I could never write a novel, my muse does not do commitment. I think I'm just destined to write multiple stories on the go. That's my curse.Oh well...there are worse curses out there. Here's the next chapter.

Chapter title is a twist on the song by The Killers. Since my chapter titles have delved into the realms of musical lyrics I might as well stick to this theme. Feel free to find these songs on Spotify or something, they very much compliment the story.

Ilena POV

Knock knock knock. Being interrupted in mid-gurgle is a choke hazard, so thanks whoever it is for trying to kill me. "o' 'eck" I spit out the remains of the toothpaste impeding my speech capability. This better be someone important.

"Come on Snowflake, you didn't pay to use the water so hurry up" Totally and completely unimportant. My second least favourite person in this house.

"I'm brushing my teeth, and there are other bathrooms in the house you know" I tell her. Just for annoying me I think I might flood the sink. It can't overflow, but a full basin of water never fails to irritate her.

"On my floor, with a song to work on and a rehearsal tonight, this is MY bathroom" she needs to work on her attitude a lot more than she does her stupid song.

"Then you can wait just two seconds to use YOUR bathroom." I smirk hearing her groan in frustration, hopefully buggering off for a few moments.

You may recall I said 'second least favourite'. Well, my father can be moody after a poor business deal falls through, and mother will scream the house down if you touch her make-up, perfume, clothes, jewellery... basically anything she personally owns and cherishes. But they are angels compared to Parrot.

And Hermione's my favourite person of all time, the opposite of what I think of Parrot and this other person. So who does that leave?

That'll be Joe Traitor Moon.

It's Wednesday, about four days into Hermione's stay, and Joe just arrived. I slept through til ten and awoke to joyful screeching and warm voices outside my window. I look out and there she is, squeezing him to death (I only wish that was literal) and completely wrapped up in each other.

I would've thrown up had it not been for my empty stomach. Still, I didn't feel like eating after seeing that. I stayed in bed for another hour, everybody just thought I was being a hermit like usual.

It sucks that Hermione never checked on me. Every morning so far she's taken it upon herself to be my alarm clock and personal arse-kicker. I secretly liked it, even though I swore blind the opposite.

But twelve o'clock came and I remained undisturbed. Just exemplifies the changes romance can have on people. It's not her duty to get me out of bed in the mornings, but the fact she did made me feel special.

Every moment she's been here has felt special. Like she was born to know me and vice versa. There was never a dull moment. Perhaps not all good moments, like when Parrot tries to sweet-talk her into unmentionable things. But never dull.

I've never had so much fun in this house as I've had with Hermione. She makes any average thing seem like the greatest. Movies I found boring before were suddenly some of my favourite films, simply because we laughed so hard over them.

Her sense of humour completely balances mine.

Our tastes in music are virtually identical.

We share the same ethics and values, despite our different upbringings.

She's the most gorgeous girl on the planet.

The loveliest girl that's ever lived.

The only person who truly understands me. A position usually reserved for Joe

The only person I trust anywhere near to one of my own family members. And near to how I trusted Joe

She's the girl of my dreams.

But she's HIS girlfriend, not mine.

"ILENA, GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM" Oh cripes, there's Parrot again. I have been in here longer than I thought, better surrender before a war starts.

She nearly dislocates my shoulder on her way in, barging me aside. "Watch where you're going Snowflake."

I just finger salute my apology, a good argument should occur after a nice coffee and a tasty breakfast.

Mealtime entertainment isn't up to scratch today, the kitchen is empty except for a canoodling couple sitting at the island.

I'd be squeezing Hermione as a good morning right now, if only Judas wasn't here. Instead I'll just blank the pair completely, grab a yoghurt from the fridge and leave before they notice. I'd be as noticable as a money spider on the ceiling to them, what with being so wrapped up in each other.

My presence has been immediately detected, at least Hermione's head generously pokes out from it's loveseat in the clouds. "Afternoon Ilena, slept well I gather?"

