Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I posted on this story but I had a bit of discouragement then writer's block... But I'm back now so I hope you like it. Leave reviews, please!
Chapter Nine: Can't Take It (All-American Rejects)
Silence weighed uncomfortably on James as he waited for words to escape Elle's frosty pink lips, but eventually he realized they would never come. Never in his entire life had he felt like such a failure, or a complete and utter fool. The eyes that had once dazzled him into loving her now only showed pity towards him, adding to the humiliation that coursed through him.
Rising to stand on shaky legs, the dark haired man rubbed at the stubble on his chin uncomfortably as he forced his eyes to stay trained on the young girl's. Finally breaking the silence, James closed the velvet box he held in the palm of his hand. "I understand. Merry Christmas, everyone."
"James, I…" Elle jumped to her feet, regaining her ability to speak, but her outstretched arm only met air as the man turned and exited the room swiftly. Moving quickly to follow him, the blonde felt thick tears of regret roll down her red cheeks.
Before she could successfully reach the door however, 'Manda was there, pulling her blonde head to her shoulder. Murmuring words of reassurance into her best friend's hair, the taller girl ignored the unhappy looks on Elle's parent's faces, only concerned with the well-being of the girl who had been there for her so many times before.
Another set of hands ran up and down Elle's back for a moment before she heard Lily's voice excusing herself from the room to find her brother. Somehow, that only added to the embarrassment and pain the thin girl felt about the entire situation.
Suddenly, Roland and Hugo were pulling the two girls from the dining room and away from the sudden explosion of adult voices. Then Elle was laying on the bed she had claimed in James' home, her thin body being held to 'Manda's tightly. Whispering brokenly through sobs, her fingers gripped the taller girl's arms in desperation for understanding. "I'm so sorry, 'Manda. If I had just admitted to myself that I'm-"
"Shhh, babe. It's alright. Go to sleep for now, we'll deal with this when you wake up." Catching Hugo's questioning eyes, 'Manda shook her head as if to tell him that she would explain everything later. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
Never before had she said anything so truthful.
Knocking softly on the closed door leading to James' office, Elle pushed into the room without waiting for the approval that she knew would never come. The lights were dimmed down considerably, leaving an eerie glow about the room, and she had to feel her way in order to cross the room to where he was. Ignoring her arrival as best as he could, James sat in his black desk chair, facing the darkness that the large window displayed before him.
Elle hoisted herself onto the edge of his desk, her heavily accessorized fingers running through her fair colored hair. When she had woken up from the nightmare-filled nap that had been forced upon her, 'Manda was laying with her like she had promised. After staying wrapped up in the tall girl's arms for as long as her ADD would allow her, Elle realized that it was time to come clean to James, for he deserved at least that much respect.
As if he could sense her struggling for the words to begin the conversation, James turned his chair to face her with a flat look. "There really isn't anything to be said, Elle. I understand that your hesitation is something that I should have seen coming, but I stupidly didn't. We only dated for a few months, so I had no right trying to ask you for something so ridiculous."
"It would be great to blame this whole thing on you, but we both know I can't. This is more my fault than anyone's and I definitely didn't come to make you feel even worse. I just- needed to retain what little pride I do have left by telling you the truth about me." Breathing in deeply, Elle's voice shakily betrayed her anxiety. "About a year ago, when Lily and Hugo both started to stray away from being friends with us, 'Manda and I began to seek comfort with each other.
"At first it started out with a few lingering hugs now and then, sometimes there was an occasional peck of each other's cheek. But we started to feel more and more abandoned, we all know how attention seeking I am, and it just kind of happened. I really didn't want to think of myself as a lesbian, but I guess the things we've done will only label me as such."
Pausing to take several more shaky breaths, the blonde blinked tears away before they could flow down her already stained cheeks. "Then you came along and I realized that you were my way out. Don't get me wrong, I had always liked you when we were younger, but now I think it was because I wanted an older brother to love me the way you love Lily. Not to mention the fact that 'Manda had mentioned that she wouldn't mind being with me publicly, and that wasn't something my parents would be okay with. You saw how well it blew over when she outed herself to the entire school."
