42 Tuesday, October 29th
She skipped her classes the next day, only leaving her dorm room when her stomach growling had begun distressing Salem, to the point where he would prod her stomach with a paw and meow back at it. She kept her hood up, not wanting to interact with anyone. She'd had enough interactions already for one day.
Her roommates had shown a mixture of emotions. Some, who had not been there for Noelle's beatdown, showed genuine concern and horror on seeing her. Others who had seen or heard what happened muttered quiet condolences, stayed silent, or ignored her altogether. She in turn ignored them all. She was doing her best not to feel anything at all. When she did let any feeling in, it only brought pain. The pain in her body, the pain she still felt over Kade's betrayal, as well as now her housemates, and the pain of what Azraeyn must think of her now.
Seeing a familiar group headed towards her, Noelle ducked back behind a column in the courtyard, nearly falling onto the bench there. She swiveled around to face the yard, turned away from her friends as they went by.
"It was one of the worst Quidditch practices I've ever seen!" Kade was exclaiming loudly. "Honestly, I don't know what's going on with our team right now, but I can't imagine we'll win the upcoming game with their current attitude." He sighed dramatically.
Their footsteps were almost level with her now. Paul spoke next. "Well, it's just Quidditch."
"Just- Just Quidditch he says? I mean, it's not like I'm Mr. Sportsman over here either, but it's a chance for our house to win points, and it's a great way to boost school spirits! Which, I don't know about you guys, but we probably need a bit of that right now."
The group paused and Noelle froze, worried she'd been noticed. "What's wrong Brooke?" Paul asked.
"I miss Noelle." She said faintly.
Noelle's heart warmed and broke simultaneously, and she waited to hear the others' response.
"Yeah. I think we all do." Paul agreed.
"I miss her too." Kade acknowledged. "I feel really bad about the party. I didn't mean to ruin anyone's fun… I just… Wanted to see her happy."
Noelle could hear him shuffle his feet uncomfortably. Brooke sighed. "I know Kade. But you put her in a really awkward position, and I know you hurt her trust and feelings, even if you didn't mean to. Maybe you should just apologize?"
"I don't know if that'll do it, I mean, she's been avoiding all of us since the party." Paul argued.
Their footsteps started up again, getting further away. "Even so, I gotta try." Kade decided. "We need our friend back. Besides, we only have 3 of the school's houses if we don't get our Slytherin back!"
"I would hate if we weren't well-rounded." Paul laughed and the others joined in.
Noelle stood after she was sure they'd gone. Starting to walk again, she reached up and wiped her eyes with a sleeve. "You're already forgiven Kade."