Chapter 14
"Where were you? Did you two snog in a broom closet?" Ella demanded to know as I entered the common room.
"Well, yes and no…," I said after internally debating how much to reveal.
"Wait, you actually snogged him? It's about time, I say!"
"Snog? Ickle little Mae-zie snogged someone?" Orion asked obnoxiously.
I blushed. "I'm older than Ella, you know. You can't call me little."
"I can calls you whatever I wants. Speaking of snogging, love…," he pulled Ella to him.
"I'm definitely leaving," I said, making a face.
Lying on my bed, I replayed the kiss in my mind, as many girls do after such an event. I couldn't get over just how amazingly attractive Will was. I fancied him, no surprise there, but that such a boy would fancy me? I then mulled over the question of whether anyone, besides Orion, had ever snogged someone within four days of knowing them.
Later that day I ran into James. He thanked me for forcing him to talk to Erin the day I'd met Will. Apparently he'd asked her out, and she'd said yes. I smiled, happy to hear it.
Ella and Orion, James and Erin, Rose and Jacob, Will and I… only Al was left. I wondered if he felt excluded. I decided to inquire as to any girl who maybe fancied my friend. It turned out that quite a few girls did, but none of them were bold enough to do anything. They asked me to help. I gave them a few tips, and soon girls walked up to Al in the halls.
On one such occasion, Al and I were walking alone together. It was one of the rare times I wasn't with Will or Ella or Rose, too. Three girls I had spoken to previously approached us. They were Gryffindors, a year younger than us, and very pretty. The girl in the middle smiled at me knowingly, and I nodded, excusing myself.
"Wait, Mae," Al called somewhat desperately after me.
"Sorry, I have a… thing… to do," I called over my shoulder.
It was rather late when the girls released Al from their grip. He came into the common room, the girls chatting noisily behind him. He glared at me, then took his leave to the boys' dormitory.
The girls, whose names were Claire, Kate, and Sophie, flocked to me instead. As they sat down around me, I asked how it went.
"He didn't really talk much," Claire said, frowning.
"Yeah, even when we talked about Quidditch," Sophie added, wrinkling her nose. She wasn't much of a fan, I took it.
"I don't think he liked us," Kate said woefully. "He seemed anxious to get back here."
"I think he wanted to get back to a certain someone," Claire glanced up at me.
I ignored this bit. "Maybe if you didn't all talk to him at once… That may have made him uncomfortable. You should try going alone."
The girls exchanged glances. "I don't know…," Sophie said. "We're not very good at talking to boys."
"Well, I'm sure it would be more effective," I told them.
"I'll do it," Claire said abruptly.
I smiled at her. "Good. Now I'm going to bed. See you lot later."
The next day was April Fool's Day. This was Orion and James' favourite holiday, and all day they were pulling enormous pranks on everyone. Everyone, that is, except Ella, Erin, and I. They left their girlfriends alone for obvious reasons, and Ella threatened Orion with no more snogs if they did anything to me. I much appreciated it.
On the second day of April, Claire reported that she spoke to Al by herself, and it had gone better. "Just like you told me it would," she beamed.
April fourth was a Saturday, and that was the day Al told me he was going to ask Claire out. I squealed and hugged him, then pushed him toward Claire. Then I hurried away to observe at a distance. She said yes, of course.
After that, I saw considerably less of Al, as he was always with Claire and I was frequently with Will. But Rose, Ella, Al, and I made sure to spend time with each other.
On one such occasion, Ella came in from her "quality time" with Orion, which had mostly consisted of watching him practise at the Quidditch pitch. Al was still practicing, but Rose and I were in the common room, waiting for Ella so we could have what the males called "girlie-time."
I sensed something was off. "Ella, are you ok?"
She nodded. I waited, then asked, "Are you sure?"
"No," she said.
"Well, what's wrong?"
"I can't tell you. I have to write it," she told me as she pulled out her journal. She scribbled something, then showed me. We passed it back and forth between the three of us. This is what was said:
I was out in the stands, watching Quidditch practise, right?
Yeah. So?
So, it was all fine until Orion…
What did he do?
Did he take his robes off again? What a-
Yes, Rose, he did.
Oh, great.
Would you stop taking this away? I'm trying to tell you what happened!
Sorry.
As I was saying, he took his robes off and, as you might have guessed, he flew around showing off his magnificent abs…
Ew.
I must have a chat with that boy. He's probably scarred you for life, and just when the wound was healing from the other time…
No! I like his abs! You should have seen them, Mae, then you wouldn't be saying ew. They were… wow.
Again, ew. Because it's Orion. Gross!
Not ew! They were better than last time. And he was all tanned and sweaty-
STOP!
Really, now you're scarring us for life.
Sorry. Actually, no, I'm not. So, ha!
Right. So did anything else happen?
Yes, as it were.
Care to elaborate? Well, actually, I'm not sure I want to know…
I'm telling… er, writing it anyway. So I was watching-
And probably drooling-
Shut it. Right, so I was watching and then Orion told James he was taking a break and he came over to me and-
You snogged?
Well, yes.
What are we going to do with you, Ella?
Is that it, then?
Well…
Oh Merlin. What did you do?
We had an amazing snog, ickle little Mae-zie.
Orion! Go away!
No! We snogged in the locker rooms. Alone. And-
Ha! I got it back-
Orion, I demand that you go away right now. It's our girl time.
I'm not leaving, I just got here. And besides, you're talking about me. I think I should be allowed-
You have no place in this conversation, Mr. Castingson. Now away with you!
Only if Ella's coming with.
Ok!
No! That defeats the whole purpose!
What's going on here?
Oh, not you too, James!
… No, seriously. Orion, we need you at practise. It's not over yet…
You'll do fine without me-
Stop using this for your mundane conversations! This is for special- stuff only!
Since when is hearing about your snogfests special?
Yeah, they make everyone ill.
Oi, Al, get back on the pitch! Practise is not over!
You and Orion left, so everyone else did, too…
Haha! James is funny when he says "Oi"…
Why is it so funny?
Blimey, you lot, give me my journal back! See if you ever write in here again!
Please review! I would love to know what you think of my story! All Harry Potter characters belong to JK Rowling. All other characters (Ella, Mae, etc.) are mine.
