The rest of my break, to put it simply, was crap.
I had to spend the last few days of my Christmas holidays enduring pitying looks from my family. I desperately wanted to talk to Roxanne, but she was in America visiting some family.
Finally, though, I did return to school. Rox and I sat in our own compartment on the train and I told her the entire story.
"Has Teddy contacted you at all since you broke up?" she asked.
I shook my head. "I don't think he's that interested in just being friends again."
As we were walking back to the Gryffindor common room upon arriving back at school, we heard someone call our names.
We both turned around and saw Grace running towards us.
She stopped, panting slightly and looking around, as if to make sure nobody else was around.
"I need to tell you something," she said, her voice low.
"What?" asked Rox.
"I slept with Aidan," she whispered.
My mouth dropped open. "What about Matthew?"
"We broke up a few days after Christmas—"
"So did Teddy and I," I interjected.
She looked shocked.
"I'll explain later," I said, with a wave of my hand. "Go on."
"Well, he dumped me because he said our relationship was 'moving too slowly' which I think basically meant that he was annoyed that we weren't shagging. And I was so upset that I went to see Aidan. And he was comforting me and being so nice, so I kissed him. Then we just sort of… kept going."
"Wow," I said. "What happened afterwards?"
"I left before he woke up. And I haven't spoken to him since."
I frowned. "Why not?"
"Because you know how many girls he's been with recently. What if I'm just one of the many?"
"Are you kidding?" I asked. "Aidan loves you. He adores you. He pretty much worships the ground you walk on."
She glanced past me, down the corridor. "Crap, he's coming. I gotta go. Don't tell him you saw me!" She quickly darted around a corner and disappeared.
A moment later, Aidan approached us.
"Hello ladies," he said. "How were your holidays?"
"Good," we chorused. Total lie on my part, of course.
"Have you seen Grace, by chance?"
We shook our heads.
"Alright, I'll keep looking then," he said and walked away.
I turned to Rox once he had disappeared and noticed the very annoyed expression on her face.
"What's wrong," I asked.
"I'm the only virgin left," she murmured.
I had no idea what she was on about. "Do you mean in the entire UK or just in Hogwarts?" I asked sarcastically.
"I mean out of all my friends," she replied. "Obviously you're not a virgin. Neither is my brother or Aidan or most of my sixth year friends. And now Grace isn't either. I feel left out."
"Rox, it's not a big deal. You've only just turned 17. Don't rush into giving it up. Wait until you're sure you've found the one."
"Oh, so Colin was the one?" she asked.
"Well no, but I thought he was."
"Oh, so you don't have to wait for the one? You just have to wait for who think is the one?" She pointed at a fifth year Hufflepuff who was passing by. "So what if I said that I think he's the one? Does that mean I should sleep with him?"
The boy slowed down, a hopeful expression on his face.
"Move along!" Rox snapped.
His expression quickly turned to pure terror and he hurried off.
Have I mentioned how scary Roxanne Weasley can be?
"Rox," I said, "I made a mistake, but I'm trying to stop you from making the same one. Wait until you're absolutely sure."
"What about Teddy? Have you shagged him?" she asked.
"No, I almost did, but he stopped me."
"Is he the one?"
I shrugged "I don't know."
"But you were going to shag him as well?"
I nodded.
"You're such a hypocrite!" she snapped. "You're telling me to learn from your mistakes, but you haven't even learned from them."
"Rox," I replied, "I'm human. I make mistakes, okay? I don't understand why you're so angry."
"You think you can just stand there and offer advice about 'waiting for the one'? You're 17 years old and you're pregnant! Merlin's beard, Vic. You're a real piece of work."
That was the second time somebody had called me a piece of work that week. I was starting to believe it.
She turned and hurried away.
I stood there, stunned. Rox and I never fought. Ever. Suddenly I felt sick to my stomach. Had I really managed to lose my boyfriend and my best friend in the same week?
I felt my baby stirring inside me. "You're never going to leave me, are you?" I whispered. "Coz I don't think I can handle losing anyone else I love."
I realized that was the first time I had said that I loved the baby out loud. Or even thought it at all. But I supposed it was true. She was mine and no matter how much trouble she was causing me, I couldn't help but love her. I wondered if Colin would love her too.
At dinnertime, I walked into the Great Hall and looked down the Gryffindor table. Fred and Aidan were sitting with the three other seventh year Gryffindor boys. Rox was sitting with some of her sixth year friends. And Grace was sitting alone.
I slid in across from her.
She looked up and smiled. "Hey," she said. "What's going on with Rox? Why isn't she sitting with us?"
"She's mad at me," I replied. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
"Do you want to talk about what happened with you and Teddy?" she asked.
I told her the story.
She patted my arm sympathetically. "At least Colin's agreed to be part of the baby's life. That's something. And I'm sure Teddy will be your friend again. He just needs time."
"Speaking of time," I said, "don't you think you've spent enough time ignoring Aidan? You should talk to him."
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"He's not going to hurt you Grace. I've told you a million times that he loves you."
"The people that love us can still hurt us. Colin hurt you. Teddy hurt you."
"But that doesn't mean you should push everyone who loves you away. Coz sometimes they don't hurt you. Sometimes, as corny as it sounds, they heal you."
She stared at her plate. "I'll think about it."
I glanced down the table to where Aidan was sitting. He was staring at Grace, longing in his eyes. Poor bloke.
The rest of the week continued in about the same fashion. Rox continued ignoring me. And Grace continued ignoring Aidan.
Then one day at lunch, while Grace and I were in the middle of a conversation about Potions class, Aidan stood up on the table a few feet away from us.
Grace turned and stared at him, eyes wide, as did everyone else in the room.
Aidan cleared his throat. "Grace," he began, "I know you've been ignoring me and I understand why. You don't think I'm trustworthy. You think I'm just messing around with you. But you should know that's not true at all. I've loved you since I first set eyes on you. You were 11 years old, soaking wet, and standing in the Entrance hall, waiting for the sorting ceremony to begin. I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. I still do. I loved you then, I love you now, and I'll continue loving you even more in the future. I'll love you forever. I swear. Just say you'll be mine."
Tears were streaming down Grace's face. "Aidan…" she whispered.
He jumped down from the table and walked over to her. Grabbing her hands, he pulled her up.
He stared into her eyes. "Please," he murmured.
She nodded.
A huge smile spread across his face. "Really?"
"Yes," she said. "Yes, yes, yes."
He picked her up and twirled her around. When he set her down, she grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him full on the mouth. They stayed like, happy and in love, for quite some time.
And I felt even more alone than ever.
I got bored earlier, so I decided to find pictures on Google images of people that I thought resembled how the characters in this story look in my mind. They're on my profile if you want to check them out.
Anyway, I hoped you liked the chapter. Don't forget to review!