Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of it's characters, places, etc.- JK Rowling does.

A/N: Reviews make me smile :)

Mini Golf was fun but short. Between the jokes and usual banter between Stan and me, time seemed to fly and by the time we had finished the expert course, which we had both failed miserably at, the sun had set. We returned our putters to the same bored looking cashier and headed into an alley to apparate home.

"I wonder if we should get dinner first or if Mrs. Shunpike is making us something." I said as Stan grabbed my hand and prepared us to side- long apparate. He paused to consider it.

"Well, considering it's my mom, I would suspect she made enough food to feed Dumbledore's Army. But if we eat dinner out she will have no trouble saving the leftovers for when I leave on the Knight Bus tomorrow." He said looking at me to make a decision.

"Well since you've been so persistent I guess you can take me to dinner, Stanley Shunpike. Just stop demanding so much from me." I said smiling. We apparate to a Mexican Restaurant a few blocks down, that apparently had the best muggle food in the world.

"What is the difference between muggle Mexican food and magical Mexican food?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"I guess that magical Mexican food is just so much more… magic!" I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not but I still laughed. We entered and were immediately seated. I guess it isn't that crowded on Wednesday at 8 o' clock. Dinner went quickly and I made sure not to order any beans so as not to fart all night long. Stan, on the other hand, had so many beans I actually didn't want to sleep in the same room as him tonight. The bill came and we both awkwardly looked at each other. I couldn't pay and he knew it. Should I offer anyway? "Um… I'll pay for it." He said and took out two twenties and slipped them in the bill holder. We waited, in more awkward silence if possible, for change. I mumbled a thanks so I could hear to Stan. I didn't know it he heard me or not since he didn't react, but I was too embarrassed to say it again. We were silent as we found another alleyway and disapparated outside of the Shunpike's. I couldn't see the Knight Bus anywhere. It wasn't in the place Stan had parked it. He glanced at me and answered my unasked question.

"I own the Knight Bus but when I need a break, or vacation, like now, I have people cover for me and they drive the bus. Even though I don't have a need for the Knight Bus at the moment some witch or wizard is in need of it." He said as we lingered outside, on the porch.

"I had a nice time." I started and Stan smiled.

"Me too. It was so much fun. I'm surprised that you knew that much about me." He said smiling. I shrugged my shoulders in response. We both stayed silent.

"So do you-"

"Did you think-" We both began at the same time and stopped abruptly. I stared intently at the porch swing on Stan's right and he stared at the porch light. Why was it so hard to look him in the eyes?

"You go first,"

"You go first," We both said at the same time. We laughed quietly.

"I'll go first." Stan said, "Because I know you didn't have a follow-up for the beginning of your sentence. While I on the other hand, have something to say," He said. Sometimes I really suspect he can read minds. I really didn't have a follow up, in fact I was going to say: "Did you think that the mini golf place was a little dirty?" And that would have been anticlimactic even by my standards. "So do you-" He stopped expecting me to interrupt, when I didn't he continued, "do you think you still want to be just friends?" He looked at the ground and shifted on his feet uncomfortably. I stayed silent but the truth was, I didn't want to be just friends, I wanted to marry this man and birth as many blue eyes babies as I could. But of course I couldn't say that. I had only met him again 3 days ago. Screw it, a part of me wanted to say, while the other half screamed, don't do it, it won't last and your heart will be broken and you'll be out of a place to stay. I sighed, that was a long list. 'Why does it matter if she's in love?' The first part argued. 'There's only a 50 percent success rate on that though,' a snide voice remarked. 'SCREW IT!' The first voice screamed a little too loudly. I looked up to see that Stan was still looking expectantly at me.

"There is like a war going on inside of my head right now. I don't know if you know what it feels like." I said but he nodded and I trust he knew exactly what I meant. "Part of me really wants to go out with you, and fall in love with you again, but the other half, the sensible half, is saying it won't work out." I told him and then felt bad that I had blabbed my deepest thoughts to someone. Both of the voices now screamed 'TRAITOR!' We stayed silent for a while when finally Stan spoke.

"Well, if you think about it, there is only two ways this relationship would be able to work out: the first way is that we will fall madly in love and get married and live to a ripe old age…" He stopped and looked at me, expecting me to interrupt as he had done before. When I didn't he continued. "The second way is that you will leave me. I on the other hand, don't think I will ever be able to get you out of my head." He said gruffly and he took a step towards me. I didn't move away. He moved inches closer slowly, slow enough that I could have stopped him if I wanted to. He wrapped me in a hug and I breathed in his scent, cinnamon, I pulled him closer and buried my face in his chest.

"Just give me some more time. Give me a month and I'll know for sure. It might not even take that long." I said stifling a cry and he gripped me tighter.

"Alright." He said quietly. He kissed the top of my head so tenderly that I'm surprised I didn't fold into his embrace. We broke apart slowly and opened the door to the Shunpike's abode.