Non-committal shrugging is my only form of affirmation. I can just pretend to be perusing my breakfast (lunch whatever) options from the fridge, except I can't because all I can think about is how to jam Joe's head in the door without Hermione noticing.

I can feel the stares behind me, the exchanging of looks, the awkwardness setting in. I'm glad I can derail their intimacy so easily.

I can only get away with looking through our food stores for so long, before they'll click onto the truth. I grab my intended target from the preset; a strawberry and vanilla fat-free yoghurt.

Oh Odin's Sugary Balls, the cutlery drawer is behind me...in their direction. Let's just play this casual.

Passive aggressiveness is my attempt at playing it casual. "Hey Jude... welcome to my humble abode."

"Jude?" Hermione questions me.

"The Beatles song, just thought I'd introduce you novices to proper music culture. We can all pretend to be from Liverpool and spread peace and harmony. Or peace and HERMIONE."

You can facepalm Hermione but I know you're smiling inside.

"Which Beatle am I then?" Joe humours me.

"I'm Paul and you're John" who ruins a perfectly good thing to steal the spotlight. Or in this case the girl.

Joe has a very adept knowledge of The Beatles, enough for me to know he is bound to see the hidden message. "Haha cool" That's a fake laugh if I ever heard one.

It's worth a try right? "Hey Hermione, once I've devoured this we can go for our run." Yes, OUR run, excellent word choice. Subtly implies that the event itself is personal, and to decline it is to be taken personally.

"We've been running all week" Hermione groans back. "What if my hamstrings snap?"

"I can carry you"

"I can carry y-"

Strange, I didn't know Joe has volunteered to provide my very own personal echo.

I raise an eyebrow at him "are you sure you can carry her, after all I've been carrying you for years?" I've finally lost my cool a bit, but he's going to need his own to soothe that burn I just gave him.

And it did some damage. "Oh, is that right? Every homework assignment you've ever completed since third year has had some essence of my brain in them. Who's carrying who again?"

I was just about to rip his argument to shreds, but Hermione stopped me. "I thought you would both be over this. Ilena, why are you so hostile?"

I really need to think of a plausible excuse to hide my true feelings behind, but the best I can do is just refuse to answer the question. "I'm going for a run. Alone. Away from you two . Adios."

I didn't even get to eat my yoghurt. Fuck them, fuck me and fuck everyone.


Hermione's POV

There she goes, storming off with steam billowing out of her ear holes. I might be imagining that in reality, but if this was a cartoon that's exactly how Ilena would look.

And I don't even know what she's so peed off about? Joe has to know something, after all he is the one who is the focus of her ire, and he's clearly not as baffled by her behaviour as I am.

You can't avoid my eyes forever Joe. He sighs "don't look at me, I am not an interpreter for Lena's mental issues."

"Don't treat me like an idiot Joe, what have you done to make her like that, she's been nothing but amazing since I've been here? You're both very close friends, but all of a sudden you've become enemies since me and you started dating."

"Nothing"

"How can you label what just happened as nothing? She can't even hide her contempt for you, you've done something."

He's so unhelpful, just shrugging at me like he hasn't got the brains to work out why his best friend despises him. "Does your query come with a multiple choice option?"

He refuses to provide a straight answer, and she avoids the question. They're just as bad as each other. "If it was just a fight between you two, I'd leave you both to it. But when it's blatantly obvious you're fighting over me, you can at least have the decency to explain why."

"It's her problem" he tells me seriously. "It's not ours. Neither I nor you have done anything wrong."

"And she has?"

"Well no, technically she hasn't done anything wrong either...but she is being immature an-"

"And you need to get off your high horse" I tell him, getting increasingly irritated by the pair of them. "It's easy to say she's in the wrong, when you haven't even explained to me what the issue is."

He's ruffling his hair in frustration. Why do people tousle their hair when they are stressed, since when does messy hair represent an attempt at composure? Although, he looks just as boyishly handsome with haphazard hair.

