Frankie Stone was about the most infuriating person Bianca Montgomery had ever met.
The Gryffindor blew out a puff of air, a strand of dark hair floating up with the action. She stood in the dark dungeon hallway, impatience clear on her face. Potions had just let out, and she bolted out the door with a few quick words to her friends to not wait for her. Once out the door, she ducked to the side and hid in a tiny alcove. The opening in the hard stone walls provided a space where she could see all of the activities in the hallway, but no one could see her unless they knew where to look.
Another irritated sigh fell from her lips. She had been standing there now for about five minutes. This was the way out of the dungeons from the classroom. Many students sporting both Slytherin and Gryffindor colored ties had already passed by. Potions was the last class before lunch, and most students were heading up to the Great Hall to get their fill of whatever items the kitchen cooked up today. Whispers had her expecting shepherd's pie or roast beef sandwiches.
Where was Frankie? She had to pass by this way to get to lunch, and she knew the blonde wouldn't skip the meal…would she? She probably would, just to spite her. Yes, Bianca did not have a very high opinion of Frankie at that exact moment. It might have been because of the fact that the Slytherin had absolutely disappeared after their meeting in the astronomy tower. Frankie had rushed to her match, and Bianca went back to Gryffindor Tower. After a quick shower and change of clothes, she fell into a much needed nap. By the time she awoke, the match was over.
That was that.
Being the weekend, there were no classes shared by which Bianca could see and speak with Frankie. It was the wrong decision to believe Frankie wanted to see her, she guessed. Frankie had hidden out. She was absent from every meal, and Bianca couldn't find her at all when she casually roamed the halls of the castle. It was as if the girl had never existed.
Not anymore, though. Frankie was present for potions. When Bianca saw her slouched arrogantly at the desk she shared with the captain of the Slytherin quidditch team, Gary Chancellor, her first reaction was to walk right up to Frankie and give her a good smack before pulling her into a kiss. That simply couldn't happen, though. Not when her friends steered her along to her desk, shooting the Slytherin side of the room dirty glances. The Slytherins, in turn, muttered a few choice words for the other house and returned the looks with ones of their own. Bianca noticed Frankie quickly spun away from them and faced Gary, luring him into a conversation.
All throughout class, Frankie refused to even peek over at Bianca's side of the room, let alone Bianca. Bianca couldn't get her attention, and didn't have much chance to with Professor Snape looming over the Gryffindors with his dark ominous gaze. There were two things to know about Snape. The first, as the head of Slytherin House, he favored his students and rewarded them with extra points and special treatment. The second, he hated Gryffindor and would deduct points for the slightest of infractions, real or otherwise. Already struggling with the subject matter, Bianca was forced to concentrate on the antidote they were preparing in their cauldrons lest she anger him and both fail the day's assignment and get her house's points reduced.
Thus, when class let out, she raced out the door. She would catch Frankie on her way to lunch and find out why she was acting the way she was. Perhaps Bianca was not the most experienced when it came to relationships and the whims of potential suitors, but she knew Frankie felt something. She had to.
That night in the astronomy tower was…inexplicable. She was not lying when she said she wanted to get to know Frankie better. She really did want to talk. But, there they were alone in an empty room with all the time in the world. How could she put into words that she had felt something for the other girl ever since the moment they met five years ago at that train station? How could she explain that those first kisses they shared, while alcohol induced, were something she wanted long before she even knew what these types of feelings could be? How could she talk about anything when the person she was attracted to was standing right there?
She was fifteen for Merlin's sake!
They kissed. Bianca wrapped her arms around Frankie and kissed her. Frankie kissed her back with such fervor it made Bianca shiver just thinking about it. They kissed and kissed until the sun came up. Bianca learned a few things that night. She learned that Frankie had a highly sensitive spot right behind her ear that made the girl melt. She learned that, when Frankie cupped her face, she unconsciously ran her thumb back and forth across her cheek in a way that both comforted and stimulated. She learned she was telling the truth when she mentioned dating. She wanted to see more of Frankie, as much as possible actually. She wanted them to spend time together.
It seemed Frankie had other ideas.
