Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter sadly.
A/N: Sorry this one's short! Please review!
Sex lurked around every corner now. As rain confined Stan and I to stay in the condo, we had little to do. So in our boredom we snogged. We snogged hard.
No longer was I embarrassed when Stan's hands cupped unfamiliar places. In fact, I enjoyed it; I couldn't get enough of it. We began making out at anytime of day. When we woke up and our breath smelled like sleep. When I was making dinner and Stan was leaving out the door for work. Once when I had just came out of the bathroom.
Then one day it just happened. We were lying down making out when my struggling hands finally were able to pull Stan's shirt off. I had never done anything like it before. Going as far as to take an article of Stan's clothes off was unheard of and Stan stared at me in shock. It was always Stan who was known to have to do the feeling.
It escaladed from there, a snowball effect and before I knew what was happening we were both naked. Taking Stan's shirt was apparently a RVSP for sex. We were on our new mattress and I couldn't but think of how I would have to clean the sheets the next day.
Of course, I hadn't been surprised that this had all happened. For weeks I had been mentally begging Stan to go further than usual, too embarrassed to actually ask. Then Stan was grabbing at the nightstand where he had secretly stashed his condoms.
It was amazing, the sex that is, not the fact that he had hid condoms from me for 2 months. It wasn't awkward this time at all. We both knew what we were doing and did we do it. The night hid our fears and insincerity. I suddenly regretted not doing anything before. Think of all the times I was bored when I could have been thoroughly entertained by Stan.
This time I didn't push away and forbid Stan to ever speak to me again like I had the time before, instead I pulled him closer. Eventually the next day we had to begrudgingly get dressed for dinner at my mother's though. We took our slow time getting ready. Let's just say, I had never been more grateful for April showers.
My friendship with Amelia grew. We now visited each other most everyday. Our personalities under different circumstances would have clashed but it just worked between the two of us. She was the sister I never had. Being an only child had left me with some qualities that were to be desired but being with Amelia was like reliving ages 2 through 8.
One day in the middle of April, just after Easter holidays were over, Amelia invited Stan and I to have dinner with her and her husband. I was pretty dang excited too. Amelia rarely talked about Paul, her new husband. When she did, it wasn't to complain about their sex life, instead she only told me how compatible they were.
"Yesterday Paul and I planted new flowers in our garden. We both love the way magnolia trees smell, you see. He is so nice. He brought me a magnolia bouquet today." She would say with unnaturally dreamy eyes. She didn't have to interpret what Paul did, or think about what to say to him, she was just so in love.
I on the other hand was the exact opposite. I did gush… the difference was that I talked about Stan constantly. Sometimes I even annoyed myself with how many times I said his name in one conversation.
"…Then he tried to make supper! It tasted horrible but it's the thought right? Since he made me dinner do you think that maybe that means he wants to marry me?" I would ask her and squeal. She would always just shrug her shoulders when I asked her these questions because she knew whatever she would say I would daydream the opposite.
She had once tried to give me her advice ("I don't think that because he made you tea he would want to have 5 children") and I had become mad and hadn't talked to her for two days. Those days were unbearably boring.
Men weren't the only things we talked about. We spent so much time discussing things for the summer camp (the name I found out was Fly to the Sky) that I actually felt that I deserved the 6000 galleons a year. We had to edit and revise every single chart; we had to go over medical documents. May 1rst was the deadline to sign up for the camp though and we only had 20 applicants. Amelia though seemed unfazed.
"Even if we had no students for the next ten years we would be able to afford it. Uncle was rich you know. He drowned, you see. It was quite sad." She would say when I would begin talking about expenses. Because of stress my face was more broken out then ever. Stan however seemed not to notice my pimply forehead and took every spare second we had alone to snog the daylights out of me, not that I didn't enjoy it.
Getting ready for the dinner, I slipped on my cocktail dress as Stan did the buttons up on his shirt. No longer did I feel embarrassed to watch Stan get dressed, only turned on. I could remember the night before when I had traced every single one his scars with my lips… after snapping out of my daydream, I went over to fix his tie and he graciously accepted the help.
