Chapter 11
Disclaimer: If they belonged to me, I would've made sure they ended up together!
A/N: Thank you to Maria aka MarsPotter for her help and support. She talked me out of my many writer's blocks and kept the story going.
Don't want to give too much away so the rest of the thoughts have been elaborated at the end of the chapter. Please be sure to read that note before yelling at me for the way the chapter ends. :)
And finally, please review!
"Oi, chosen one," Ron barked as soon as Harry re-entered the common room. "Could I talk to you for a second here?"
Harry ground to a halt. Ron had never called him by his hated moniker - not even when they'd had their big falling out in 4th Year. Something was clearly wrong. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it could be?
"Uh, sure. Is everything okay?"
"Not bloody likely!" His ginger haired friend scoffed heatedly. "Well…" He amended in a more moderate tone of voice. "It all depends on whether what I heard is true or not."
Huh? Whatever that meant. Okay, now he was really confused. First Ron called him 'Chosen one' instead of Harry or 'mate' like he normally did and now he was talking cryptically - which for Ron was...highly unusual. What the hell?
Also, what was with the Weasley's asking to talk to him privately all of a sudden? First Ginny, now Ron? It was annoying, that's what it was. He didn't want to spend time soothing Ginny's or Ron's ruffled feathers; not when he could be spending it with Hermione instead. Or better yet, he could try to figure out a way to tell her that he didn't want their relationship to just be 'pretend' anymore. Instead, he was stuck dealing with one annoying friend after the other.
Still. It wasn't like Ron would leave him alone. (Not until they resolved whatever the fuck was bothering him, at least. So he didn't have much of a choice other than to suck it up and deal with his best friend.)
"Okay then," Harry grumbled, reluctantly gesturing for Ron to step out with him into the corridor.
Ron stalked ahead of him, ushering him into a side corridor, a little ways away from the Gryffindor common room.
"What's going on, Ron? You're clearly upset with me. But what isn't clear is why."
"Well see...I just heard the strangest thing. And I can't decide what to make of it, to be honest." He seemed genuinely put out. "I just want to say though, if what I heard is in fact true, then you mate, are an arsehole."
What the hell?
"Would you like to hear it - the rumor that I just heard?"
All Harry could do was nod dumbly; he was totally in the dark about whatever it was that Ron was alluding to.
"I heard; from a reliable source, mind; that you were fooling around with my little sister in an abandoned classroom a little while back."
Harry felt a shock wave go through him. What the fuck? How did Ron know about that?
"Tell me it isn't true Harry. Because you wouldn't do that - not to me or Ginny. But especially not to Hermione. Am I right?" Ron continued without giving him a chance to even get in a word edgewise. "No. No. I'm not going to jump to conclusions like I usually do." He muttered, almost to himself. "I'm going to trust my best mate and assume that it just isn't true, because I know for a fact that you and Hermione care for each other very deeply and you wouldn't want to mess that up in any way. Besides, you guys can't keep your hands off each other...so why in the world would you need to kiss anyone else? Right? It has to be a misunderstanding. It just has to be." He continued, looking genuinely confused.
Godric's bouncing balls! What an utter and complete disaster. He still couldn't figure out how in the hell Ron knew about what had happened between him and Ginny in the classroom. They'd been the only two people there. Unless...they hadn't…? A sick feeling began pooling in his gut. All of a sudden he remembered the classroom door slamming shut...had that been an actual person instead of just the wind like he'd assumed? Oh fuck!
"How do you know about that?" He blurted out before he could stop himself. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no! He wanted to smack himself. Oh jeez. He would've given anything - absolutely anything to be in possession of a time-turner right at that moment.
The rest of Ron's words finally sank in. Fooling around with Ginny? Oh fuck no. As if he would do something like that. It had been one stupid kiss - and one that had been planted on him without his know-how or consent, at that. No way did that fall into the 'fooling around with someone' category, not in his opinion. And he wasn't going to take the fall for something that he hadn't done...something that he'd had no say in.
Ron's mouth dropped open in shock. "So it's actually true?" He questioned incredulously, his eyes as big as saucers. "What the fuck, mate?" He smacked Harry's head; rather hard; in annoyance.
"Ow!" Harry bit out, rubbing the spot gingerly.