This time when she stopped talking, the words refused to flow again, leaving James to continue the conversation himself. Many things to say filled his brain, words that would either sting or comfort the younger girl, but none of them seemed appropriate for the situation. So he simply laughed dryly, "I should have figured as much. We had yet to have a couple of lesbians in our fucked up group."
Smiling sheepishly at the comment, Elle reached out for James to hold her hand. "Please don't put on a fake act just to make me feel better. I deserve to be treated like shit, since that's all that I've been dishing out lately."
The dark haired man shook his head vigorously, "Absolutely not. You're just a child, Elle. I should have realized that months ago. Can you do me a favor though?" He barely waited for her to nod before presenting his demand. "Be there for 'Manda like she has been for you. If I can't make you happy, then let her do it. You deserve that much."
Agreeing quietly before squeezing his hand one last time, Elle slipped from the dark room and returned to her now-empty room. It broke her heart even more to know that her last promise to him would be broken, seeing as she didn't deserve the love that 'Manda would surely offer to her. Within minutes her room would be packed and she would be walking out of the "cottage" on Christmas Eve, away from the friends that proved to be too good for her.
Maybe it was a drastic decision to make on the same night that she had been proposed to and then had realized her love for her best friend, but Elle didn't think that she could look any of the lovely people around her in the eye. Shame filled her as the blonde forced herself to dwell on the pain of her decision, wanting to punish herself as much as possible.
"Are you ready to go, dear?" Elle's father spoke quietly as she reached the backdoor of the home, his body bundled in thick clothing.
Nodding silently, she followed him out into the harsh cold of the winter. Refusing to look back at the mistake she was making.
Christmas Break passed without much more excitement, though 'Manda had spiraled into a deep state of depression. Even Hugo and Lily's light banter about the upcoming semester couldn't break the tall girl from her spell. Something about Elle's complete disregard for her friends' feelings had 'Manda worried that the rest of the school year would follow the same trend.
Her theory proved to be right as she climbed off the Hogwarts Express, the platform void of all signs of Elle. Stepping up beside the unhappy girl, Scorpius squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. "Sometimes you have to wait for the girl of your dreams to realize that you'd do anything to be there for her. Even if you don't think you deserve her, she'll eventually disagree."
Meeting his kind, blue eyes fully, 'Manda gave him a half smile before following the crowd towards the looming castle. It wasn't much of a shock to find the dorm room Lily, Elle, and 'Manda shared was empty, but the sting of abandonment still hurt the brunette.
"She has to be down in the Great Hall, even Elle can't resist food." Lily offered quietly, not wanting to disturb whatever banter was going on in her best friend's head.
Leg bouncing uncontrollably with anticipation, Elle couldn't keep her eyes from staring at the door leading out of the Great Hall. She wasn't sure what would be worse, 'Manda ignoring her or actually reaching out only to be pushed away. The decision was quickly made when the brunette entered the crowded room, their eyes meeting in an intense moment of weakness.
Someone crossed the path their gaze was blazing, breaking the connection enough for the blonde to turn away from 'Manda. It would be hard, not talking to the very person she was dying to bawl her heart out to, but she was willing to sacrifice her sanity if it meant saving face.
But was love really worth giving up simply to keep her parents happy?
Pushing open the door to her dorm room, Elle flicked on the lights with a sigh. Ignoring her friends proved to be more difficult that she had once assumed, but she had done so successfully so far. Her luck had seemed to come to a quick end though, because Lily bounded from her position in the dark room to slam the door shut, blocking the blonde from slipping from the room yet again.
"Oh no you don't. We're going to talk whether you like it or not." Flicking her wrist to lock the door, Lily pushed her best friend deeper into the room and onto her bed. "It's been a month since we've gotten back and you're still pushing us away. That would be okay if it was just me or Hugo, but 'Manda deserves better than that."
Sighing softly, Elle ran her thin hands over her face with impatience. "I have things to do, Lily. Can't this wait until- oh I don't know, never." Obviously the redhead wasn't going to go for that idea, for when she tried to get to her feet, Lily pulled her back to the covers. "Now is good too, I guess."