We were quiet for the rest of the night. I don't even think I talked except to answer Mrs. Shunpike's questions with one-word answers. We retired early and quietly got into our separate beds, still fully clothed and didn't fall asleep. I could even hear Stan muttering to himself and hitting his pillow a few times. I on the other hand don't understand why I did it. I guess it made sense at the time but why did I reject him? I liked him didn't I? But before I could think about it any longer a voice that sounded suspiciously like my mothers gave me the answer: He will break your heart. You will never be happy with a man. They only bring you tears. When she had said this to me the day I moved out, every time I looked at a man for months and months afterward the same mantra echoed in my head. Deep down I realized that those words were probably the cause of my first breakup with Stan.

"Brooke," Stan said standing up and coming towards me. I could barely make out his form because it was so dark. He kneeled by my bed. He had horrible bed head and I reached out to pat it down. "I just want you to know, I won't rush you or anything but I really really like you. I can kind of see us together… you know in the future. I thought these things when we were younger too, but I would never dare tell you them… I just thought you might like to know that." He got up and moved back towards the couch. I wanted to crawl next to him on his sofa but didn't dare move.

"Thanks," I said to him even though I was pretty sure he didn't hear me. It was the same as it was before. I didn't dare say it more than a whisper. I settled into the silence and just when I was about to fall asleep I heard a small and barely audible "You're Welcome."

The next day I tried to act normal with Stan, who was seemingly unfazed by our previous conversations, I really tried. I even through in a few jokes but I felt so awkward that even Abby noticed. He left for work minutes after finishing his breakfast. I watched as he left through the front door and wished I could redo the entire breakfast. I daydreamed on how things should have gone; always ending I got a huge kiss on the lips and a marriage proposal that I accepted. I must have been smiling like an idiot.

"Honey, are you alright?" Mrs. Shunpike asked. I tired to resume a normal expression and nodded.

"What are you doing today?" Abby asked. She was staring into her cereal bowl. I was surprised she could talk to me in a normal tone.

"I think I'm going to go to my old house and get my things from there, but other than that I don't think I'm doing anything." I said and Abby just nodded and drank some of her orange juice.

"Maybe…" She started with a blush, "You could teach me how to fly?" She asked and began eating her cereal immediately. I smiled big.

"Of course! I just need to get my things. I better go now then so we have more time to practice." I said excitedly. I jumped up and put my dishes in the sink.

"Don't hurry, Brooke. Abby still has some homework she has to do. Arithmetic and whatnot." Mrs. Shunpike said and I remembered that Abby was home schooled. I went to a private school until I had turned 11 and then I went to Hogwarts. I bet home schooling was easy. I just nodded and pulled on the outfit I had borrowed from Mrs. Shunpike on the first day, newly washed.

"I won't be long. Maybe an hour or two." I said heading back into the kitchen, motioning towards Abby and Mrs. Shunpike. I collected myself and dissapparated. I arrived at my old home. I knew Hunter was at work, and thank Goodness for that. I never wanted to see him again. I unlocked the door with my key. I was unsurprised to find the small apartment splattered with clothes, some I recognized as my ex boyfriends and others I had never seen. I spied a rather frilly piece of lingerie balled and thrown on the couch. I went immediately to the main and only bedroom and gathered my clothes from the drawers making them smaller with a Shrinking charm and quickly shoved them into my only suitcase. I had gotten that suitcase as a present from my mom on my 17th birthday, just days afterward I had used it to pack my things and leave. I took all of the toiletries I could find of mine and stuffed them in the bag. I grabbed my perfumes, my photographs, my books, anything I recognized as my own, whether Hunter agreed or not. Then again that was another reason I came when he was working. I was easily done in 30 minutes. I shrunk my suitcase and carried all of my possessions in the palm of my hand. When I had come off the bus 4 days ago I had only brought what I felt was important at the time. In my rage I had thrown anything I could lay my hands on into my tote bag, I had left in the surprising time of only 5 minutes. Only when I arrived at Stan's house did I realize I had a tote bag full of silverware and magazines. I had also taken the remote to Hunter's stupid 52 inch TV. I hope he had fun getting up to change the channel. I left the flat and locked the door behind me. I tossed my unwanted key into his mailbox and disapparated back to Stan's house.

I didn't see Stan again until the next day at 8:32 pm. I was beginning to worry. The day before I had spent the entire time teaching Abby how to fly a broom and when she got the hang of it we played a revised quidditch match with apples. She was actually bearable to be with once she warmed up to me. I was glad to say that Abby looked at me now with the same adoration that she looked at her brother with. The next day we played our newly invented quidditch game for a few hours until we got bored and I taught her how to play wizard chess. She beat me the second game we played. I started worrying about Stan's absence at 4 pm. He hadn't been home for nearly 2 days!

"Dear, don't worry. He's usually gone this long. I know you miss him but he needs to work." She said exasperatedly as I asked her for the 5th time. "What about you? When do you need to return to work?" I took an apple from the counter and bit into it. I loved when people asked me this.

"I work at the new restaurant in Diagon Alley, Bill's Steak's." I said and she nodded. "We passed by it a few times when we went to Diagon Alley."

"I saw it. Wasn't it closed for renovations though?" She said and picked up and apple of her own.