Not like Harry, who just would perhaps be a lot more desirable if he actually treated his hair with some pride. He doesn't even dry it properly, he just walks around with it all wet with strands pointing in every other direction.

Why am I talking about everyone's hair now?

"I've broken a friendship code alright" Joe calmly explained, the redundant use of an open palm slightly distracting me. "And no I can't tell you what that code is because I'd break another in doing so."

Code of friendship, of course. That unspoken set of rules that friends become accountable for should they break them. Perhaps I could work out which one had been broken through process of elimination.

Wha-oh, this is lovely. His arms around my waist, his chin on my shoulder, hugging me from behind. I know he's only trying to worm his way back into my good books, but it's sweet and incredibly snug. I'll let him off on this occasion. "Look Hermione, don't worry about Ils, you're both right in the sense that I'm to blame. She's my best mate and I'll make sure she knows how sorry I am. Hopefully I can be forgiven and we can go back to how we were before. But just let me handle things okay."

Strong words and a cuddle for assurance. "Alright, but make sure you do. I care about her a lot and I would rather not be in the middle of this silliness. I want my best friend and boyfriend exactly how they were a week ago."

"You mean the best friend who stuffed ice cubes down my shirt and the boyfriend who jinxed her chewing gum to stick her teeth together? That best friend and boyfriend?" He could barely get the words out before we're both laughing. That was hilarious.

"Yes, that's exactly the versions of you and Ilena that I want in my life" Although not all the time.

"I'm working on it" He kisses my temple, and it's only fair he gets one from me.

I can barely separate my lips from his, it's wonderful you know. Kissing.

Finally we can move onto the next topic "So what's happening at home, are Alex and Rosie dating yet?"

"Err, afraid not. The coupling of them two wasn't as inevitable as we all thought."

"But they've been so close lately, Alex literally goes into a trance just by looking at Rosie." That is not an exaggeration. "Has she not asked her out yet?"

"She definitely has, and she definitely wasn't given the answer she wanted."

I'm shocked. I'm shocked. "Rosie turned her down. That's horrible for Alex, and truthfully really unexpected."

Even Joe seems genuinely troubled by his sister's romantic woes. "Alex hasn't taken it well at all. She's been...incredibly volatile to everybody ever since. I've seen a pissed off Alex many times, but I've never seen her like this before. I guess everybody is going through a tough time at the moment."

I wouldn't say Alex is a charmer exactly, she can be downright horrible at the best of times, but that soft centre was her saving grace. She hides that part of herself well, and if you're able to dig deep enough to find it then you know you're someone special to her. Rosie had free access to that part of Alex. Therefore I understand that when the most special one strikes at that tender area, everybody else gets flushed out and nobody gets back in for a long time.

"Don't ask me about Rosie either, I wasn't present when Alex asked her out and Alex unsurprisingly hasn't provided a report of what was said, or what happened afterwards. However, I don't think Rosie let her down gently at all."

"It doesn't sound like Rosie. But I can't deny this doesn't look good on her behalf. I mean, Alex has thick enough skin to take rejection, so something else had to have been said." I'm picturing scenarios in my head, where Rosie freaks out or calls Alex disgusting things. Surely Rosie would never say such things, but it's on that level or Alex is far more sensitive than she appears. Which I'm not discounting by the way.

I feel like I don't know anything at the moment. Don't know what Ilena's problem is. Don't know how Rosie rejected Alex.

The Breakfast Club is falling apart at the seams, and I can't shake the feeling it's because of me.

"Hey Poindexter, and hey beautiful, best thing I've seen in the morning since strawberry and pancakes" Oh no, it's Parrot.

"It's the afternoon" Joe retaliates in an annoyed tone. The tone of someone who has grown used, but not amiably, to Sabina's antics.

Sabina is far too interested in me that I don't think she actually heard his response. "Is this for me angel?"