Not able to gather her thoughts right away, Lily rose to her feet and paced at the end of her friend's bed. She hadn't expected for the blonde to give up so easily, which of course kept her from being prepared when the time came for her to chastise Elle's behavior. As she was trying to think of a way to open up the conversation, the redhead looked down to see tears streaming down the other girl's cheeks.
Dropping to her knees beside the crying girl, she couldn't help but feel for the hard position her friend was in. Was Elle's opposition to accepting the love she felt for 'Manda any different than Lily's hesitation to date Scorpius again? Granted, there was a baby involved in the latter, but homophobia would cause just as many, if not more, issues in the girl-girl relationship. If only those people who were again gays understood the pain that their hatred put regular people in, maybe they would think twice about their judgments.
"Please, don't cry. I know you don't think that I understand why you're hesitating, but I really do. You can always talk to me." Lily gripped the smaller girl's hands tightly, staring straight into her watery eyes in the hopes that she would realize how sincere her comments were. "Or Hugo, if that would make you more comfortable. That dork knows a lot more about- this kind of stuff than I do."
Scoffing and rolling her eyes at the redhead's choice of words, Elle pushed herself away from the intensity of her blue-eyed stare. "Why don't you just say it? I'm officially a lesbian now. Only I have it worse, because I don't even have the relationship most would get out of it."
Now it was Lily's turn to be pissed off at the conversation, "That's no one's fault but yours. 'Manda tried to make it work and you pushed her away. I hate to be so blunt when you're obviously in pain, but Jesus Christ. Why don't you grow up and be with the girl who loves you more than life itself? Anyone who doesn't like it can shove your happiness up their own ass."
But Lily wasn't the only one that was observant enough to watch the always changing relationships in their little group. A sickly satisfied, defiant smile flashed across Elle's face as she moved to put her face directly in front of the taller girl's. "Like you are with Scorpius? Everyone already knows that you're back together, but you refuse to realize it. Worry about your own problems before you force yourself into mine." Lily started to argue, but was cut off by the blonde crossing to the doorway. "I'll tell you what. The day you announce that you're back with Scorpius despite his numerous screw ups, I'll walk straight up to 'Manda and kiss her. But we both know that won't happen anytime soon."
Only the slamming of the door woke Lily from her stunned state. Since when had someone needed an ultimatum to be with the person they loved? But even with her anger at Elle's stupidity coursing through her like poison, the redhead had to acknowledge that her friend had been right. It would be a cold day in hell when she let herself confess her love for Scorpius again.
If only she could see that it wouldn't be that long a wait for herself or Elle.
As Lily slipped through the dark corridors silently, butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Sneaking behind the backs of everyone she loved to see Scorpius wasn't something that she was proud of, but it was the only option she could force herself to consider. That conversation that she had had with Elle weeks ago had only added to the shame of her choices. Not that the other girl had any room to judge Lily's choices, for she still had yet to talk to 'Manda again.
Hugo had come to Lily multiple times, worried about 'Manda's spiral into depression as the months dragged on. But even that wasn't enough things for the redhead to worry over, because she still had to deal with the fact that Cherry's due date was steadily approaching. No matter how hard Scorpius tried to distract her from it, the truth of their situation weighed on her heavily.
A large, warm hand latched onto the girl's fragile wrist, pulling her into an abandoned classroom she had been prepared to walk past. Lily found herself pressed against Scorpius' chest tightly, her quickening heartbeat thudding between them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"I'll get over it." Reaching up to tangle her fingers in his scruffy, blonde locks, Lily pressed her lips to his firmly. He pulled her further into the room, knocking into desks that seemed to jump in front of him in the darkness. As his lips parted to find her tongue with his own, Scorpius lifted her into his arms and trapped her between his muscular body and the firm wall.
The silence in the room was broken by Lily's soft panting as the blonde moved his lips from hers to trail them down her smooth neck. Wicked thoughts of temptation ran through his one-track mind, but at the moment he only wanted to relish in the physical contact they shared. Returning to her lips, Scorpius kissed her until his air supply had run dry. "We need to slow down, Lil."
Shaking her head in defiance, the redhead ran her soft hands under his shirt to feel the defined lines of his abs. "You didn't make Cherry slow down." She caught his bottom lip with her teeth, never wanting the excitement she felt to end.