"Yep, I get paid leave until January." I said nonchalantly. I could hardly believe my luck when my boss had told me. I had just barely started working there a month ago and now I got so much time off, paid and everything. All right, so I was getting just a few dollars of minimum wage but whatever.

"That's a month and a half away!" Mrs. Shunpike said excitedly and I nodded and smiled.

"I know," My grin got a devilish tint to it. We sat down to eat not long after that. I looked at the door expectantly all through dinner hoping that after this bite of corn Stan would come in bearing presents. We washed dishes quietly and Abby grumbled about not being able to use magic. As Abby headed off to bed, Mrs. Shunpike brewed some tea for her and me.

"So…" I started awkwardly. Usually Abby had started the conversations by a silly comment or a grumble, but now there was nothing to talk about.

"I hope you can stay until Christmas! You'll be able to meet Maddie and Tyler!" Mrs. Shunpike said suddenly.

"I don't think I'll stay that long. I needed to start looking for someone who needs a flat mate today," I said and drank my tea. I saw the grin fade off Mrs. Shunpike's face.

"Well, I just don't want you to think you're a bother. I don't know what Stanley's told you but you're the first girl he's brought home. I don't even think he's even mentioned another girl besides you," She said looking at me lovingly. She needed to stop looking at me like that. She was so nice and caring. I almost felt like she was my own mom for a few seconds there. I quickly shook the notion out of my head.

"I really like your son, Mrs. Shunpike," I said, looking at the steam rising out of my tea. "I just don't know about… anything…" I finished lamely and looked at Mrs. Shunpike who was smiling a sad smile.

"I have no doubt you two will work it out. In the meantime, you are welcome to stay in this house as long as you want," She said. I immediately stood up and hugged her. Her arms were already outstretched when I reached that side of the table and she wrapped me into a tight hug. Instead of awkwardly standing there like I had the last time, I wrapped my arms around her. She smelled like Stan, cinnamon. And that's when I heard the lock on the door turn and in popped Stan, looking happy from a successful day of work. He saw me, tears clinging to my eyes as I slipped out of Mrs. Shunpike's grip. He looked concerned and immediately put the bag he was carrying down. He went over to us and took my hand in his.

"What's the matter?" He said concerned. I laughed and glanced at Mrs. Shunpike how beamed and smiled a smile like no other.

"It's nothing, just girl talk," Mrs. Shunpike said for me. She got up and put her mug into the sink. She walked briskly up the stairs, not bothering to look back. Stan still kept his worried look, not even noticing his mom. He squeezed my hand and I realized I still had yet to pull back.

"I missed you," He said shyly looking down at the tiled floor and before I knew what I was doing I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I missed you too," I mumbled into his shoulder. He hesitantly placed his hands on my back and rubbed his calloused palms in small circular motions on my upper back and placed his head on the top of mine. We stayed like this for a while, days may have passed and it wouldn't have mattered. I shyly started to pull away.

"How long are we supposed to be just friends?" He said laughing and releasing me. He raced back to the landing where he had left his bag and went back over to me. "I stopped at the store on the way home and got you something," He said with a recognizable grin. He took out a rectangular package and handed it to me. It was a chocolate frog. I grinned and eagerly ripped open the package. Over the summers we would always trade cards as we swapped stories of the past weeks. For sometime we were meeting so regularly that neither of us had time to get cards to trade. I looked down at the card with a big grin as I tossed the chocolate frog to Stan. He merrily began to eat it. I was surprised to see that in my hand there was a Harry Potter card. His lighting scar bared boldly on his forehead. I gasped; I got someone that everyone in the wizarding world knew of. It must be really rare. He was so popular that I had just seen a newspaper article in the Daily Prophet announcing his engagement to some redhead qudditch star. The lucky bastard. Stan was good looking and all but Harry Potter…I sighed dreamily. Stan peered over at the card and gasped as well.

"I had him on the bus once or twice," He said proudly. "He was real nice." I stared at him. Stan had met Harry Potter? I squealed and he got a smug look on his face. "Sure did," I slapped him on the shoulder. The lucky bastard. He yawned and I noticed it was only 9 at night.

"Were you up all night on the bus?" I asked him. I remembered nights in the summers where we would talk all night into the morning when the sun was just beginning to rise in the horizon, but I had never seen him actually sleep on the bus.

"No, when there's no one on I take a quick nap in one of the beds. Usually I only get 5 minute increments, but it's enough." He laughed and took my hand. "But that's not the point. Tell me what you've been up to." He looked at me anxiously. I quickly took my hand out of his when I realized his closeness. I cursed to myself remembering I had initiated the hug just minutes earlier yet I couldn't hold his hand. He didn't look surprised in the least, in fact it seemed as if he'd been expecting it. He smiled still waiting for my account of the day's endeavors. I just then realized I had forgotten to act awkward around him. Everything seemed as if it was back to normal. The clumsy encounter yesterday morning was quickly forgotten. I laughed, shaking my head. He did all of this on purpose. I took a shaky breath in as he looked deeply into my eyes and told him what had happened.