Adjusting her satchel, Bianca was about ready to give up. Frankie must have somehow snuck past or took a different route. For all she knew, Frankie conjured up a potion to change her identity and slipped past. She was probably laughing about it with her friends, sneering about the dumb Gryffindor she duped.
Bianca shook her head. Yes, Frankie was a Slytherin. Slytherins were not known for being the nicest or friendliest bunch around. In fact, if you weren't one of them, you were pretty much an enemy in their eyes. They would hex you or insult you without batting an eye. If you were not a pureblood, it was even worse. However, Frankie was not like that. Of course, she fit in there, the hat wouldn't have sorted her there otherwise, but Frankie was not some evil person. Bianca couldn't believe that. Sure, she played pranks and hurled her fair share of taunts at opposing houses. The way she performed at seeker bordered on illegal. When they were together, though, Bianca saw something else. First on the train to Hogwarts, then Hogsmeade, and finally the dungeon and astronomy tower. Frankie was more than just another Slytherin scoundrel.
The murmur of voices caught Bianca's attention, and she peered out from her hiding place. Her eyes widened as she saw Frankie slowly meandering down the hall. Gary and another boy she recognized as the keeper for the Slytherin quidditch team at her sides. They were talking, and Bianca perked her ears to hear what they were saying.
"The bloke ran right into the ground, he did." The boy who played keeper chuckled.
Frankie rolled her eyes, "He's a Hufflepuff. Probably thought he had to give the grass a hug or something."
Gary chortled, "More like a kiss."
"Bloody good move you made." The keeper, was his name Rich, spoke. "You know, for a muggle-born." his smile softened the words.
Frankie's jaw ticked imperceptibly as she smirked, "I don't make bad moves."
"Like being late?" Gary cut in.
"Yeah, and you put Chandler in the game for me. You want us to lose to the worst team here?" Her face didn't change, but from her hiding spot, Bianca could see a trickle of defensive tension bunch in the back of her shoulders.
"Where were you anyway?" Rich asked.
Bianca held her breath. The trio stopped before her, not spotting her.
"Solving world hunger." Frankie deadpanned.
"You can't be late like that, Frankie." Gary warned.
"Why? Cause you'll put in a stupid inexperienced second year like Chandler? Boy couldn't catch the snitch if it was handed to him on a silver platter by his daddy's house elf."
Rich laughed loudly at that, but Gary somberly replied, "You want captain next year after I'm gone."
Bianca saw the look pass between the two but didn't understand it. What was there about Frankie being captain? From what she knew and witnessed, Frankie was the best player on the team. Unlike most of the wizarding world, including Hogwarts, she wasn't a rapid fan of quidditch, but she knew enough to know the best player on the team made captain.
"Bloody dummies don't know what's good for us." Rich shook his head after his laughter died down, "Won't see past the ends of their noses."
"They will when I make captain." Frankie muttered.
"We'll see they do." Gary nodded down the hall, "Lunch?"
"You two go on. I gotta get something." Frankie hooked a thumb in the direction of the common room.
The two boys shrugged. As they ambled away, Rich called back, "See ya in Herbology, yeah? Maybe those bleeding heart Hufflepuffs'll give the plants another kiss."
Frankie waved a hand noncommittally. She turned and took two steps before a hand grasped her arm. On reflex, Frankie spun around and whipped out her wand. The tip touched the middle of Bianca's chest.
"Frankie! Put that away." Bianca ordered.
Frankie's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she regained her composure, "What are you doing here?"
Bianca rolled her eyes and slapped the wand away, "Waiting to see you."
"You saw me." Frankie put her wand away and twisted away from Bianca.
"Where have you been?" Bianca stayed at her side as Frankie began to walk down the hall.
Frankie ignored her and continued walking, her pace picking up speed.
"Frankie, you are not going to run away from me." The words barely left Bianca's mouth before Frankie stopped and faced her. Bianca nearly fell over at the abrupt change.
"I'm not running away from you. I don't run from anything, least of all a sniveling little Gryffindor like you." Frankie spat.
Bianca frowned, "Don't talk to me like that."