Yanking his head back quickly, Scorpius strained to stare at the younger girl's face in the dark. "And look how well that went over. She's pregnant and we're both stuck with something that we aren't ready for. I'll be damned if the same happens to you. This was a mistake." He sat Lily on the ground softly and stepped away from her, blood welling up on the cut she had inflicted on his lip.
"Don't do that. I'm sorry, I just- moment of insanity. Please, don't shut me out." Lily was mentally slapping herself at the turn in the conversation, or rather, letting a conversation starting in the first place. Even if Scorpius was right about not letting things go too far, she didn't want to be considered the irresponsible one of the two.
Luckily, he didn't seem to judge her as such, pulling her into a tight hug. "Eventually it will happen, Lil, but not now. I can't hurt you like I hurt her."
Leaning over Cherry's shoulder to maneuver the mouse of her laptop, Scorpius let his other hand fall to rub her bulging stomach absentmindedly. Her due date was only weeks away and her small frame looked almost humorous since the baby had grown to such a large proportion. She watched his glowing face with sadness, knowing her betrayal would hurt him more than she cared to think about. Catching her gaze, he smiled brightly before turning to the dark haired man on the computer screen.
"Good to see you, James. How have you been doing?" Scorpius' kind smile transferred to the older man, sincerely happy to be talking to the kind soul that was going to help take care of his quickly growing family. In the beginning, it had been hard for the blonde to accept help with his 'mistakes', especially when the donator was his ex-girlfriend's older brother.
Even James had been surprised with his own generosity, but the overwhelming need to help the young teenagers weighed heavily on him. Although the proposition of helping an enemy would have caused him to go into hysterics two years ago, part of growing up was realizing the importance of forgiveness.
If only he could be man enough to apply that lesson to the girl that broke his heart. The entire situation of the James/Elle/'Manda love triangle was dizzying to think about, so he pushed it to the back of his mind. "I'm living, which I'm happy to see that the same is true for all three of you. When's the next doctor's visit?"
Since he had taken it upon himself to be the guardian of the teenagers that were about to become parents themselves, James wanted to be aware of every breath they took that involved the baby. This didn't seem to bother them in the slightest; it was nice to be cared for once in a while. "Cherry goes next week, and if all goes well, they won't be seeing her again until the birth."
Nodding happily, the brunette's eyes glinted with excitement at an idea he had been mulling over for weeks. "I was thinking, that we could really use some help around the Joke Shop. George wants to open a few other stores in neighboring cities and it would be great to have someone hold down the base. Since you will be graduating in a week, I thought it might be helpful for you to have a job lined up. What do you think?"
"That'll be great for us! I should be able to get a flat for the three of us rather quickly, and then it will all go up from there. I really appreciate everything you're doing for us, James. You really don't have to." Scorpius couldn't control his excitement at the proposition, wanting nothing more than to find Lily and tell her about their new plans. If he got his way, they would create a way to be together even with Cherry raising the baby as her own. It would all be complicated and confusing for a while, but they would get used to it.
Only Cherry obviously wasn't on the same page as the father of her child. "Both of you will be really happy with that, I'm sure."
Not catching the strange word choice, Scorpius went on to talk out the technicalities of the plan with James, leaving Cherry to scold herself for almost slipping up about leaving them. Suddenly, the men's conversation was over and Scorpius turned to kiss her cheek before slipping from the room, obviously to talk to Lily.
And for once, it didn't bother Cherry that he was leaving her alone with her thoughts. She needed to spend as much time as a mother as she could before she ruined all chances of having a family with the man of her dreams. Starting over would be the only thing to look forward to. End of story.
"You need to get up there, babe. They aren't going to wait for you." Hugo leaned forward to press his forehead to the older boy's, still thanking God that Roland had been allowed to graduate on time. Although it would have been great to have another year at school with his boyfriend, the redhead hadn't wanted the humiliation of failure to taint their time together.
Grinning happily in excitement, Roland kissed Hugo's cheek before jumping to his feet. When he was about ten feet away from where the Potter/Weasley clan was sitting, the tall man turned to yell across the crowd of wizards. "I managed to rent an apartment in London, by the way. Hope that you're cool with that."
