Kadric watched in complete shock as one girl turned around, tears in her eyes, and ran down the hall. Then he watched as the other one, the one who had just made Chalondra cry, turn around and flounce down the corridor.

It took him a total of ten seconds to realize he couldn't just let her walk off. "HEY!" he yelled, his voice loud enough to send the roof off. The girl stopped in her tracks. What was her name? Yoyo, that was it.

"Yes?" she asked, her voice sickeningly sweet. Kadric felt something like anger rumble in his chest.

"Are you mental?" he yelled, stepping closer so at least he could see her better. She paused.

"Maybe I am," she thought carefully. He rolled his eyes, letting out a groan.

"You stupid woman! You don't just go up to random guys and kiss them! After they TOLD you to get out of their LIFE!"

The tone in the girl's voice had changed. It wasn't powerful anymore, it wasn't haughty. It was cold. Distant. "I was hoping…"

"Hoping?" Kadric let out a bark of forced laughter. "Hoping what? That that—thing you called a kiss would make me fall for you? A Ravenclaw? Please!"

Yoyo was silent. "It's not that hard to believe, you know."

Kadric paused at her voice. It was quiet now. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You fell for her."

Kadric let his mouth drop openly. Then he began to splutter. He sounded like a drowning animal, but really didn't care. "What are you TALKING about?" he yelled. "Are you NUTS? You're crazy. You belong in the loony bin. I can't believe—she doesn't—I don't—WHY DID YOU DO THAT, ANYWAY?" he asked, deciding it was safer to change the subject. Was it so obvious, that he was nicer to Chalondra than any other person? That he smiled when she walked past? Did he actually do those things ,anyway?

Yoyo was silent, and Kadric could see a frown on her face. "You mean…it's not obvious?"

Kadric gave a choked noise. "Why do you think I'm nearly screaming my head off, you crazy woman?"

Yoyo seemed to flush. "But—that means—you and Chalondra…aren't, well, you know?"

Kadric blinked. "What?"

"You and Chalondra aren't…together?" Kadric detected a wobble in her voice. But the next thing he knew, he felt his stomach jumping all over the place and his heartbeat speed up.

"WHAT?" he roared. "Together? We? Me? And a Ravenclaw?"

As if you hadn't thought about it, sneered a voice in Kadric's head. He brushed it aside, deciding it was safer to yell at the randomly-kissing girl. "Just because we—occasionally—talk, doesn't mean we're together! I wouldn't get with a Ravenclaw! Not her! No way! We don't feel that way about each other!"

"Then why…" Yoyo paused, and Kadric was surprised he had allowed her quiet voice to interrupt his ranting. "Why did you kiss in the Hospital Wing?"

Kadric felt like he was going to die.

"And why…why was she crying? Why did that make her cry? Why did you kissing a different girl make her cry?" Without explaining why tears were running down her own face, Yoyo spun around and ran down the hall.

It was then Kadric realized she spoke the truth. Chalondra had been crying. He had a blurry memory of him yelling her name, trying to say something that would fix her tears. He had cared. He had cared she was sad. He had wanted to fix things; he had wanted to make her feel better. Was it true then? Did he want to be with a Ravenclaw? Did he want to be with Chalondra?

Remembering the way he had felt when he kissed her, he decided he did.

What a new thought, he mused, pacing the empty hall as he tapped his chin. She really had been sad at the sight of him kissing a girl. That gave him hope.

But wait…how did Yoyo know? How had she known about the Hospital Wing? Would…others know? Was everyone actually taking about the two of them behind their backs? No, that wasn't true. Someone would have confronted him or tortured him by now. He knew that Yoyo had liked him, so that little kiss (that actually hadn't been little at all), was probably for her own sick revenge. But it had caused problems, and now Kadric was in trouble. Just when they had been getting along.

But then, if he hadn't been attacked by the Yoyo girl, he never would have figured things out.

With shaking legs and a thudding heart, he walked off down the corridor, hoping to find Chalondra somewhere nearby.

Chalondra actually was nearby. She hadn't had the strength to sprint back up the Ravenclaw tower, and going to the library would only be a bad idea. Her wracking sobs would have sent Madame Pince into some kind of seizure.

She hated this. Just when things had started to go nicely, maybe even smoothly, she had to see that. She was going to KILL Danny!