What that is should've been Ilena's breakfast, her abandoned yoghurt pot. "Ilena was going to have that"

I never had any delusions that Sabina wasn't going to take it regardless. "Key word, 'was'."

Without the assistance of a spoon she tucks into the yoghurt. "So where is my much lamer, much uglier sister of mine? Oh don't tell me...running."

"She is, and we'd wish you did the same to just get away from you" Joe shoots back.

"We really need to fix that door, it squeaks like a pathetic mouse all the time" it's obvious the door and mouse was actually Joe.

Since for some reason Sabina seems to listen to me, it's up to me to reign her in. "Sabina, we would really appreciate it if you..." what in Merlin's name is she playing at, I know that splodge of yoghurt on her nose is anything but accidental. She acts all innocent, but she's a poor actress. "Oh goodness me, how uncivilised, I haven't been this messy since I went down on that pretty brunette last night. She looked a bit like you Hermione."

Whether she really did 'go down' on a brunette girl is irrelevant, it was a completely undisguised goading remark, designed to embarrass me. And it works.

"I would really appreciate it" I continue onwards "if you left us to enjoy our afternoon in peace, that is if you haven't got anything nice to say"

"That depends on what you'd define as 'nice'. I think sex is nice, and if you spent the night with me you'd see it the same way."

"She is NOT sleeping with you" Joe spits in my defense, although I expected more. Then again, Sabina is a freight train and stops for no one.

"NEITHER are you, you haven't had the time have you little virgin" Sabina mocks him.

"Sabina, that's enough!" Thank the heavens for Lucas Ljomberg "I thought you were heading into town today?"

"I'm waiting for you to drive me" She scoffed with the absence of any respect shown for ones parents.

"Oh no I'm not, your own car has been mended and you'll find your keys on the hook." This man knows how to handle his stuck-up daughter, all without raising his voice and whilst gulping a piping hot mug of coffee. Oh how I admire him.

Whilst she makes her exit, to everyone's relief, he apologizes to us on her behalf. "One day she'll show everyone the right amount of respect, until then just ignore everything she says."

"How has your day been Lucas?" I call him by his first name. Same as Ilena's mum Tyra. I don't particularly know why I grew into saying their names without any hesitance or discomfort so easily, it just seems more fitting to call them Lucas and Tyra than Mr and Mrs Ljomberg. Mr and Mrs Weasley are the opposite and I don't really know why, perhaps because Molly is your literal housewife and Arthur your typical breadwinner. They suit the Mr and Mrs too well for me.

Whereas Lucas has a work-hard-or-die-trying outlook on life. He's suave and well-groomed almost constantly. And Tyra still has a teenager living inside her, with the maturity and experience that can only be found in your middle-ages. Not your average Mr or Mrs.

"Few problems but nothing too concerning, always looking on the bright side. And how about yours?" Lucas returned, grabbing a diet coke from the fridge. Diet coke is literally the best fizzy drink in the world. It's satisfying, refreshing, the healthiest option on the market and you look cool drinking one. No-brainer.

"Not as sunny over here unfortunately" Joe understates.

"This guy is on the bad side of Ilena for some unknown reason, and his sister didn't take too kindly to being turned down by our other friend. Nobody is throwing any summer parties that's for sure."

Naturally he's mostly interested in the problem involving his daughter. "Where is she?"

"Running at the moment, probably very hard and fast to blow off a lot of steam" Joe looks guilty as sin, and almost shameful in front of Ilena's dad even though Lucas was showing only concern.

"Have you tried apologizing to her with peanut MMs and a Lord Of The Rings marathon?"

"I'm afraid it will take more than chocolate and orcs to win her forgiveness"

"Don't worry mate, she might not see it now but you always have and always will do right by her. What is it you've done to upset her?"