Ron and Hermione stared at their son in shock, who in turn was following his boyfriend through the mob of people with his wide eyes. That wasn't something they had discussed yet, so it was just like Roland to bring it up on the spot, but Hugo was too excited to care. Even when his father's stern voice barked at him, a large smile stayed plastered to his face.
Bounding up to stand beside Scorpius, Roland gripped the taller boy's shoulders in reassurance. "Ready for this? After today, things change drastically." Cutting the blonde's response short, he nudged his shoulder and motioned for him to look at the front row of the audience. "Dude, your parents are here."
Sure enough, Draco and Astoria Malfoy were sitting uncomfortably in the plastic seats of the audience. Meeting his son's eyes, the older man nodded his head in recognition. Scorpius fought the urge to be angry at their sudden appearance. He knew that the correct reaction would be happiness, but for them to show up at the end of the year seemed shady and attention-seeking. Nodding back, the younger blonde turned to face the side of the stage and tried to calm the anger that was building inside of him.
"Welcome, everyone. Today I am pleased to send off another fabulous group of young witches and wizards into the world." Percy Weasley's speech continued on for quite some time before the students' names began to be called.
Due to Malfoy being listed before Stone, Scorpius was sent across the stage first. A mixture of clapping and booing filled the open air of the school grounds, no one really sure how to cheer for a boy that had once been an enemy but was now laying pretty low. Sensing the tension in the air, Lily and Hugo rose to their feet at once and hollered loudly.
This was all the group needed, for everyone began clapping proudly. Coming to stand directly beside a slowly clapping 'Manda, Elle cheered alongside her friends. Once Scorpius was off the stage, their clapping died down until it was Roland's turn.
Turning to stare in wonder at the smaller girl's face, 'Manda waited until the blonde would look at her. "I missed you. You have no idea how much." Elle reached out to take the taller girl's hand proudly, a small smile slipping over her glossy lips.
After many months of reflecting on her true feelings, it had become obvious that the only way life could be fulfilling is if Elle let herself be happy. 'Manda wasn't sure what had changed the other girl's mind, but she didn't care as long as she didn't go back on the decision.
"I'm proud of you, Elle. You're doing the right thing." Hugo spoke directly into her ear as he walked towards the quickly emptying stage, looking for his Prince Charming. As the redhead grew nearer, he was surprised to see Roland arguing heatedly with Scorpius. But when he finally reached the bickering men, Scorpius stalked off in the direction that Hugo had just come from. "What's he doing?"
An answer wasn't necessary however, for everyone was looking toward the blonde when he came to a stop in front of Lily Potter. Reaching out to hook his arm around her thin waist, Scorpius pulled the redhead into the most passionate kiss he could muster. Only hesitating for a moment, the young girl let her eyes close to block out the amazed faces of the people surrounding them. Cherry, who stood nearby, winced at the sight and looked away quickly.
Pulling away from his now-not-so-secret girlfriend, the blonde faced Harry Potter confidentially. "I told you that I wouldn't give up. But it would be a lie to say that I didn't think about it. My daughter deserves someone as great as Lily as a role model. Even if you aren't okay with the decisions we make, don't shun us for trying."
"Harry never was one to see himself as above anyone. I'm sure that hasn't changed in the past twenty years." Draco's cool voice cut through Scorpius' happiness like a knife, sending goose bumps up his arms. "What do you say, Potter? If you'll accept their relationship, I'm sure that I can follow suit."
Letting his eyes flicker between his daughter and the man she seemed to love, Harry nodded slowly. "I suppose that's fair." He reached out to shake Draco's hand warmly, mentally promising to deal with the strangeness of the day later on. "Oh, it seems that you aren't the only ones getting a happy ending today."
'Manda had her arms wrapped around Elle's thin waist, their foreheads pressed together and their breathing haggard. Even the whispered comments of hate couldn't break the connection that had built between them in the last ten minutes.
"Finally, we have lesbians in our group!" Hugo exclaimed proudly as Roland wrapped his arms around his waist. "Now everyone is happy!"
Except for the silently crying pregnant girl, but it wasn't as if she counted. Right?
Finally done with this chapter! Hope you liked it! I'm sorry that it took so long for it to be up.. Love you, guys. Please review. (:
