Sorry but I'm too tired to respond to my reviews. I don't even know if this is written well, so please tell me, ok? If it isn't then tell me what to fix. (Looks at Abbika- it doesn't include putting yourself in the story, but I still MIGHT be able to! -) I updated on my other fic too and if anyone wants to read that, then I'd be really happy!
Enjoy!
Chapter 4: A Restaurant of Goodies
Jessica was busy explaining to Peter the type of restaurants that they possibly were going to have their meals and he was actually interested. Ellen rolled her eyes. No one has ever liked listening to her friend ramble on about food… except this odd little boy, "Well, it looks like Jessie found 'her' soul mate. Lucky her," the long haired girl muttered. Her watery-blue eyes shifted to James – at least she thought it was James- and she asked, "So, do you like Ontario so far?"
"It's ok," he shrugged and kicked another rock. Must be a habit Ellen noted.
She nodded, "So what type of things do you like to do in London? Any sports?"
His head shot up to face hers and he gave a big grin, "I like a lot of sports."
"Like?"
"Um…" he wavered, "Well, I like this one game called Quiddich, but its not very well known." He smiled and chuckled to himself, "Not that well known at all."
"It sounds cool. Personally, I like horse-back riding and my friends like other things as well." Ellen glanced at whom she was talking about. Her, Ashley, Jessie and the boys were all walking in a type of bunch, while Holly stormed ahead on her own. She would look back at them every once and awhile, biting her lip for some sort of reason, until she slowed down so everyone was together.
"I'm going to MaGoo's, ok?" she said calmly and let everyone pass her.
Ashley thought for a moment, "Sure," and she poked Remus. "Can you give this to Holly? She forgot it." Handing him the book bag from earlier, she discreetly nudged him behind her and gave him an expression that pleaded for him do what she asked. He agreed and walked the few steps to the girl who looked comfortable on her own, yet lost and full of a secret sorrow. Her hands rubbed the tops of her arms making her seem like she was cold, but the air was too warm for it to be true. This was not the girl who had been speaking to him only a quarter of an hour ago.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly.
She flinched with surprise and looked up at him. Holly's eyes were wet, but showed no proof of shedding tears, "Why would you care?" her voice didn't come across with irritation, so maybe she wasn't angry with him, but still he was hurt with what she said.
"You look lonely. Unless the ways here are different, then what is wrong with someone caring about another?" Remus found himself looking at the sky and wondering why he kept talking. Obviously, she didn't want to.
"There is nothing wrong with caring," Holly seemed to surprise her self by answering him, "it's just that the boys I know, never do."
He moved his gaze to her, "Some must. Life would be cruel if no one cared."
"Only my friends do," she continued to study his face, "and strangely you seem to too, but there is no reason for you to care and I don't even know completely if you actually do."
"Everyone should care, and I'm worried."
Holly was still rubbing her arms, "why?"
"There must be something wrong if you look so sorrowed," Remus explained. A few minutes of silence followed this statement which he didn't mind all that much.
"There is," She whispered, seeming like she were about to cry. He was surprised he actually received an answer. This girl was so different then before; almost like she had built a wall around her and it was slowly starting to crumble. Remus stopped walking when her arm reached out in front of him for that specific purpose, "I can't believe you!" He looked at her infuriated face and followed her gaze to her friends that had been trying to listen in on the conversation, "You were trying to get us together weren't you?" she screamed at the three girls, and surprised Remus when he felt her hand slap him across his face. "You're just as shallow as everyone else to go along with it! How could you try to make me feel better by saying that you care when you don't? You actually almost made me-" she gasped and shut her mouth, before saying so quietly that it made him believe that he wasn't supposed to hear, "trust you."
"I wasn't doing anything. They just told me to give you this," he pointed to the book bag, "but the entire conversation came along on its own."
She snatched the bag and wiped a few tears away, "You never cared did you? Just like all the others, you never gave a damn!" Holly ran to the crosswalk and waited for the light to change. Once it did, she strolled into a store on the other side of the busy road, not caring if her friends followed, which they did.
----
"Holly!" Ashley hissed and glanced at a very troubled looking Remus sitting at their table. The two girls were ordering all of the food, while the rest just sat, waited and had a conversation, "We had nothing to do with what he said to you. How many times do I have to say that?"
"How do I know that even 'this' is not part of your plan? I don't believe you," She replied. Holly couldn't help but see how sad Remus looked and in a small way it annoyed her. He could have just told her his name earlier, but no, he thought it would be funny to just not do so, and then he had the nerve to tell Ellen when she asked. Still, she didn't want his stay to be overly horrible, and after today she wouldn't have to talk to him, right?
"Hey Remus!" Ashley called. Holly glanced at her friend. What was she doing? The boy looked at them both; his eyes only lingering for a few moments on her before giving his attention completely to the frizzy-haired girl "Holly says she's sorry that she over-reacted and that it was just a misunderstanding!"
"What?" Holly hissed into her friend's ear, eyes still locked on Remus, blushing.
Her friend grinned evilly, before whispering, "I'm just trying to help," and then, "Oh, and Remus? She says you can get a book out of her bag if you want."
Holly turned to face the counter to try and hide her face from his view, "Help? How does that help?!" she snapped, so Ashley could hear.
"He's the only boy you've talked to like a friend. That obviously means 'something."
"That doesn't mean anything!"
Her friend looked at her seriously, "Please just try with this one. He doesn't seem that bad, and its about time you've had a boyfriend."