It's not just any impression I have, it's a distinct one. A distinct impression that if I wasn't right by my boyfriend's side he'd be revealing all to this man. But because I am here he's unable to do so without "breaking another friendship code." I get it but what is the harm in me knowing. I'm ninety nine percent sure it's about me, but what specifically I don't know. Isn't it breaking the friendship code to keep things from your friends that they're entitled to know about?

Lucas somehow manages to understand the answer through Joe's discomfort and what I believe to have been subtle gestures in my direction. See, it's definitely because of me. And the friendship code that was broken must be...I don't see one. Am I just being naive or even dumb about this, or is everyone going crazy around me. I think it's the latter. "I understand now, it's very unfortunate. I do hope you are not playing games."

"No sir. I admit I knew I saw this coming but I...I can't help it any more than she can. For once in our friendship I was selfish, and I'm more than prepared to never be selfish again. But what I won't do is give this up just to please her."

This might have been touching to hear, IF I HAD A CLUE WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT. "If you're both going to talk as if I'm not here can I please be excused to make it official."

"I'm sorry Hermione, I hope we're not being too disrespectful but my Ilena is very protective of some things that myself and Joe here are privy to. It's best for that information to come directly from her, not secondhand through us." I'm not bitter or anything, but I thought me and Ilena were very close, it's...hurtful that she can't divulge this little secret to me. But then Joe is her best friend, and Lucas is her father. Forget it, I'm being silly.

Where's Joe going now? "I'm going to try and intercept Ilena, I don't have all day and I need to at least have my say before I leave."

"Good idea, Ilena can avoid anyone for days. Try the marina, she usually takes a twenty minute break from there." Lucas transitions into a chair to rifle through some paperwork.

"Will do. I'm sorry Herm, I'm yours for the rest of the day upon my return" He talks like he's a gallant hero going on a voyage, he's literally only going outside for maybe an hour or two.

"Joe, right now I couldn't give a toss. Go find her and try and end whatever this is between you and her. Perhaps you'll both return and I'll turn off the road to insanity."

He laughed, I'm glad he enjoys the idea of insane Hermione. He still kisses good, even when it's only on the cheek.

It's just me and Lucas now. I thought we might fall into silence or he'd go on his merry way, but he read me like a book...or a business document in his case. "Ilena does not hate you, I can assure you of that. Do you really think she'd invite you to her home if she had a problem with you?"

"No, but I thought I was beginning to...never mind" I thought I was beginning to mean something to her.

"I can't tell you for sure if she'll ever enlighten you with her secret one day. It all depends on how things work out between them two really. But just because she might never tell you, it doesn't mean she can't trust you. Sometimes with secrets trust does not apply; what a person stands to lose however, that always applies." I stand by my first impression of this man. Albus Dumbledore, Swedish version.

"Lucas, have you ever researched your family's heritage?"

"I can't say I have...I've been told we do have English blood, but that hasn't been properly corroborated. Why?"

"Oh, just curious." Ilena Dumbledore...that has a ring to it don't you think?


Ilena's Pov

You really don't want to see what's going on in my head right now. Oh well, I guess as you're already here I should just get on with it.

I'm just sitting here by the marina, trying to remember the name of the girl who drowned in these waters. Anastasia or Fantasia or something like that, I know only that it rhymes with euthanasia which has something to do with why she drowned. The name might get lost but the story sticks in my head like super glue.

Some retell it as a spooky ghost story around Halloween time, some retell it as a reminder for sailors to be vigilant and to always report something suspicious, even if it turns out to be a misunderstanding. But it's mostly known as a tragic tale of a girl not much older than me. This Anastasia fell in love with a married sailor twenty or so years older than her. I won't waste your precious time narrating the entire tale, I'll just skip to the relevant details.

They have an affair, he tries to end it after a while and he plans to sail away with his wife, never seeing Anastasia ever again. She goes crazy and begs the man to kill her, for she's as good as dead without him. He refuses and she chooses suicide instead. She tied her feet together with rope and jumped into the water. He attempts some sort of rescue but he's unable to free her. He returns to the surface without her.