"I thought she was being overly dramatic when she told me. I even stood up for you - told her she had to be imagining things and that there was no way you would ever cheat on her."
Harry's stomach sank with dread. "Who? Who are you talking about?" He questioned, even though he had a terrible feeling he knew who Ron was talking about.
Ron looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Mione, that's who." He scoffed.
Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!
"How does she know about the kiss?" Harry demanded, his mind going blank with dread.
"Never mind that. What I want to know is... how? How could you let this happen? How could you do something like this... and with my sister, no less. And Hermione. You broke not only her trust, but her fucking heart. Blimey Harry, what were you thinking? Were you thinking? I don't know what I'm more upset about - the fact that you messed around with my sister or that you clearly did something to hurt Hermione; who, might I point out, is also like a sister to me. I thought you were better than that."
"You don't know what you're talking about…" Harry brushed off Ron's concerns, his entire being focused on getting to Hermione as soon as he possibly could.
"I...I don't know what I'm talking about…?" Ron spluttered incredulously, his face turning red with indignation. "Harry, I swear to God…"
"Ron, answer the damn question!" Harry shouted frantically, interrupting Ron mid-tirade. Frankly, he didn't care what Ron thought, not at the moment at least. It was Hermione's opinion that really mattered right now. "How did Hermione find out about the kiss!?" Merlin, if he didn't get some answers soon, he was going to have a full-blown panic attack.
Ron scoffed in disgust and annoyance. "It seems she went looking for you because you were gone so long and found you and Ginny snogging the hell out of each other in some abandoned classroom." His voice got louder the longer he spoke. "I ask again, How could you let this happen!?"
Oh Godric. That had been Hermione - the one who'd slammed the door? Fuck! He couldn't even begin to imagine how awful that moment would've looked from her point of view. To see the boy who'd taken your virginity kissing some other girl? Bloody hell. What must she think of him?
This was a nightmare. It had to be. It couldn't be real. His life couldn't suck that bad. No one had such rotten luck, not even him. Any moment now he would wake up - panting, sweat soaked, horrified and yet thankful beyond belief that he didn't have to live in a reality where Hermione believed that he'd moved on from her to Ginny in the space of a couple of days.
He pinched himself, just to speed up the process. Ow! Great. So it wasn't a bloody nightmare after all. Fucking hell. He couldn't catch a break, could he? Argh!
"Where is Hermione? I have to go talk to her," Harry exclaimed, panic stricken. Ron could wait. He could sort things out with him later. Hermione couldn't.
"Not before you tell me what the hell is going on." Ron fired back. "I'm not telling you where Hermione is until you talk to me."
"Come on Ron." He spat. "I don't have time for this."
Ron just crossed his arms and shook his head stubbornly.
Dammit.
"You know I can just ask someone else, right?" Harry demanded belligerently. "Or use the Map."
That seemed to piss Ron off even worse. "Merlin, you are so bloody annoying at times, you make me want to box your ears in. Just fucking tell me. How hard is that, huh? And it'll probably only take a few minutes."
He had a point. It would probably be quicker and more efficient if he just told Ron what happened and then went to find Hermione. Besides, if Ron believed him, he'd have one friend in his corner to support him in his quest to win her over. But, given their past history, it was a big 'if'. "Fine. Jeez! Yes, what Hermione saw was technically true but the truth of the matter is, I didn't kiss Ginny."
"Huh? How can you not have kissed her and still say that what Hermione saw was true?"
"I...I mean to say, I didn't initiate the kiss."
"Harry…" Ron spoke warningly. "You're already in a bit of a tight spot, mate. Be very, very careful about what you say - especially about Gin! She may be an annoying pain in my arse but she's still my little sister. I really don't want to have to punch you, but that doesn't mean I won't."
"Ron, you have to believe me. Ginny kissed me."
"And why would she bloody do that when she bloody well knew that you're dating Mione? Did you encourage her in some way?" Ron questioned dangerously.
"What? No. Absolutely not!" Merlin, Ron could be such a plonker at times. Sure, the whole thing did seem a bit suspicious, but would it hurt the bloke to give him - his supposed best friend in the whole wide world - the benefit of doubt sometime? Jeez. "She admitted to having feelings for me, okay? Then when I told her that I didn't feel the same way about her, she kissed me - something about how she would regret not doing so for the rest of her life or something like that."