"No, no," she mumbled, sniffing loudly and hiding behind the suit of armor even more. "He's got nothing to do with this. It's my fault. My fault for thinking things would work out. My fault for thinking he was anything more than a scheming, loathsome, Slytherin."

It was all over. Kadric would go back to laughing at her, Chalondra would leave Hogwarts with a broken heart, and Yoyo would attack Chalondra about how her kiss with him had been better than Chalondra's. It had been, too. Chalondra's and Kadric's had barely been anything. But theirs had looked…well, it had been longer, anyway.

Just then, she heard a noise. Feet. Someone was walking quickly. Huddling closer into the shadows behind the suit of armor, she peeked an eye through the legs of the knight, seeing Kadric striding down the hall, looking earnestly around him. She held a gasp, clamping a trembling hand over her mouth. He seemed to hear something. He paused, and turned back to look in her general direction. Feeling like she might faint, Chalondra slowly lowered her hand.

But she missed the ground, and instead, struck the knight in the ankle. It wobbled, and Chalondra's hopeless attempts at steadying it caused the armor to tremble even more dangerously. Within seconds, the whole thing crashed to the ground around her. The helmet even bopped her on the head for good measure.

Letting out a moan, Chalondra rubbed at her head. She winced, looked at Kadric out of the corner of her eyes. He was watching her, seemingly shocked.

Standing up abruptly, Chalondra stepped out of the fallen armor. Still, Kadric said nothing. And still, Chalondra ignored him. "Reparo," she murmured, pointing her wand at the armor. The thing flew back to the way it had been before Chalondra had chosen it for a hiding spot.

She waited. Only a few seconds. She waited, hoping he would say something. He didn't. Feeling tears prick at her eyes again, she took a few steps down the hall.

"Ch—Chalondra! Wait up a second!"

She chose to ignore him and disobey his order; she walked faster.

"Chalondra! Chalondra!"

"I'm not listening!" she yelled back, turning sharply around a corner. She had no idea where she was headed, but she just wanted away from him. "I can't hear you!"

"Yes you can! Stop!"

"Why don't you go run after Yoyo instead? And laugh about your little plan? Did it work?" She knew her voice was wobbling, but she didn't care. "I bet it did!"

"What? A plan?" A hand grasped her arm. Chalondra froze. She hadn't realized he was coming up so fast. He forced her to spin around and face him.

"What in all of the wizarding world are you talking about?"
Chalondra gave a hearty sniff. Kadric didn't loosen his grip on her arm. She tried to shrug out of it, but his fingers only clamped around her elbow tighter.

"LET GO OF ME!" she shrieked, ripping her arm out of his hand. The scream in her voice was what had probably taken him by the most surprise; never had she screeched at someone like that. She took two steps back, feeling her breath come out heavily. "I don't—I don't need this right now," she said, trying to keep her voice in fake calmness. Kadric watched her with wide eyes. "I can't."

"If you'd just let me explain—"

"Explain? Explain? That what? You've hated me from the beginning? That talking to me has been a waste? That kissing me has been a waste? That I've been a waste? That your little plan to trick me into—into feeling something I shouldn't for you worked? That you knew kissing Yoyo would make me feel like this? Feel this TERRIBLE?"

She glared at Kadric. Given the shocked expression on his face, he could have almost tricked her into thinking he actually had no idea about these feelings she had, or how she felt right now. It was almost like…almost like…

"Oh no." She felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Stupid, stupid girl! She had just given Kadric the satisfaction of knowing how she actually felt!

He still didn't say anything. Her blushing face immediately turned into a scowling one. "Oh, what, why are you so surprised? You look stupid with your mouth hanging open like that," she snapped, pointing a finger threateningly at him. "This is what you wanted all along, wasn't it? For me to feel stupid? Embarrassed? Useless? Like—like some kind of toy?"

Kadric seemed to finally manage talking. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he hissed, his tone dangerous. Chalondra stuck out her chin stubbornly, making sure to glare at him.

"Sure. Because you know, I can trust you, right?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. The tone seemed to irritate Kadric.

"Chalondra, I had no idea she was going—"

"STOP!" Chalondra yelled, clapping her hands to her ears. "I don't want to hear your excuses!" She whirled around, eyes brimming with tears and strode quickly down the hall.

This time, Kadric didn't follow.

