My heart was hollow, and the shower was hot. The water burned my skin; the sensation made me want to drown myself. I had made a mistake, and had gotten caught. My veins swam with guilt and I knew there was nothing I could do but apologize and try to make it better.

I dragged my feet to the Hufflepuff common room. Somewhere above me, I heard Peeves singing a song to Filch. Otherwise, the hallways were unbearably quiet. I got to our portrait and said the password.

"It was still a stupid fucking thing to do," Kelly vented.

"You know she wasn't-" Kim stopped when she noticed me walk in. She and Kelly were lounging on the main couch in front of the fire. Kim's face was softened by the glow, but Kelly looked murderous.

"Do you want to talk?" Kim asked, her voice soft. She motioned for me to sit on the floor in front of them, and I quietly obliged.

The only noise came from the fire crackling behind me. It burned my back the same way the shower water had, and the sensation made me feel like dying. I heard the bursting laughter of girls in their dormitory. A loud "ooh!" from boys playing exploding snap in the corner of the common room.

"I can explain," I began hastily, and Kelly rolled her eyes. I swallowed my last breath of air, like I was about to plunge myself into a pool, and explained, "It was wrong of me not to say anything. But honestly, Cedric and I just friends. All we do is run together. We don't even talk when we see each other in here, or in class."

"You're not cheating," Kelly said skeptically.

"No. I love George, honestly." My eyes burned when I thought of how upset I had made him, but I brushed away the emotion with the back of my hand. "I just like spending time with Cedric."

"Because you like him," Kelly said pointedly.

"This is why I didn't tell anyone. Because I knew it would get blown out of proportion like this," I sighed, exasperated. "We're just friends."

"You were half naked and hugging him. You didn't tell us anything about your friendship. How did you expect George to react? How did you expect us to react?"
"I'm allowed to hug him," I said defensively, and Kelly glared at me like I had just suggested she set fire to Kim.

"With George watching?"

"I didn't know he was there! And even if he was, why does it matter?" Our voices were getting louder and louder. The boys in the corner stopped playing their game, and started watching us.

"Because he fucking thinks you cheated on him!"

The confirmation stung like a slap to my cheek. "But I'm not."

"How was he supposed to know?"

"Kelly, calm down," Kim spoke, her voice strained and small. She hated when we fought. "I believe Michelle."

"It's not that I don't believe her…" she trailed off.

"Then what?" I insisted.

"You still love Cedric, and it's not fair to George," Kelly vented, her voice emotional.

Kelly's eyes were beginning to water. I played with the frays on my shorts.

"I was with him for two years," I prefaced, and then told my friends what Cedric had told me during our run. "It's hard to let go."

"I think a piece of you will always love him," Kim theorized, "But it's just a matter of how much. So long as you aren't with George because you love Cedric, or as long as you don't think about Cedric when you're with George, I don't see why it's a problem."

"Again: cheating," Kelly spat.

"I'm not cheating on him." The conversation was getting exhaustive. "I don't know what you need to hear. I'm sorry for not telling you. But I'm probably still going to go running with Cedric. I'm still going to be his friend. You can't make me not be his friend."

"Do you love him?"

"Who?"

Kelly shot Kim a patronizing look, as if my response proved a point.

Kim stood up, her hands in the air. "I don't want to get in the middle of this." She then walked out of the common room.

"I don't know what you want me to say," my voice shook.

"I just… can't believe you would do that to George. It was fucking stupid of you. You might lose him because of this," Kelly's voice was rattling, too.

I tried to imagine my life without George, but the image left me feeling completely empty.

"I know. Trust me, I know. But honestly, Cedric and I spent most of the run talking about how much I liked George. I think Kim's right, though. And I'm not going to lie, I do sort of have a crush on him. But it's not like I want him back."

"Oh, really?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Yeah, really. Cedric's a big part of my life. But George is an even bigger part."

Kelly pressed her hand to her temple. "You know I had to talk George down from absolutely murdering Cedric."

"Oh?" I moved up to the couch, next to her, and rested my head in her lap. Kelly's body stiffened at my sudden affection, but then relented.

"He has more rage then I do," Kelly laughed. "But it's only because he loves you, a lot. And he was really upset."

I closed my eyes. My friend ran her fingers through my hair. "I know. I didn't mean for this to happen. It was just… bad timing."

"It would have been much easier to say something in the first place."

"I didn't think you guys needed to know. At least—I didn't want to make George upset."

"Look how that turned out for you."

I grit my teeth. "I know. I'm an awful person."

"Not entirely." Kelly pressed her lips to my forehead. "I have done much worse things."

The room was quiet for a moment. I heard movement outside of the common room door; the boys in the corner resumed playing their game.

Kim spoke the password, and she came tumbling in through the portrait, a cigarette dangling from her lips, and George Weasley hanging on her hand.

"Someone came to talk to you," she spoke, her teeth pressed against the cigarette. She spied the boys in the corner of the room and yelled for them to move. Their tiny, petrified bodies ran directly upstairs.

George's face was red and pinched. Kim led him over to the couch, and sat him down next to me. When I sat up, Kelly stood and disappeared with Kim.

"How are you?" I asked—a stupid question.

George grunted in response. His eyes burned a hole into my temple.

"I'm really, really sorry that you had to find out this way. Cedric and I are only running friends, though. Honestly. I didn't tell you before because…" I trailed off, and I could feel the tears coming. "I didn't want to hurt you. But obviously that was a dumb idea. I'm so sorry for upsetting you. But you really have nothing to worry about."

"You're running half-naked with your ex-boyfriend. What the hell am I supposed to think? You should put on a damn shirt," George quaked.

"It gets hot out when I run. And please, there is no mystery between Cedric and me. He knows what's underneath here," I motioned to my naughty bits.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

My face softened. I could feel panic rising in my chest. "I'm sorry, George. What can I do to make this better?"

"I don't want you to see Diggory anymore," he said simply, his features contorted with rage.

I shook my head. "I can't do that."

"Why the bloody hell not?"

"You can't tell me who I can and can't be friends with!" I yelled, indignant.

"I can when he's your ex-boyfriend!"

"Right, so that means you can't see Alicia or Katie anymore," I snarled.

George was red-faced. "It's different with them!"

"It's not!"

George was stone-faced. "I didn't love them."

"I didn't love Cedric the way I love you."

The words hung in the air between us. A few Hufflepuffs came and left the common room. Someone above us was blasting the new Weird Sisters song.

"I'm not asking you to like him. We go running together. That's it," I said quietly. When George didn't respond, I started to stand and go back to my room. I knew I was losing the battle.

"Michelle." Hearing him say my name made my heart leap into my throat.

"Yes?"

"I need to think about it."

What it was, I wasn't sure. But I wasn't going to press the issue. "Alright," I muttered, and then wandered up the stairs.