Chapter 10
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews.:) And sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but exams are just now over.;)
Hermione shook her head, still not believing the dance was over.
Even now it was over, she had a hard time believing she'd said yes to Avery. She spent most the evening trying to keep his hands off of her, dancing as little as possible, and ignoring the rather loud whispers about her and Avery's closeness to one another.
Of course, she had a reason for going. And the reason had never showed itself.
She had looked round the room, in vain. The dance was done with, most everyone had left already, and Riddle was not to be found anywhere.
Her lips thinned faintly in annoyance at Avery over the lie he'd told her earlier, just so she'd go with him. She was certain he knew all along Riddle had no intention of going, and her look told him as much.
"What, you're not still sore over Riddle, are you?"
Avery paused for a brief moment. He was leisurely taking his time back to her room, after he insisted on seeing her back, and thought it too much of an opportunity to pass up. Of course, he began rethinking whether the girl was worth so much effort, on reading her present mood. He almost didn't want to hear her answer, and when nothing was said, was very nearly glad of the cold shoulder she gave him. She might deny it, but the evening had told him otherwise, she was taken with his friend. He tried to ignore his slighted feelings and went on.
"How was I to know he'd changed his mind just before." He didn't bother to look at her, but gave her a sideways glance, instead, slightly irritated by her preoccupation with his friend instead of with himself. He said in a sarcastic tone, with more feeling than he'd meant to let on, "If I didn't know Riddle better, I might be a bit envious of him, but since I do, there'd be little point in it, seeing as he doesn't care enough for anyone here to put in the effort of making an appearance."
"Does that include you?"
Hermione tossed the question back at him, feeling slightly defiant. She thought they were friends.
"Yes. It does."
Avery spoke evenly as if it made no difference to him either way. But it did, and even years of amity with Riddle couldn't change the fact or his friend. He leaned in slightly closer, his tone becoming quieter, as if what he had to say was secret.
"Make no mistake, Riddle cares only for himself."
Avery, hesitating after the vague caveat, felt a tad uncomfortable with the subject matter, and tried to lighten the somewhat serious conversation.
"Now take me, for instance, I care very much what you think."
He was half-serious, but Hermione, thought he was only laughing at her. They had reached her door, and Hermione twisted the handle open, but Avery was growing impatient of all this talk and restive with waiting. He saw his chance passing.
He took hold of her hand in his, and leaned in nearer for a kiss, but Hermione broke away from his grasp, with a look of contempt.
"Unfortunately for you, I don't care. Not for you or Riddle, whatever you might think."
Hermione turned quickly from him and shut the door behind her, leaving Avery still standing after her with a look bordering on hate.
Riddle tried concentrating on the book in front of him, but more times than not, found himself listening for footsteps outside his door, waiting for Avery to return. He had been gone long enough to alert his suspicions, he thought to himself, and then reproved himself for thinking it. What did it matter what Avery did or who he was with.
He glanced down at the words in the book, his eyelids heavy with sleep. He'd been up waiting, rather than reading, for what seemed like hours.
Suddenly, he heard the doorknob click, and his friend entered.
Avery had been careful to stay away an hour or more, after Hermione had shut the door in his face. He especially didn't want Riddle to think he'd ended the evening so early and so disappointingly. It would look rather badly for him, if he did.
Riddle looked up from his reading, trying to seem as disinterested as possible, and was fairly successful at it, 'til Avery spoke, that is.
"You should have told me the girl was such an easy mark. I'd have asked her out weeks earlier, if I'd only known."
Avery turned his back to Riddle, as he began to get undressed, smiling at the lie.
Riddle gave a half-hearted laugh at Avery's remark, expecting something of the sort from him. Avery liked to brag, so there wasn't much truth to what he said, on that particular score. But it was the much which had him dimly worried.
"I don't know if easy mark is an apt description or not. Of course, I can't say much of her, in that regard. Tiresome and precocious aren't exactly my preference."
Riddle shut the book lying open on the dark wooden writing table his tiredness quickly turning to edginess.
He didn't exactly want to dwell on the subject. The less he thought of her, the better off he would be.
He just hoped Avery wouldn't push him too far on the matter, he wasn't able to vouch for himself, like he once was, his temper might get the better of him.
"Look, I'm happy you two hit it off, I just don't care to hear the details, alright?"
He stood up leaning against the small table, trying to act indifferent to what he heard and what he felt.
Avery lewdly grinned at him as he threw himself on his mattress, half-undressed, too tired to be bothered with taking off any more of his clothes.
"I don't kiss and tell, Riddle."
He said into his pillow, the answer a bit muffled, as he sleepily fell into bed.
Riddle felt a stab of envy at the words and at the boy sprawled out on the bed across from him. He couldn't remember having felt envious since his days back in the orphanage, and it took him the rest of a sleepless night to name it as such.