"What? That's bloody bonkers!" Ron exclaimed.
"You have to trust me, mate. You know me. I could barely muster up the courage to kiss Cho last year, even when I'd liked her forever and I knew for a fact that she was single at the time. Now, leaving Hermione and everything that's going on with us aside for the moment, if you consider the whole Cho debacle, do you really think I have the balls to just kiss Ginny outright while knowing for a fact that she's dating Dean at the moment?"
That seemed to sink in. "Bloody hell, you really didn't kiss her, did you?" Ron finally admitted, starting to see the logic behind his words.
Harry just shook his head mutely.
"But she kissed you?"
Harry nodded. Emphatically.
"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed. "My sister's gone completely mental. I mean, what was she thinking? She knew you were dating Hermione. She had no business snogging you. Ugh. Wait till I tell mum. She's going to pitch a fit."
Harry's heart thudded with relief. Ron believed him, thank Merlin. Despite the fact that he'd just said he didn't care for Ron's opinion, it was still a huge relief to know that his best friend believed him - well - at least one of them did. The other; he winced; was going to be a much tougher sell. Especially since their entire interaction now had become way too muddled with all sorts of undertones. They were still friends, but that's not all they were anymore. What they had become was still a mystery to him, but he knew for a fact that their relationship couldn't be neatly pigeon-holed into the 'best friends' category anymore. Of course they would always remain best friends. But now...they were something more. Much, much more. At least as far as he was concerned.
Speaking of Hermione...he really should go talk to her and try to sort out any misunderstandings that may have arisen from witnessing what she did.
"So, Hermione...?" He inquired.
"Oh yeah," Ron murmured sympathetically. "You really arsed that whole thing up mate."
Oh yes, that's what he was afraid of.
Still, it's not like he had a choice. He had to at least try to clear things up with her or risk losing her forever. And that was a risk he wasn't willing to take. "So where is she?" He questioned again, almost bouncing on his feet in his anxiety.
"I don't know where she is exactly but I caught her just as I was walking into the common room and she was leaving. She seemed pretty upset, Harry. There may have been tears."
Fuck! He'd made her cry? Okay fine, he hadn't done it on purpose but still...he felt like an absolute wanker for being even marginally responsible for her misery. Ugh, he was going to give Ginny a big talking to - once he'd sorted things out with Hermione that is. On the other hand...there may be a tiny ray of hope in this otherwise shitty situation. Not that he was in any way happy about Hermione being miserable but the simple fact that she was, seemed to indicate some strong feelings for him on her end as well.
"Alright, well, I'm going to go find her and talk to her." Harry decided.
"Yeah, probably best." Ron agreed. He gave Harry a supportive thump on the back. "Good luck!"
"Thanks Ron," Harry gave him a quick smile and hurried away, his mind churning with thought, arguments and counter arguments. (This was Hermione - it always paid to be over prepared.)
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he looked; and he looked really really hard; he couldn't find her anywhere.
Finally, way past curfew, Harry trudged into the Gryffindor common room, dejected and forlorn.
"Hey," Ron called. "Where were you, mate? You missed dinner." He declared in a scandalized fashion - as if he couldn't imagine the horror of it all.
"I was out looking for Hermione." Harry sighed.
"All this time?"
Harry shrugged.
"Well? Did you find her?"
He simply shook his head.
Ron winced. "Sorry mate. Did you look in the astronomy tower?"
Harry nodded.
"Myrtle's bathroom?"
Another nod.
"How about by the lake?"
"Uh huh."
"Oh, oh, did you use the map?!"
"Yes, Ron." Harry spoke through gritted teeth. As if he wouldn't think of that.
"And you still didn't find her?"
He shook his head morosely.
"Then she must be in the Room of Requirement." Ron concluded triumphantly.
Harry nearly smacked himself. Of course. Why hadn't he thought of that? After all, he'd been the one to come to that conclusion regarding Malfoy's mysterious disappearances just the other day.
Harry gave him an exuberant hug. "You're brilliant Ron." He turned around, ready to make a dash for it again when the portrait hole swung open and in stepped the very person he'd spent all this time looking for - Hermione.
Harry stumbled to a stop.
Hermione froze as well. Their eyes met across the room and a brief flash of something - sorrow, grief, regret? - passed across hers. Then, she seemed to collect herself.
