A/N: Sorry for the long wait, it took a while to get the ball rolling on this chapter, but I think parts of it may definitely be my favorite one yet. Please, please, please review!!!!!!
ok, baby
what'll it be?
i asked my friends, and they all agreed
you're exactly the kind of trouble that i need
i got songs to give
i got songs to prove
songs i use when i wanna' seduce, and i wanna' seduce you
why won't you let me?
i wanna' get you
so get gotten
i won't stop til' i get to the bottom
i wanna' get you
Ben Lee- Get Gotten.
Chapter 5:
"So did you do it?"
"Not yet" I whispered hurriedly, glancing through the crack in the door. I knew it was strange that people would actually talk in a broom cupboard, but we were. I swear.
"Billee!" He griped, and pounding his fist on the wall, the reverberations making a broom fall feebly to the ground, clattering. I simply shot him a glare, I knew the broom was out of his control, but honestly it was like he wanted us to get caught. I heard footsteps echoing down the hallway and then the div decided to break out into a very moving rendition of the Hogwarts song. I practically jumped on him, knocking him against the cramped wall. I managed to cut him off at 'Hoggy, Hoggy, Hogwarts' by covering my hand over his mouth. I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed a sigh of relief as the footsteps paused for a moment but then continued on their way.
"Not that this isn't totally erotic, because it is" Sirius spoke up, his breath hot on the palm of my hand, which I hastily removed in case he tried to lick it or something gross like that. "But a broomstick is poking in my back".
"Oh sorry!" I apologized worriedly, backing up, almost tripping over a stray quaffle, "Watch it, Darling" he said, grabbing a hold of my arm and steadying me. "Don't call me darling" I grumped, yanking my arm out of his gentle grip and then lost my balance again, but this time, his reflexes weren't quick enough.
I bit down on my bottom lip to keep from screaming in agitation, now my arse hurt, and then a broom promptly tipped over and whacked me on the top of my head. "Sodding broom" I said crossly, giving the broom in question a very immature a kick. "I hate this" I added, reaching up to tenderly touch the bump that was blooming near the back of my head.
I hadn't noticed but Sirius had crouched down on the floor next to me, he surprised me by cradling my face gently with his hands "I'm not exactly over the moon about it either, Billee" he said with a wry smile, his thumb stroking my cheekbone. "And this is why you have to break up with him, now" he instructed, and I nodded my head while gnawing on my lower lip.
He stood up, and grabbed my hand, pulling me up as well. "Well you'll be happy to know that's exactly what I had been planning on doing, until you pulled me into this sodding cupboard" I said bitingly, pushing all my vulnerability out of the proverbial window. "I am happy to know that" he said in his husky voice and started to lean forward, but I turned my head away, so his lips connected with my ear.
I shyly turned my gaze back to him "I've never cheated on anyone before and I don't want to start now" I explained. He nodded and brushed some of my hair out of my eyes and gently kissed my forehead. "I know" he said surprisingly serious but then I saw a grin work it's way onto his lips and I knew that wouldn't last. "Also I quite like ear kissing, I'll show you the finer points once your single" he said and moved past me and opened the door a crack.
"Coast is clear" he said, opening the door, light spilling into the dark cupboard, showing me just how much mess we had made, a couple broomsticks littered the floor and the quaffle was still rolling about haphazardly. I stumbled out of the closet, my eyes still adjusting to the light.
"So you're doing it?" Sirius asked carefully, shutting the door behind me. "I'm doing it" I said, and although my nervousness about breaking up with Quinn has been the subject of many of our stolen moments over the last week or so, I feel more confident about it than before. I had been true to my procrastinator form and I've been pushing the thought out of my head, but when Sirius yanked the end of my braid and wished me well, I knew I was ready.
We went in opposite directions, something I was thankful for, I didn't want him to be there with me, I didn't want encouragement, and I just wanted to get this over with.
I would have liked to say that I knew where Quinn would be because I was a super attentive and caring girlfriend, but in truth I just overheard his friend Robin tell him to meet her there.
I walked in and was surprised to see Gidget flipping through the pages of a moldy magazine, chewing gum and looking exhausted from the effort of it all. She held up the cover of Modern Witch and gave me a big cheesy grin, which I attempted to return, but I'm sure it came out as a grimace. I was nervous, if I was being honest. I hated break-ups. And I was still trying to work out the mystery of why exactly Gidget was in the library of all places.
Quinn was sitting two tables away, reading a rather thick book intently. "Hey" I said plopping down in the seat next to him. "Erm, can I have a word?" I asked in what I hoped to be an earnest fashion. "Yeah, go ahead" he said absentmindedly, not taking his eyes off the page he was reading.
