considered this, then, "Well, Tom, the solution is simple. You'll just have to wait until you're 18. It's quite logical, actually, if you think about it. The longer you wait, the more you can tell if you're really meant for eachother, you know?"
"Wait, wait," Tom whispered to himself, rolling to face the ceiling again, "I hate waiting."
"I can tell. But, hey-" Joe said brightly, glanced at the clock again, "-only 4 more hours you've got to wait until you see her again, so sleep up!"
"You too. G'night, Joe."
"'Night."
Ok, so it was pretty short. Sorry it was all dialouge, it's my fave thing to write. Chapter 4 coming up! Excuse all the mushy love, I'm usually not that kind of writer!