The aftermath of that true story changes but what is certain is that that man was never heard or seen of again...and his wife still lives in town somewhere. I've never seen her but some folks (Parrot being one of them) claim to have encountered her as either a crazy lady, an old dear, a very sick woman or just a regular human being trying to live in our community in peace. That last description isn't a common one.

Don't worry, I'm not following Anastasia's example. I'm just...reflecting on the kind of things people do for love, and how whatever they do sometimes will never be enough. Let's face it if the late Anastasia didn't have a chance with her Mr Right, what chance do I have with my Miss Right? I don't know how Alex got on with Rosie, but I do wonder what would happen if Dom had started dating Rosie, just when Alex thought she had her feet under the table.

Typical. It would be bloody typical. If it ends in a blaze of glory because Rosie or Hermione happen to not be that way inclined, then sobeit. But being robbed of the chance to even ask, Joe just cannot understand how low that makes me feel. My kind don't just fail, we're denied the chance to fail.

I don't know how long I can go on like this for, or if I even can. I don't want to hate Joe, I don't think I can. He wronged me, and we both know it...and that's the point, he had the balls to go after what he wanted, even though I'd hate him for it.

If I was in his very position, I'd have done the same thing. Probably would've gloated a bit too. If he could've avoided hurting me by it, he would've done, but nothing short of never mentioning or acting on his feelings would achieve that.

And actually...even though it's the girl I want...I am happy for him. My anger and misery overshadow it of course, but deep down I can't imagine taking away his happiness for the sake of mine. She could be dating a much worse guy, it's only the best guy I know who has her.

She'll be happy with him, IS happy with him. It just hurts so bad. If I was a boy, would I have been in the frame much earlier than him? Possibly, probably, but that's neither here nor there. I'm a girl who likes girls, that ain't ever changing. The one girl I want is straight as an arrow, that ain't ever changing either.

This hurts more than anything I've ever felt, but I'll survive. I will be stronger. My future self will laugh with my wife/girlfriend/lover as I recall my tales of failed teenage romance, safe in the knowledge that I did find love, and one I wouldn't trade for all the galleons in Gringotts. And we'd invite Joe and Hermione Moon round for tea to join in our memory lane tales.

What I wouldn't give to trade places with that version of myself. It hurt to picture somebody other than Hermione by my side...at the moment. But my future self would thank me for considering it.

"Look we all know you're incredibly athletic, but you could at least break a sweat after a mile-run. Makes us weaker folk feel weaker when you don't even look at all worked." A voice that was the bain of my existence half an hour ago.

Yep, it's Joe. Hands in pockets, goofy half-smile, continuously toeing the ground like a tap dancer with a trapped nerve. That is an apologetic Joe, as pronounced as it has ever been.

Even though I've made progress with my opinion on Joe, it doesn't mean I've forgiven him. I want Hermione now just as much as I did five minutes ago, and all he symbolised at the moment was the reason why she wasn't mine.

Yes, that's not the case. My brain knows that, but my feelings are stubborn and close-minded, and they were well and truly still in control of my body. "What do you want?"

Again, a default characteristic of a contrite Joe. Delaying a response to a question or being addressed. "You haven't been running, you've just sat out here the whole time."

"Do I need to repeat myself, wha-"

"I heard. I just...don't know how to put it into words. I'll just start by saying...I miss my best mate."

"Looks like it, your lips are chapped to shite with all the kissing you've been doing."

"They are just my lips, I've kissed Hermione a couple of times at a push."

"You dork, I was obviously exaggerating, just trying to make a point that I've been far from your mind with your girlfriend by your side."

"And I'm trying to say that's bollocks. I've nearly fallen out with Hermione already over you, she's going spare in there wondering what the hell is going on with y-us."