I lifted the cover of the book, and read the title; "101 Uses for Dragon Dung" fascinating, I'm sure. "Ah, I kind of meant somewhere with a bit of privacy" I said, the knot tightening in the pit of my stomach. Quinn's cheeks colored and he stuffed his book into his bag, and mumbled "of course, of course" a few times. Now Quinn wasn't stupid, mind you. In fact he was quite the opposite. In the short span of our relationship I had already given up on trying to converse with him intelligently. Because it normally ended up in him politely correcting me and giving my knee a little pat. We didn't do much talking, mostly we just snogged. I enjoy a good bit of snogging as the next girl, but I need a bit of banter in the long run. But the point was he wasn't stupid, he was really quite brilliant so I was pretty sure he knew what was happening.
We were just circling the corridor, since it was pouring buckets outside. "Look, Quinn. I really had a fun time wi-"I started but Quinn cut me off. "I get it, Billee" he said with a bit of a soft smile "I just hope this isn't because I was reading about dung, however because that's really not my primary interest" he joked and I found myself grinning in spite of myself. "It's not?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows "Oh well, I guess we don't have as much in common as I thought"
He laughed and stuck out his hand "So… friends?" he asked hesitantly. "Oh put that thing away, you div" I said, and I felt a greater surge of affection for Quinn than I had all through our relationship, so I flung my arms around his neck and I'm sure I squeezed his brains out.
"Well" he said pulling back with a smile "I should probably get back to the dung" he said giving his bag a little pat "Herbology waits for no man". I giggled and ruffled his hair "Well be careful, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself with that much…excitement"
He chuckled, shaking his head ruefully. "See you later, Billee" he said, exiting the corridor, and I watched him go, proud of myself and at peace, I allowed my self to mutter "Bye Quinn" to the empty hallway.
--
"No way was it that easy!" Dara protested, her eyebrows furrowed and the crisp November air making her cheeks flushed. "I'm telling you it was!" I said, ignoring her incredulous expression. We were circling the grounds, the sun sinking low in the sky and we still had a few hours to kill before curfew. "So you didn't even have to say 'It's not you, it's Sirius'" Dara teased, elbowing me in the ribs.
I rolled my eyes at her antics. "I didn't just break up with Quinn for him" I said, irritated. "I'm not that girl!" I objected and then stopped dead in my tracks. "Oh bloody hell. I am that girl aren't I!?" Mendara heaved a heavy sigh, grabbing my arm and linking mine with hers as she began to walk once again, pulling me along with her. "No of course not Bill, I was just fooling" she said with one of her infamous crooked smiles. I exhaled loudly, watching my breath puff out in the cold air.
"Girls are going to go about calling me a slag, aren't they?" I asked, tentatively. "Well…yes" Dara said delicately and I smiled, she was never one for beating around the bush. "But you know, it's Sirius Black we're talking about here, unfortunately Bill girls would be slagging you off on the best of circumstances"
This was undeniably true, although there we're only a few who were very vocal on the subject; the majority of girls had a crush on him. It was nothing he did really, truth was he was a bit of a goober, but girls just looked at him and got starry eyed. Being the slightly-cynical girl that I am, I never allowed myself to have a Sirius phase, and instead I often made fun of the girls who did. But then I had to ruin my cynicism by actually getting to know him. And after that little speech he gave me in his dorm room, I had left abruptly, and true to his word he had not given up, whenever I walked by a broom cupboard, I felt an arm snake out and pull me in. He would nag me about Quinn and finally I confessed things weren't working. I hadn't developed feelings for Sirius because of his looks, no I had always pushed that aspect of him out of my head, I realized that I was falling for him because of who he was.
Apparently I have quite a thing for goobers.
My thoughts were interrupted by Mendara pinching my cheek. "Ouch!" I griped, rubbing my flushed face. "Coming back down, Space cadet?" she teased, poking her tongue out at me. "Sorry, what do you want to talk about then?" I enquired, as I watched the giant squid raise a tentacle out of the water, lazily. "My love life" she answered, a sarcastic edge present in her voice. "Oh do you mean Remus?" I asked, with a grin. She shoved me, lightly. "Actually I was referring to my non existent one" she shot back. "Know anyone you could set me up with?" she added hopefully. "I could set you up with Remus" I said gleefully.
"Billee, for the last time there is nothing between Remus and me!" Mendara exclaimed. "Oh yes that's why you two make out at every single Gryffindor party" I said nudging her in the ribs. "And the time before last, I know for a fact neither of you were even drunk!" I said, maybe a little louder than I should have. Her face turned beet red, her eyes focused somewhere over my shoulder. "See you later, Billee" she said brusquely and turned on her heel and walked past me. "Oh come on, Dara don't be cross at m-"I stopped abruptly when I saw the reason for her sudden exit.