"Ron." She acknowledged, a bit tersely. "Harry. I figured you both would probably be in bed by now."
Okay she sounded stiff but definitely not hostile like she usually did after a fight with Ron. So hopefully she couldn't be all that mad at him.
"Just heading there now." Ron answered before Harry could figure out what to say. "Night Harry." He said, giving him an encouraging smile and a thump on the back - a kind of universal Bro code for 'You got this!'
Once again, it was brought home to Harry just how much having Lavender in his life had changed Ron. She centered him, made him feel like he, alone, mattered. And that made all the difference in the world. All the envy, the petty jealousy that Ron had harbored in the past seemed to have dwindled away to nothing. And that made Harry realize, what had always been missing for Ron was the feeling of being the most important person in someone's life.
Harry had always - inadvertently and vehemently against his own wishes - hogged the limelight. Even Hermione, who was supposed to be both of their best friend; had always been more focused on Harry and his problems. Most of their professors too had either loved Harry or hated him passionately - either way, their attention had always been centered on him. Ron had sort of faded to the background; even though it had never been Harry's intention or wish to make him feel neglected. Now though - Ron had someone who loved and cared about him to the exclusion of everyone else; someone who loved him for himself and not for his supposed accomplishments (or lack thereof.) And he didn't have to fight for that love or prove himself worthy of it. Lavender lavished Ron with attention either way and he had flourished under that care. He was a completely different person than he had been earlier - happy, relaxed, at peace and supportive. In short, he had become a better person and friend.
Harry smiled back at Ron, making a mental note to be extra nice to Lavender going forward. Flighty and ditzy though she was, if she made his best buddy happy, she was alright in his book.
"Night Hermione" Ron called, gathering his parchment, quills, ink and books and making his way up to the dorm room.
"Night Ron." Hermione answered, making a move towards the stairs herself.
Harry panicked. If he didn't gather the courage to talk to her now he didn't know if he ever would.
"Err, Hermione… I was hoping we could talk…?" He called out tentatively.
Hermione stopped in her tracks. With obvious reluctance she turned around. "Now? I don't know Harry. I'm really tired." She responded quietly.
"This will only take a few minutes, I promise." Harry begged. "Please?"
Her shoulders drooped. She sighed. "Sure." She said, sounding the exact opposite. "What did you want to talk about?"
Now that the moment was actually here, Harry's mind went completely blank. His heart thudded nervously in his chest. What the hell was he supposed to say? All along, he'd been focused on finding her. And now that he had, all those carefully thought out arguments and counter arguments went flying right out of his head like water through a sieve. "Uh, Ron mentioned that you saw Ginny and me...err...talking…?" He spoke hesitantly.
Idiot! He almost face palmed himself. Talking? What the hell? She had seen him and Ginny snogging, not doing something innocuous like talking. Way to make a molehill out of a fucking mountain. Oh Merlin, she probably really hated him at that moment. He couldn't even imagine what she was thinking or feeling or going through. To walk in and see him kissing someone else? And she probably thought that he'd actually gone into the situation willingly...that he'd wanted to kiss Ginny. Merlin, it must have been horrible for her to witness that.
He couldn't begin to imagine how he would've reacted had he been in her shoes. All he knew was that he probably would've been totally destroyed by her seeming defection. Well, no matter. Once everything was sorted out, he'd apologize to her profusely, beg for her forgiveness and then spend the rest of his life making it up to her. In fact, he'd make sure to tell her Every. Single. Day that he loved her and that he worshipped the ground that she walked on...so much so that she would never ever doubt the strength of his feelings for her ever again.
"Oh yes," She chirped, breaking into his train of thought. Startled, he couldn't help but notice that she sounded suspiciously enthusiastic. "How could I forget? I'm so happy for you, Harry."
Err, what? She was? Why? He was so goddamn confused.
His blank expression probably gave him away because she continued on hurriedly. "I mean, clearly it worked, right? Ginny was jealous, wasn't she? Or well, at least she realized that she had feelings for you. Well, good for you, Harry." She gave him a brilliant smile. "You got what you wanted. Ginny."