"I love you," He growled in my ear and started pulling me closer into him. I slapped him away.
"We're supposed to be there in 30 minutes," I reprimanded him yet still he pulled me closer.
We apparated to Amelia's house a 35 minutes later, Stan with a cocky grin and I was sure my hair was matted up in the back. Amelia opened the door as we reached the front step. A wary look was placed on her face and it looked so unusual. I had been to Amelia's house only once before and even now as I looked up to the vast beauty of it. Like Mum's house trees surrounded it with no neighbors in sight. Instead of it being the tall trees that had been growing for hundreds of years, the yard was littered with little stumps. I also spotted a small garden out in the front with small magnolias. I sighed as I looked up to the house. It was quaint and small with red bricks and a big chimney. It seemed to have such a small house surrounded by so much land. Still it had 4 bedrooms and it seemed endless as we entered.
I peered around in the different rooms trying to get a glimpse of the infamous Paul. I could feel the excitement that Stan felt too. The possibility of having a close friend was exciting for him. Stan had always been the first one to talk to people, but sadly he always left an awful first impression. I could only imagine how he survived without me all those years. It wasn't really a surprise to find him under the Imperius Curse. I can only imagine the Death Eater he had accidentally insulted. We entered the dining room and I surprised to find the table barren. I looked over to Amelia and an out of blush crept to her face.
"He's just washing up. He's very shy you know," She said apologizing. She slipped into a different room and Stan and I sat in awkward silence.
"I'm nervous," I mouthed and Stan chuckled quietly. I could smell the obvious smell of rotisserie chicken. My mouth watered. Amelia reentered but this time she wasn't alone. At her side was a tall man. My mouth formed in an 'o'. I swore I was staring at a replicate of Al, 20 some years younger. Even Stan was shocked by the resemblance. A head full of thick black hair and even the beginning of a beard were placed on Paul's broad chin. He looked like a Paul Bunyan in the making. But I could see why Amelia liked him. His broad shoulders dipped into his heavy muscled arms. His polo shirt seemed to stretch across his abs.
Stan coughed after realizing what I had been staring at. I smiled back him reassuringly. Paul did seem shy as Amelia described him, refusing to meet anyone's eyes but he had such a kind look about him.
"I'm Paul," He said mumbling to a spot on the floor. I could see now why it took him five years to propose. Amelia was obviously embarrassed by her husband's behavior and blushed again. She patted his arm in encouragement.
"I'm Stan," Stan said getting up to shake Paul's hand. Paul awkwardly grabbed Stan's hand and gave it a gruff shake.
"You must be Brooke. Amelia talks an awful lot about you," Paul said turning to me. His voice was rough like he hadn't talked in a while but there was no mistaking the sincerity. Amelia gave her husband a dreamy look and headed off to the kitchen, accepting that things would be all right. The three of us sat down quietly and I begged someone to talk. The silence was deafening. Stan cleared his throat and I knew he was thinking the same thing. Paul though seemed to think the silence was grand as he smiled to himself.
"So, Paul, um… how'd you begin to work at the camp?" I started awkwardly and Paul jumped as if coming out of a trance. He looked around to see me staring at him before he answered.
"I just sort of fell into it, I was working at Flourish and Blott's when Amelia's uncle comes in and just offers me a job. I'm so glad I took it," He said softly and Amelia reentered carrying two plates, she set them down in front of Stan and I and smiled at her husband before returning to the kitchen. The worried look melted off of her face. "Just think, if I hadn't been working that day or if I hadn't accepted I wouldn't be here married to the most wonderful woman in the whole world," He said as he stared at the door where Amelia disappeared. I beamed at him in approval. They were so adorable together. He couldn't take his eyes off of his little wife and I sighed in jealously. Stan just looked like he was going to be sick.