"I should have known Remus never shuts up about her" Sirius said thoughtfully. I rolled my eyes "You won't tell him will you?" I asked, furrowing my brow. "Of course, I'm going to tell him. Right after we eat brownie mix and braid each other's hair" He said, a smirk etching its way on his perfect lips and his voice was laced with sarcasm.
I snorkeled and reached out to shove him gently but he caught my hand before I could do anything. "So um, I heard some interesting gossip in the halls after dinner" he said with a grin, and he started to stroke my hand with his thumb. It gave me shivers down my spine but I couldn't push the thoughts of mine and Dara's earlier conversation out of my head, I was that girl.
So that's why when he leaned in for our first kiss, I jerked back. He released my hand quickly and looked at me with narrowed, suspicious eyes. "Billee?" he asked confused. "I'm just afraid that people will get the wrong idea if we go public this soon" I said quickly, rushing my words together, as if I said it fast enough he wouldn't be angry, but I knew he would be.
"Oh" he said with a bitter smile, brushing his hair out of his eyes "I get it, you don't want my horrible reputation to affect your own" he said, his eyes flashing with anger. "Sirius, that's not it. You know it's not" I interjected, my voice soft and low.
He ignored me and continued on with tangent "Contrary to the gossip that is spread around the school, I'm not like that" he said his voice rising. "I thought you would already know that". I heaved a sigh "That's not even what this is about Sirius. If you would just hear me out" I begged.
"No, I'm done doing that because I know you're just making excuses" He said, shaking his head. "Why would I be making excuses?" I asked meekly. "Because you're scared of this" he answered straight away, he was staring straight into my eyes, and I had to look away. "I'm not" I said definitely, crossing my arms over my chest. "You are, Billee" he informed me, and I didn't hear anger or frustration in his voice anymore, just disappointment. "And I'm getting really sick of waiting around for you" was the last thing he said before he turned and walked away.
--
"Why are you even here?" I heard Lily hiss, crossing her arms over her nightgown clad chest. "Well it wasn't to see you in your adorable pajamas, I suppose that's just a bonus" I heard James Potter say, and just by craning my head I saw him leaning against the doorframe. "Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't slam the door in your face right now" Lily said with the classic-lily eye roll.
"Sirius is brooding" he informed her.
"Billee's wallowing" Lily added, lowering her voice considerably.
"Okay, but Sirius is in full on brood-mode and it's not pretty. He knocked my trunk over like the hulk!" James exclaimed. I winced just at hearing his name, but sat up a little straighter.
"You think that's not pretty, she's on her second carton of ice-cream" Lily whispered conspiratorially.
"I can hear you both perfectly you know!" I shouted, angrily stuffing my spoon in my mouth. "Uh-oh, you woke the beast" Dara quipped from her place on the bed, where she was working on an essay.
Okay, maybe I was sort of a mess. Yes my face was red and blotchy, my hair pulled back in horrendous pigtails, I had a carton of ice cream balanced on my stomach (which I had berated Mendara into getting for me from the kitchens since I refused to leave my room) crumpled tissues surrounded me and the perimeter around my bed, I had been flipping through old family albums, rubbing my fingers over my father's face, the laughing one I recognized from before the accident, while Lily and Dara had looked on in quiet sympathy. I had then taken a pity nap and woke up to find James Potter standing outside our dorm room. The cuckoo clock situated against the opposite wall told me it was nearly ten-thirty.
"Oh hello Sunshine" James said poking his head around the door. I only emitted a groan as I biffed my spoon at his head, but my lack of genuine athletic ability caused it to only bounce of the wall and feebly fall on the floor.
I heard the bathroom door open, and Gidget walked out, looking absolutely gorgeous and successfully made me feel like some kind of deformed lobster wearing a bad wig, when I caught a glimpse of myself in her compact mirror. "Hot date?" Mendara asked absently, jotting something down on her parchment.
"Actually yeah" Gidget said with a wide smile, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I think you'd like him Billee, he's nice" she said turning to face me. "Men are the scum of the earth" I grumbled, looking longingly at my melting ice cream, wishing I hadn't thrown my spoon across the room in a moment of aggression.
"I'll take that as my cue to leave" James piped up, his eyes wide with terror. "Yeah go, and tell your div friend that, I'm just fine without him. I'm fine, fine fine" I proclaimed, my voice sounding overly loud in my own ears. And then to punctuate this statement I tried to laugh, but it came out sounding maniacal and totally insane.