Got what he wanted? Ginny? What the bloody hell was she going on about? Oh no. She was talking about their infernal plan. No, no, no, no, fuck no! This was all a big giant misunderstanding. Fuck! He really needed to open his damn mouth and clear everything up. But wait...did she say that she was happy for him? Because he'd kissed Ginny? (Or at least that's what she thought had happened.) What the hell? Why would she be so thrilled about that? Unless… Harry's heart sank to the bottom of his toes. Unless, she really didn't care about him in the same way that he cared about her, of course.
"And you're happy about that?" He couldn't resist asking. "Happy that I'm with Ginny?"
Say no, please say no, he begged silently.
"Of course, silly. Why wouldn't I be happy for you? You're my best friend. All I want is for you to be happy." She was smiling so hard, it felt like her face would crack.
His heart shattered into a million pieces. She seemed to mean every last word of it. She really seemed totally okay about him getting together with Ginny. Which meant, she clearly didn't have any feelings for him. Ron had clearly made a mistake when he thought that he'd seen her crying after she saw him and Ginny together. She seemed totally fine to him - no signs of tears or any lingering sadness. And why would there be? She'd never indicated that she felt anything for him other than mere friendship. Sure she'd be an enthusiastic partner in all of their intimate activities...but he couldn't help but think now, in retrospect, that it must've been entirely physical on her part.
Suddenly, all he wanted to do was get in bed and stay there for a million years. He couldn't face her... couldn't stand the fact that she looked so happy; even if that happiness was because she thought that his fondest wish had finally come true.
"Harry?" She questioned tentatively, interrupting his tragic musings. "You are happy, aren't you?"
Happy? That she was obviously not in love with him like he'd thought (hoped) she was? That she was clearly thrilled that he'd kissed Ginny? Of course he wasn't! How could he be? But there was no fucking way he could tell her that now. Not when she clearly didn't feel the same way about him.
He really, really wanted to beg her to change her mind... wanted to implore her to love him too but he couldn't very well do that, could he? Come on, how pathetic would that be? Him, begging for her love…? Besides, it would only succeed in ruining things between them even more than they already were. So he smiled (even when he wanted to cry) and lied through his teeth. "Of course I am." He responded quickly. "I'm fucking ecstatic!"
"Oh." Her smile seemed to crumple for just an instant, her eyes turning glassy and unfocused. But that couldn't be, could it? No. No it had to be a figment of his imagination. Then her smile was back in place - only slightly dimmer than it had been earlier. "Right then. That's...that's great." Was it wishful thinking on his part or did she sound a tad bit glum?
"Great!" He answered back, only realizing afterwards that he was just blindly echoing her sentiment.
Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice. "Brilliant."
Okay, he was done. He couldn't pretend for even a moment longer that he was in any way okay with what had happened here between the two of them. He had to get away from her before he broke down completely. (He didn't want to weep and cling to her like a limpet and he would if he stayed here any longer. He had some self respect after all!)
"Err, I better be heading up to bed too…" He stated dully.
"Oh. Of...of course." She responded.
"Good night." He moved towards the stairs, his body feeling weirdly drained of all energy.
"Harry, wait!" She called.
He turned around, feeling a small ray of hope. Maybe she'd changed her mind…? Maybe she…
"We're okay, right? Still friends?" She questioned timidly, blowing the last of his hope to smithereens. Still, he couldn't bring himself to be angry at her. He loved her too damn much for that, dammit.
"Of course we're friends." He hurried to reassure her. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her completely. Not having Hermione in his life at all? The thought was too horrible to even contemplate. "We will always be friends. Nothing and no one will ever change that."
"Not... not even Ginny?" She questioned nervously.
"What?" He questioned, not wanting to mess things up by misinterpreting her words once again.
"Uh...I mean… what if she - Ginny, I mean doesn't want us to stay friends? She thinks we were just together after all. I...I wouldn't blame her for being possessive. I...I probably would've felt that way too. So, what I want to know is… what happens if she wants us to stop hanging out together? What then?"
"Hermione, I would never allow a girl - any girl - to dictate who I could and couldn't be friends with. Especially not when it comes to you. You're my best friend too and nothing's going to ever change that. So, don't worry. You're stuck with me." He tried to smile, but dammit, it was nearly impossible to do so when all he wanted to do was howl in misery.
"Okay, good." She smiled back. "Because you're stuck with me too. Forever."