"I heard from Brooke that you have 3 siblings, Paul. I have 3 as well." Stan said trying to make pleasant conversation. It was so cute when he tried hard. I could tell he was nervous and Paul's shyness just made it another obstacle that he had to overcome.
"Yes," Paul said simply as Amelia reappeared laying down plates from the two of them.
Once Amelia had returned Paul seemed much more at ease. He talked freely and I even saw him laugh at a joke Stan had made. Stan was so surprised to hear Paul laugh that he spent the rest of the night trying to do it again. I was surprised how well the two men got a long. Like Amelia's and my friendship, it was a little unconventional but it just seemed to work together. I was already daydreaming of double dates we could go on together when Amelia brought in ice cream.
Every now and again I would see the gazes that Paul and Amelia shared and I had to turn away. They looked at each other so intimately. I felt as if I'd walked in on them. Did Stan and I look at each other like that? I tried to picture my face as I talked about him. I couldn't remember it going all dreamy the way Amelia's did, but maybe ours was just different. Right? I felt the doubt creep up to me and I tried to push away the feeling. Were Stan and I not lovey enough? No, it couldn't be, it was just because Amelia was a Lovegood that made her face look like that. I began to try and slacken my face as I looked over at Stan, imitating Amelia's expression.
"Do you need to go to the bathroom or something?" Stan said and I stared in shock. Probably because of my lack of talking the dinner was soon over. I apparated away, not bothering to wait for Stan. The jerk! Why didn't he look at me like Paul did to Amelia? I landed outside of our door and opened it. I slammed it right in to Stan face as he appeared just inches away. I immediately reprimanded myself. It's not Stan's fault I was mad at him, was it? Stan opened the door as I stared guiltily at it.
"What was that for?" He said annoyed. He shrugged off his light jacket. "You know what, never mind. Merlin, I am so tired." He flopped on the couch like a fish out of water. "Brooke, aren't you so glad that I made a friend? Me and Paul are going bowling next week, he says he's always wanted to try it." He grinned at me. My heart beat quickly and I turned to the mirror hanging on the wall. My face was the same stony expression it had been before.
"Great," I said sulkily. I walked nearer to the couch and sat down next to Stan. He immediately wrapped me in a hug and pulled close to him, oblivious to my discomfort.
"I am so glad we don't act like that though, Brooke," He said kissing the top of my forehead. I gaped at him. Glad that we don't act in love? He had to be kidding. "I mean, I love you with my whole heart Brooke, but how annoying would it be make those eyes at you all the time. Mum says I do you know. Last time we went over for lunch she kept me back and said if I kept looking at you like that you'd be pregnant by the end of the year," He roared with laughter and I said nothing. He had better not be done. "Brooke, we are perfect for each other and we know it. They're newlyweds so the novelty hasn't worn of yet. We act just like them when we're alone, you just don't see it. Whenever you talk to me your eyes light up, I see it. And whenever I kiss you my heart beats twice the normal time. Don't think that because we don't act like teenagers we don't love each other. To tell you the truth I think that Paul and Amelia have only ever dated one another. We are so tainted," He said jokingly and I managed a weak smile. He knew what I'd wanted him to say
"Do you ever think we'll be like them?" I asked him warily.
"I hope so, when we get married and we can't take our eyes of each other even just for a second. We do the same thing now, Brooke, it's just lesser," He kissed the top of my head. I felt my face flame, so much in fact that I'm pretty sure that even Stan could feel it. Should I push it? I was so curious it hurt.
"M-married?" I choked out. Of course every time I looked at Stan I thought marriage but I didn't know Stan felt the same way. My hope had uplifted by light-years, I could already hear wedding bells.
"When we're ready," He whispered and moved himself so that he was hovering on the couch. He was already kissing my neck by the time I had comprehended what he said. He planned to marry me! Merlin!
"Talking about this turns you on, huh?" I said and my voice croaked. The joke was lame but Stan smiled as he worked his way to my buttons.
"Sure does."