The idea came to Chalondra when she was sitting in the common room. She was near the hearth, curled up like a cat in a nearby blue chair, with gold gilding on the edges. Her feet poked out of the edge, and her elbows seemed ready to collapse as they held her head up, but she didn't care. Her eyes continued to stare into the hearth flames, unblinking.

"Hey, what're you looking so grim for?" Danny plopped down on the ground beside her. Chalondra was silent for a few seconds, and then slowly slid her eyes down to look at Danny below her. He was grinning at her, his head level with hers even though he was on the ground, cross-legged.

"Hi," she mumbled.

Danny cocked his head. "Gee, that was really pathetic," he told her dryly.

"Sorry," she said, not sorry at all. "I've had a bad day."

"Oh." Danny fidgeted. "Why don't you tell your friends about it?"

Chal snorted. "Sorry Danny, I don't have any friends at the moment."

Minute by minute, the plan was become clearer. This would be perfect!

"Really?" Danny looked genuinely surprised. "Are you guys in a fight?"

Flashes of her and Kadric in the Hospital Wing flew through her mind. Memories of Yoyo and Kadric…she shivered. "You could say that."

"Ah. Well…sorry."

"Don't be."

"Why not?"

"It's not worth it."

"It's not?"

"I'll be out of Hogwarts soon. I should be more focused on school and marks anyway."

"Chalondra…"

"What?" she asked waspishly. "It's fine, Danny, honest."

"Well, if you're sure."

"I am."

A silence settled. "Are you guys fighting over a boy or something?" Danny asked innocently, not looking at her.

Chalondra let out a silent gasp. How had he known? How could he be any closer?

"No! Of course not!" Chalondra sniffed. "I don't have time for boys."

Danny frowned. "Oh. Right."

Chalondra fidgeted. "Hey Danny," she began slowly, not believing what she was about to say.

"Yea?"

"Would you like to…help me out?" Oh my god, she thought drearily. I'm falling down to his level!

"Yea, of course!" Danny replied enthusiastically.

"Are you a good actor?"

Danny's face fell a bit. "Er…yea, I guess. How come?"

"Because…" Chalondra's expression became even more cat-like. "I need you to be my pretend boyfriend."

Kadric picked at the food on his plate. He nibbled at it. He moved it around with his fork, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.

This wasn't working. It just wasn't. Kadric didn't think he could ever feel this guilty—he didn't think he could ever feel this way about a girl, period. It was a strange feeling. Something he didn't like.

Stupid, stupid, stupid Yoyo! He wanted to kill her. He looked up from his food to see her watching her. He glared at her. She looked away, growing red. Good. Let her feel stupid. Let her feel embarrassed. He hated her. He hated her so much.

But he shouldn't. Augh! That accursed Chalondra! She was driving him crazy.

The door creaked open. Kadric looked up, startled at its loud noise. He sucked on his bit of sausage in surprise, feeling the whole thing slither down his throat. He began to choke and gag and cough and nearly die. Only when he regained control did he manage to look up again.

It was Chalondra. Never had she been late to breakfast. But here she was, clearly late.

And she was holding hands with a boy.

Oooh. That girl. She was pure evil. She had been taking too many Kadric lessons. She was good. She was very good.

Too bad Chalondra was doing it for all the wrong reasons.

So she had a fake boyfriend. Big deal. Kadric didn't care. Deep inside, he knew she still wanted to kiss him. He knew she liked him. But remembering her screaming, her tone, and her tears…he gulped. It didn't seem like she'd be forgiving him any time soon.

With narrowed eyes, he watched her pat something off of his shoulder. He watched her laugh at something that stupid, puffed-up Ravenclaw boy said. He wanted to claw his eyes out.

No! No! Stop! He thought, cringing at his feelings. She's faking! She doesn't like that boy! It's all an act, a plot to make you feel jealous! She knows what she's doing. Chalondra's smart…it's a pity you just didn't apologize, idiot.

He shook his head. An annoying thought crept into his head. What if they spent so much time together that she actually began to like him? That would be terrible! Horrifying!

"Augh!" Kadric cried, slamming a fist on the table. Nearby Slytherins looked over at him, brows raised. He glared at them, picked up his bag, and strode out of the Great Hall.

Two could play at this game.

Chalondra saw him leave. She grinned in a sad, morbid sort of satisfaction at the look of anger on his face. Good. Let him feel terrible about seeing her with another guy. Let him know how she felt.