"But-"
"I don't want you to suffer, so still try! At least give 'him," she pointed to Remus, "a chance! Please Holly!"
The girl looked at the guy, who indeed had retrieved a book and was reading it, "I'll think about it," Ashley gave her a big hug, "but only if you agree to let it run its course (no 'help' from you) and if I do decide to 'try' him out, then you can't date any four of these boys while they're here."
She bit her lip, "Can I be friends?"
"Sure."
"It's a deal then!" and they shook hands. Grabbing the trays of the food that they had been waiting for, they walked over to the long table; Ashley taking the seat across from Sirius and leaving the last seat across from Remus for Holly. She laughed at how the girl grumbled when she sat down, and turned her attention to the guy who was staring at her and the food she was holding, "Hungry?"
He nodded and took the burger she handed to him, "is it always this busy here?" Sirius asked.
"Why? Too many people for you?"
"No, just wondering."
She thought for a moment, "I know a way to get people to leave, do you want to see?"
He grinned along with her and said, "Definitely."
"Ok, watch this," she rolled up her sleeves, leaned forward and said in the loudest stage whisper, "Do you know what I heard about the salads?"
He looked at her and shook his head, "No."
"I heard the cook never washes the leaves and vegetables, so who knows what diseases they contain." A group of women nearby coughed and glanced at their food. Placing their salad forks down, one woman said that she had to leave and soon after her, the rest followed. Peter and Remus were looking at Jessica and Holly's own salads, as if asking them if they were going to keep eating them. Both girls continued to pick at their food, shrugging and saying, 'Ignore her.' "I also heard that the 'rat meat' they use is out of date. Talk about food poisoning!" The irony here was when Ashley took a bite of her hamburger. Peter, of course, eyed his own, squealing 'rat meat?' "And how could I almost forget about the milkshakes! I mean, who would have thought of adding earthworms instead of the gummy kind. I swear it's the truth! I guess the only thing you could actually have is the fries, but even they are fried in extra fat! Who would want the calories, eh?" By the time she had finished, the group was the only people left in the restaurant. The workers seemed confused and couldn't hear what the girl had been saying over the loud racket of their pots and pans clanging, but everyone else had.
Sirius clapped and imagined how he could use the trick back home. How the Slytherins would be so embarrassed, "That was brilliant!"
"Thank you!" She stood up and bowed, before returning to her meal. Remus on the other hand, hadn't even started eating, either since he was so interested in the book he was reading or didn't want to after Ashley's little performance. Holly was now staring at him with an expression that Ashley knew all to well, "Just ask him already!" she said loudly.
Holly jumped and said, "I was just going to! Sheesh!" she sighed, shaking her head. "So, what story are you reading?" she asked Remus with interest and shot a glare in Ashley's direction. He was reading The Collective Works of Shakespeare.
"Macbeth." He replied absentmindedly.
"Ooh good choice! I love the witches in that play, but my favorite over all is 'A Mid Summers Night's Dream," she excitably exclaimed.
He looked at her and smiled, "Mine too."
"Oh, but I don't fancy 'Romeo and Juliet' that much. Not that it's a wonderful play, because it is! It's just that it's way over done. Especially in TV shows and movies. There's always some sort of story that takes place in a high school and the two students who are destined to play those two roles in a school play, end up falling in love. Usually, those two students happening to be from two different worlds as well, standing up against the rules of forbidden love. How fairytale!"
"You don't like fairytales?"
"Love 'em, just not the ones where it has been perfectly planned out or over-used. Fantasy and science-fiction and… ah, I love all the genres!" He was terribly interested in what she had to say and she didn't seem to mind telling him her opinions. Hopefully this conversation wasn't going to end up like their last one though.
"I enjoy reading all books too." He said with a grin tugging at his lips.
She was overly happy, "Really? We should go to the library sometime together then. I know you'd enjoy it." Everyone was shocked. Was this really the girl who refused to even make friends with a boy? It sounded like she wanted the two of them to go on some sort of date. Damn it, Ellen thought, another perfect match. Why do my friends have to be so lucky? Holly looked around at everyone and her smile faded, "What is it?"
Ashley seemed to have stolen her happiness when she said, "Did you just ask him out?"
"What?" she was confused, "NO! I didn't! I didn't mean it like THAT! NO!"
"It sounded like you just did," Patty agreed.
Holly knew she was losing here and became frantic, "I swear it! It's the truth!"
Remus said, "I believe you."
"Thank you, but wait…. NO! YOU are not supposed to agree with ME! That's just making it worse! THEY are supposed to, but I know they won't because they think I like you!"
"And do you like him?" Sirius asked with his eyebrows raised.
"Well he's… NO!"
"Why be so frantic then?"
"Because if it were true- which it isn't- it will ruin everything! Then Alicia will-" she stopped. There was no way in hell that these boys had to be pulled into that!
"Alicia? As in Alicia Cyita."
Uh oh, she thought, "Do you know her?"
"Nope. It's from the class list."
"I see," She calmed down a bit. Holly felt her forehead and re-did her ponytail, breathing heavily. She hated being pushed into a corner like that. How could they possibly even think that she liked Remus? Sure, he was cute and so far they had a few things in common, but that didn't mean she'd ask him out any time soon. Any time soon? She chuckled. Never.
Sigh Another chapter done. I thought I was going to put more into it, but I decided that it'd have to wait until next chapter. So the decisions for who is staying with who is next chapter. How obvious it is though…
Anyway goodnight!
Luna
