This chapter is REALLY SHORT and I'm sorry for that, but it didn't seem right to continue within the same chapter because of how this is going to pan out. Let me warn you now that chapter 17 might be the last chapter, at most the second-to-last. Yeah, it was planned that way, I'm not being lazy. There is a sequel or a "part two" kind of thing planned, but don't expect it anytime soon. It will have to wait until next semester at least, and unless I get massively inspired and simply HAVE to write, I'll be saving it for when I have lots of time. Like, summer.
Please enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think! Thanks for everyone's comments so far, you've all been really loyal readers and have put up with a lot in terms of my Sue crisis. Happy reading!
Chapter Sixteen
Midnight Rendezvous
"So what's up?" Remus whispered, trying to sound casual, but his heart pounded in his throat and he felt sure his voice was shaking.
"Did you bring your wand?" Alicia asked instead of answering, and when he nodded she grinned and grabbed his hand. "Come on, then!" Remus followed her rather than risk getting caught just standing there, and she led him out onto the grounds.
"It's freezing out here," he complained as soon as they were away from the building. Alicia laughed a little louder than he'd have liked, but otherwise ignored his comment and kept running across the lawns. "Where are we going?"
"Swimming!"
"Are you—Alicia! Are you nuts?!"
"I hope not! Come on, it'll be fun," she goaded as they reached the lake's edge.
"Alicia—"
"Do a quick warming spell on yourself, you'll be fine," she said practically. She was already stripping, wand in hand. A chilly wind picked up and Remus shivered.
"You are nuts," he decided. "Why would you want to get wet in this weather?"
"Weather? What weather?" Alicia laughed. "It's a beautiful night, don't waste it!" Remus carefully looked away as she turned around and stripped bare, and didn't risk looking again until he heard her splash into the water.
"I don't believe this…" he muttered, and stood uncertainly on the rough sand.
"Are you coming or what?" Alicia yelled, already out past where she could stand. She trod water and waited impatiently for his reply, but he remained silent. She cursed under her breath and began swimming back toward him, calling out words of encouragement as she did so.
Remus folded his arms tightly across his chest in an effort to block out the cold. Couldn't she have waited until summer?
"Having fun?" Remus turned sharply, his heart sinking.
"What are you doing here, Jess?"
"I followed you," she said simply, stopping a few feet away and staring at him piercingly. "What's your excuse?"
"Alicia asked me to meet her," he replied, thinking there was no use in lying now. "I didn't know what she had planned…"
"Remus, do you like her or something? Because if you do, you'd better tell me now." He was silent, and Jesse's heart twisted painfully. "Do you like me?" she asked, trying to sound casual and indifferent but failing horribly.
"Of course I do," Remus replied quickly, and knew it was true. Behind him Alicia was getting out of the water and wrapping herself in her cloak.
"What's going on?" she asked innocently. Jesse scowled at the ground and Remus refused to make eye contact with either of them. "You wanna swim?" she directed at Jesse, who barked out a laugh and did not reply. "Okay, then," Alicia said slowly after a long, uncomfortable silence. "I'm gonna go. See you kids later." She gathered her clothes and walked off across the grounds.
Remus and Jesse stood in silence, he digging his shoes into rocky sand and she doing the same to the grass beneath her feet. The line separating the two terrains seemed to keep them apart as well; Remus felt this effect and longed to step into the grass, but somehow he didn't think that would be appropriate. It was best to keep his distance until they had this resolved.
"What do you want me to do?" Jesse asked finally, her voice wrenching his heart. He had never meant to hurt her…
"I don't know," Remus answered truthfully.
"Alright then," Jesse whispered. "When you've got that one figured out, you come talk to me. I'll see you around." She walked away slowly, giving him time to think, praying he'd stop her, apologize, kiss her, make everything better… But he said nothing, made no move to follow her. She sneaked a look back when she reached the double doors of the school, but the lake was already out of sight in the darkness.
"That's not like him at all," Sirius asserted, shaking his head and pacing the width of his dorm room. Jesse had stopped him when everyone else was heading for breakfast the next morning, and spilled to him everything that had happened recently. "I'll talk to him—"
"No, Sirius, that's not what I want," Jesse said firmly. "Look, I'm not asking for your help or advice—I just wanted to talk."
"But he's obviously mental," Sirius protested, stopping to look directly at her. "If you'll just let me knock some sense into him, he'll come around…"
"No he won't. He'll just get offended and you guys will fight again. You know that." Tears sprang into her eyes and she quickly moved to wipe them away.
"Jesse—"
"Don't hug me," she said suddenly, backing away from his outstretched arms. "You'll just make me cry." She blinked away her tears and perched rigidly on the edge of Peter's bed.
"Well…what do you want?"
"From you?"
"From all of this," Sirius clarified. "Would you even go back to him after all this drama?"
Jesse stared at him silently for a long time, and Sirius shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. She stood slowly and took up his pacing, albeit much more slowly, hands stuffed into her robe pockets.
"You're a lot smarter than you act sometimes, Sirius," she said finally, and looked up at him with a clear and happy face. "Let's go eat breakfast."