"Lily, are you sure it's safe to sleep here tonight. She doesn't seem quite right" James whispered concernedly to which I just huffily sunk back into my bed. "She's fine" Lily said dismissively "Just heartbroken" she added as an afterthought. Dara glanced over at me at these words, and I didn't even try to locate an unused tissue at this point. The tears tumbled down my flushed cheek and down my pursed lips as I was struggling not to make any noise. I got a taste of one and it tasted better than my half-melted ice cream.
"Oh Bill" Dara said softly, abandoning her essay as she moved over to my bed. I let her ease me down so my head was in her lap and soon I felt her working her long fingers through my pigtails, easing out the tangles. I finally gave up my somewhat valiant effort to hold the tears in and a fresh sob escaped. I squeezed my eyes shut, embarrassed that James Potter and Gidget were seeing my little breakdown, a few minutes later I heard the door gently click shut and when I opened my blurry eyes I saw that Lily and Gidget had joined us on my bed.
"Billee, I really need to go" Gidget said brusquely "But I just thought that you should know that when Sirius and I were dating, you were all he practically ever talked about" she said with a small smile, before giving my knee a gentle pat, checking her reflection in the mirror one last time and heading out the door.
"Oh I've really fucked this up" I muttered, breathing raggedly as I watched Lily cleaning all my disgusting tissues into the trash bin. "You can fix it, Billee" she said comfortingly. "I don't think it'll be that easy" I said taking a deep breath, trying to keep my composure. "You guys didn't see his face" before giving into my tears. Dara helped get me under the covers and soothingly rubbed circles into my back into I eventually cried myself to sleep.
--
"Billee!" Dara screeched, bursting into the room. "Come down to the Great Hall now" she demanded and Lily entered the room, looking just as breathless as Mendara. "You need to see something" Lily added, her voice sounded frantic. I heaved a tiny sigh, looking up from one of Gidget's copies of Modern Witch. "Guys, I told you I was skiving off classes today please don't try and trick me into getting up".
"No, no, no" Mendara said snatching the magazine out of my hands, as Lily ripped back the covers and grabbed onto my elbow, pulling me up from my save haven. "Billee, if you still want to stay in bed after you see this, it's your choice" she said, grabbing a set of my robes and pulling them over my pajama's with tiny hamburgers printed all over them. I felt Dara tug out my pigtails and comb her fingers through my hair just for good measure. They then promptly pulled me out of my room, barefoot, bewildered and just a tad bitchy. "If this is just like a Marauder prank, I'll kill you guys" I muttered crossly. It felt as though Lily was going to dislocate my shoulder from dragging me around so hard. And on the way down I got my foot stuck in a trick step and Dara pulled me out so hard I felt like I was breaking. "Oh you won't be sorry, believe me" Dara cackled. My feet were making little padding noises on the cold stone tile, and as we reached the great hall. I squared my shoulders, preparing myself for whatever the sight I was supposed to see was.
But no amount of shoulder squaring could ever prepare me for what I actually saw. I sucked in my breath as I saw Gidget and Quinn sitting close together at the Ravenclaw table; he was in the midst of feeding her a piece of toast. "Merlin!" was all I was able to say, as I watched dumbstruck as she dabbed a spot of marmalade on his nose, to which they must have found infinitely amusing because the pair of them were giggling like schoolchildren. I felt both Lily and Mendara watching me, gauging my reaction.
Here I was, feeling guilty about dumping my boyfriend and then he goes ahead and shacks up with my roommate. I mean strangely enough I wasn't even angry, just surprisingly relieved. As soon as I felt the peaceful feeling wash over me, I knew exactly what I needed to do.
So I marched over to the Gryffindor table, feeling bold in my bare feet, my barely covered hamburger pajamas, locating him immediately, god I could recognize those shoulders anywhere. I tapped him on the shoulder in question and when Sirius turned around I almost lost my nerve, but instead I tenderly placed my hand on his cheek and leaned in and kissed him chastely. When I pulled away, my eyes were searching his for any sign that he may have decided to not loathe my being. But I guess when his surprisingly soft lips covered mine, which was all I really needed to know.
Someone started cheering, most likely James and when he broke it off he just grinned at me, tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, and then I remembered I was standing in the middle of the great hall in my possibly most embarrassing pair of pajamas, and that's when I planted a quick kiss on his lips and then ran as fast as I could from the Hall, not daring to look back.
Although my efforts to protect my fashionable reputation were ruined when I promptly got my foot stuck in the trick step yet again and had to wait for classes to begin for the great hall to empty for someone to find me in my sad little pair of pajamas and rescue me.
Still… it was a pretty good day.