Flirting with Danny was an absolute nightmare. He actually flirted back. She could just tell, and it made her shiver. Danny was nice and all, but…she had made it clear they were just faking. Nothing, nothing was ever going to happen between them.

He seemed to be taking it a little too seriously though.

"Hey Chalondra," he whispered. She managed to avoid eye contact with him and Kate, who was glaring daggers at her. "How about we go out now and find a dark, secluded corner…"

"Um!" Chalondra stood up, blushing. "Sorry Danny, gottagobye!" She rushed out of the hall, nearly sprinting towards the doors.

She stood in the Entrance Hall, panting. That stupid boy! Danny! Kadric! They were all the same. Danny was taking it too seriously, and Kadric was a boy she hated with all of her heart.

Too bad she actually didn't. She was trying to make him jealous. She was trying to make him see she didn't need him.

She knew he would see right through it. She knew he would see that she just wanted him back. But would he care? She doubted it. He was with Yoyo. He had planned this all to make her feel terrible.

She leaned against the stonewall; closing her eyes briefly, her shoulders sagging. Things were going terribly. She had a fake boyfriend, no friends, and the guy she truly wanted totally and completely against her.

"Hey."

Chalondra stiffened. She could feel a shadow falling across her face. She heard a hand rest against the wall inches away from her ear. She could just imagine Kadric standing in front of her, both of his hands caging her against the wall.

"What do you want?" she snapped, keeping her eyes closed.

"What, you can't look at me?" he asked innocently. She shut her eyes tighter. Chal knew what he was trying to do. Make her feel bad. Make her feel terrible. Make her realize she was doing the stupid thing. Give him the satisfaction of knowing she really wanted him. She could feel his breath tickling her nose. She almost sneezed.

"Go away, Kadric."

"What's with the nerd?"

"Danny is a boy, Kadric," she hissed.

He shrugged. She could hear the fabric rustling. "Whatever."

She could hear the nonchalance in his voice. It stabbed through her. Did he really not care? She wasn't sure. It sounded like her plan was failing. Standing her ground, Chalondra suddenly opened her eyes. She almost gasped at the closeness between the two. Kadric smirked down at her.

"Ah. So you've woken up."

"Danny is a great guy, Kadric," she said stiffly.

"I'm sure he is," Kadric drawled, shifting his position so he was a little closer. Chalondra begged all of the gods to keep her self-control. "But is he what you really want?" he asked quietly, eyes drilling into her. Chalondra stared. She stared and stared and stared. Finally, she frowned.

"Yes," she lied. "Yes, he is."
Kadric shrugged. "Okay."

"Yea, at least I know he won't go around kissing my friends," Chalondra informed him impulsively. Kadric immediately frowned.

"Hey, don't start that again—"

"Oh yes, Danny is a very committed guy," Chalondra continued. "He doesn't just kiss a girl and not let her know how he feels. Nope. When he kisses, he means it."

Kadric's eyes widened slightly. "Are you implying I go around kissing girls I don't like?"

Chalondra gave a false laugh, still stiff between Kadric's arms. "Finally, he gets it!" she almost yelled. "Well, you kissed me, didn't you? I'm pretty sure you don't like me."

Kadric changed the subject at lightning speed. "So you're saying you've kissed this guy already?"
Chalondra's eyes twinkled. "Maybe," she whispered, surprised at her own acting. She was glad to see Kadric's frown deepen, to see his eyes calculating. Good. Maybe he didn't hate her.

She didn't care though. She wanted him to know how she had felt.

"I see," he replied coldly, not moving his arms. Chalondra was very tempted to kiss him. He was just so close.

"Yea," she replied, making sure to look at him, unblinking.

"Hm." Kadric looked around the hall, as if checking to see if people were around.

"What, looking for witnesses?"

Kadric grinned at her evilly. "Yes, actually, I am." Then he leaned forward and kissed her lightly. Not on the lips, not on the forehead, not on the cheek, but on the nose.

The nose? Chalondra's inner thoughts screamed as Kadric paused, drew away, and walked down the halls. He's teasing me! That jerk! He's trying to see if I'll back out of this Danny thing! Augh! Why did I ever think he was nice! He STILL hasn't apologized!

Chalondra stomped up the stairs to go to her next class. She wouldn't let him get the best of her. No way. He hurt her, now she wanted to hurt him. He was going to tease her now, taunt her, but she was going to keep going. She was going to make him so jealous, so sad, it would hurt him.

Oh yes. Now it was war.