I'll forget his slip-up for now, only because I'm concerned what might have been said. "You didn't-"

He shook his head "of course not, I'd suffer being battered by Hermione if it meant keeping your secret safe."

He'd definitely not mind that sort of punishment, the kinky git. "What does she know?"

"She pretty much knows we're fighting about her, that I broke a few friendship rules in asking her out, and she knows we're protecting some secret of yours. It's driving her up the wall not knowing what it is."

"And you're sure she doesn't know I have feelings for her?"

"Ils, she has no clue that you're even into girls, let alone her. But I'll warn you now, she's on a mission to find out."

I didn't mind that. Only a select few are even aware of my sexuality, and those who do know are sworn to secrecy. And whilst she's interrogating me and playing her detective games, I'll be watching her with light-hearted amusement and enjoying her company as much as I can.

"So is that all you came out here to tell me?"

There really was no point him standing up when there was a perfectly human-sized space next to me on the bench. We're being civil, it's what grownups do apparently. He takes his seat sighing "no, like I said I miss you."

That bastard, he's opening me up. "I miss you too. I hate you, but I miss you."

"You don't have to you know, miss me that is. You can hate me all you want, just as long as you're there hating me."

Is he for real? "Joe, I'm not just going to accept this so soon. It's been not even a week, I'm not built to forgive that quickly on something of this scale."

"I'm not asking you to. Just...don't be a stranger, for Hermione's sake if not mine."

He just doesn't get it. "That is what you're asking. The very sight of you two makes me sick, almost physically. The Imperius curse couldn't make me pretend to look happy in front of you both."

"You know, scientists say that if you continuously keep falling to a certain illness, you'll eventually build-up an immunity to it." That was the most stupidest thing he may have ever said. Factually because it was bollocks, she was pretty sure that only works with some illnesses, not all. And because he's comparing this to a medical ailment. Liking somebody is not a disease.

It may feel like it, but technically it's not.

"Do you want to try that again, this time without being a moron?"

He chuckles at my dig. "Gladly. What I'm trying to say is the more you're around us, the easier it will be to become "immune" to us."

"You're asking too much Joe. I'm sorry but that's the truth. I can't jump in and be a third wheel, just to play an act I'll not be able to perform. I'm not saying it's not possible to get over your relationship, I'm not saying I won't forgive you. But I am saying it's impossible right now."

He is clearly disappointed, but I can see he understands, more than I gave him credit for. "Alright. But I think it's wise if we...pretend to have made up...without actually hanging out like we normally would."

"How exactly is that going to work?"

Joe clears his throat, getting up to leave. "We can start by both coming inside, I have a feeling my mother might call me home early, and you have to be there to see me off, right?"

Deceptive and clever is my best mate, his sister has definitely rubbed off on him. "Right."

An; I haven't made a mistake, this is definitely a Hermione/Ilena story. You WILL see them get together by the end, that is pretty much the only spoiler I can guarantee. Do not be disheartened by how this chapter went, Joe is just a device for Hermione to experience a relationship, so she can easily recognise and compare the differences between liking someone and falling in love. And I like Joe, in my original plan he was going to break up with Samara and not have a romantic interest. But I like the guy and he deserves something from this story besides a mere supporting role.

I know what people are thinking...is Hermione blind or stupid? Surely she'd clue together the signs of Ilena's sexuality perhaps through her family, choice of friends and the reason why she's hating on Joe (signs: Sabina, Alex and crush). But think about it...nobody truly knows someone is gay unless they openly display it or confess. Like Sabina and Alex. Those with experience will recognise the signs but Hermione is very INexperienced.

And again, being gay in this world setting is not something to display or confess. Sabina is a muggle who are more tolerant, and Alex was trying to secretly woo Rosie, hence why she gets burnt quite badly. So Hermione, she only knows two lesbians, which she already thinks is a rare occurrence. What are the chances that she knows a third, who happens to be her best friend?

That's not to say she won't begin to see the signs or consider the possibility rather soon.