Forever with Hermione... but not the kind of forever that he'd been hoping for. Torture. This was sheer, absolute torture.
"Okay, well, I'm going to head up now." He tried again, making a move to get to the privacy of his bed before he did something stupid like burst into tears. (Manly tears, of course, but tears nonetheless. Ugh! Hermione would no doubt love that.)
"So…" She interrupted once again, just before he could make his escape. "I guess we don't have to keep pretending anymore, huh?"
"What?" He stumbled.
What?! Oh no. Somehow, in all this terrible, horrible mess, he hadn't given any thought to what this would do to their whole 'Plan'. Well, now he knew. Of course they had no reason to keep on pretending - not if she thought that he and Ginny were together. That would be stupid, wouldn't it? Dating one person while pretending to date someone else? So yeah, of course this would mean the end of their pretend relationship. Except for the fact that he didn't want it to end. Ever. For any reason.
Bloody fucking hell.
Then he remembered. And he couldn't help but grasp on to that tiny little detail with all his might. "But...what about you and Ron? Things still haven't changed there, have they? As far as I know he's still going out with Lavender. So shouldn't we continue our charade for his sake at the very least?"
Even though it would absolutely kill him to know that she still wanted Ron in any way, a sick part of him couldn't help but wish that she would want to go on pretending for a while longer. That way, he would still get to hold her...to kiss her for some more time. Merlin, he was really pathetic, wasn't he?
"Oh, right, Ron. Well, I...I don't think that anything's going to come out of that, Harry." She said with a self deprecating smile.
"What? Why not?"
"Well he...Ron and I had a nice, long chat. And we both came to the conclusion that we're better off as just friends. Besides, honestly - and I can't believe I'm saying this - but I think Lavender and he make a good couple. She makes him a better person, if you know what I mean. He looks truly happy with her, you know? What kind of a friend would I be if I begrudged him that happiness, huh?
Of course she'd noticed the same things about Ron and Lavender's relationship that he himself had. She wasn't stupid after all. "But...what about you?" He asked gingerly.
"Oh, I...I'll be okay. Don't worry about me." She hastened to assure him. "Turns out, I wasn't all that interested in him in the first place."
Great. So he couldn't use Ron as an excuse to prolong this whole ruse either. Fuck!
The only bit of silver lining to this whole debacle was that Hermione finally seemed to be content with being just friends with Ron. Thank Merlin. Although, what did that say about him - the fact that she was now completely over Ron and still seemed to have no desire to be with him romantically was depressing. But with his heart already broken, he couldn't even muster up the energy to be worked up about it.
"That's good. I'm really glad you're alright. And uh...I guess you're right. There's no need for us to go on pretending anymore." He gave her one last sickly smile and then practically ran up the stairs and away from her, thankfully into the one room that she wouldn't dare follow him into - the boy's dorm room.
Bloody fucking hell. Just like he'd feared at the beginning, this whole thing had blown up in his face. Spectacularly. And he seemed to be the only one that had gotten burned in the whole process.
Brilliant. Just bloody fucking brilliant.
A/N: So, it turns out, Harry's a complete moron. He's blind and stupid and completely, totally clueless about what Hermione is thinking and feeling. But bear in mind the fact that he's had NO exposure or experience at love in his life before. Combine years of neglect and abuse with his dependency on Hermione's friendship (let's face it, he probably would've died in First year if it hadn't been for her!) and can you really blame him for his reactions?
Hermione for her part is also scared and insecure and trying to protect her own heart while at the same time clinging desperately to their friendship...wanting to salvage at least that much out of this whole debacle. In case it isn't clear still, she loves him desperately and is utterly heartbroken that he's seemingly moved on from their charade and is with Ginny now.
Ugh, these two idiots, am I right? If only they would just open their mouths and talk, huh?
Anyway, thank you so much for sticking with me and for your continuing support and encouragement. I've been reading all of your comments (even though I may not always have the time to respond to them) and trust me, I'm well aware that some of you aren't too happy with me right now. I absolutely understand your POV's too. It's just...this is how I envisioned the story being written and I'm just being true to myself and my muse by writing it that way. Hopefully you will stick with me just a bit longer because they finally get their shit together in the next chapter - which will more than likely be the last one.
Either way, I hope you review and let me know what you think. Thank you.