"Like what?" Frankie glared at her, "You're in my area of the castle. This isn't the place for pathetic little lions."
Bianca frowned harder, "We have to talk about what happened."
"Nothing happened."
Bianca shot her an incredulous look. Nothing? "We kissed."
"Shhh." Frankie hissed. She glanced around, "Don't say that."
"It's true." Bianca took a half-step closer to her, "We kissed, Frankie. We kissed all night." It was wonderful.
"Stop saying that." Frankie ground out. Her jaw was clenched so tight her teeth hurt, "It was a one time thing. Get over it."
Bianca's mouth dropped open as she processed what Frankie said. "What?" It felt like someone punched her in the gut.
Frankie scowled, "Go away. This is Slytherin territory. I'm not responsible if you get hexed."
Bianca watched as Frankie turned and began to walk away. What happened? Three nights ago they were wrapped in each others' arms and kissing so deeply Bianca blushed whenever she thought about it. Now, Frankie was insulting her and walking away, just like any other Slytherin.
Except for the end.
"You're a coward!" Bianca shouted.
Frankie halted. Her eyes blazed as she slowly faced Bianca, "What did you say?"
"You're a coward, Frankie Stone."
"I'm not afraid of anything." Frankie growled.
A deep breath, "You're afraid of us."
"Us?" Frankie laughed cynically, "There is no us. There's you, and there's me."
"And there's us. You're just too afraid to admit it. You're too afraid to admit you want to be with me." it became clearer with each spoken word.
"Are you mental?" Frankie stormed back up to her.
Bianca firmly stood her ground, "You want to be with me like I want to be with you."
"Like I would ever want to be anything with a filthy loser Gryffindor." The words sharp as a knife.
Bianca flinched at the insult but fought on, "You want to be with me. You kissed me."
"It was a one time lapse in judgment." Her vision ticked down to Bianca's mouth before quickly returning to her face.
"We've kissed two different times."
Frankie pursed her lips, "I was drunk the first time."
Drunk enough to not let herself be held back, "You say you don't want me."
"I don't." the words filled with infinite bluster as she crossed her arms.
"You don't care about me at all."
"That's right." Frankie nodded.
Oh, Frankie. She went in for the kill, "Then why do you keep trying to protect me?"
Frankie's face fell, "I don't."
Got ya, "You saved me from those boys that night. They were Slytherins."
Frankie blinked a few times, "That doesn't mean anything."
"You told me to leave a few seconds ago." Frankie may be subtle at times, but Bianca was quickly catching on to the meanings behind her words.
"Because I don't want you here."
Bianca offered her a tired smile, "Because you think I'll get hurt. You said for me to go because I might get hexed."
"You really are crazy." Frankie shook her head.
Bianca took another half step closer, "You care about me."
"I don't care about any of you. Get hexed, whatever." She looked away from Bianca.
They were a hairsbreadth away from each other. Bianca could feel the slight tremble in Frankie's body and see her battle to remain still. "You don't have to be afraid of me."
"I'm not afraid." Frankie's tone lowered. Her gaze went back to Bianca, and she gulped at how close the girl had become.
"Prove it."
Frankie blinked rapidly. Her eyes darted from Bianca's soft brown orbs to her supple lips and back again. She knew she shouldn't. This couldn't happen. She was a Slytherin. No Slytherin ever mixed with a Gryffindor, as a friend or otherwise.
But Bianca was there inviting her, challenging her, to kiss her. Her pale pink lips almost sparkled in the low dungeon lighting. As Frankie pushed up on her toes and their lips drew closer and closer, every single reason that existed for why she shouldn't went away. All she could see were those impossibly soft eyes.
Centimeters from each other, a clanging and raised voices sounded. The two teenagers jumped apart and looked around. Gaze landing on Frankie, Bianca watched as she backed up, her face hardening. Before she could say anything, a group of first year Ravenclaws rounded the corner. Frankie shot them a disinterested look, and the youngsters shuffled away from the older Slytherin in fear. Without looking at Bianca, Frankie purposefully walked through the middle of the group, viciously bumping a few of them out of the way.
Bianca could only bite her lip in disappointment as Frankie left.