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"I think Alison is still mad at me," I groan to Hanna as we make our way down to Potions.
"Well, duh," she scoffs. "She was like begging to hang out with you and you flat out rejected her."
"I didn't know that's what she was asking!" I say quickly, trying to defend myself.
I'm such an idiot. I had no idea that's what she was referring to. When I went back up to the Gryffindor common room, Hanna looked really surprised to see me. I asked her why, and she said she assumed that Alison and I would be 'celebrating her victory.' I'm not even sure what that means.
After I told Hanna what happened and how Alison stalked off, she burst out laughing. She kept telling me that I needed to apologize, but I wasn't even sure what I was supposed to be apologizing for. Hanna had to literally spell it out for me, and needless to say I felt terrible when I realized.
I've texted her six times with no reply. Well, five. The fifth one was Hanna, sending a winky face and something along the lines of 'Let me make it up to you.' So then I had to send the sixth one to apologize and explain that that was Hanna, who in return pouted and said I was no fun.
I was dreading going to Potions today. Part of me prayed that she would fake being sick, and the other part wondered why I hadn't just done that.
It feels like only a few seconds have passed by when we reach the door to the dungeons. I grimace as Hanna opens the door open for me. She has to literally shove me through the doorway.
"Stop," I hiss. I shake her off and try to maintain my dignity while I walk over to our lab table.
Sure enough, Alison already is sitting there. But this time, Toby is sitting in the middle, and Alison is on one of the ends. My eyebrows wrinkle in confusion; Alison always sits in the middle.
When I get to the table, Toby gives me an apologetic look as if it wasn't his idea. The very thought of that makes me feel sick. I wish I could just explain to Alison that it was a misunderstanding. How was I supposed to know that she wanted to hang out with me even after the kiss? I thought she would be weirded out.
"Alright class," Professor Thomas raises his voice so that everyone will stop talking. "The assignment is on the board. Get it done perfectly before class ends or I'm giving you a failing grade. Good luck."
My shoulders deflate. How are we supposed to get this potion 'perfect' if Alison isn't even talking to me?
Toby's stool scrapes against the stone floor as he stands up and walks up to the board to copy down something. I swallow thickly because I'm pretty sure he did this on purpose to get me alone with Alison. I sneak a peek at her in my peripherals, but she's staring intently at the cauldron in front of us.
"Alison," I say quietly to test the waters. She turns and glares at me, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What?" she arches an eyebrow and waits.
"I—"
What do I say?
"A-are you mad at me?"
"What, ignoring all of your texts didn't already assure you of that?" she snaps. I shrink away from her towering anger.
"I just—" I begin, but the look she gives me makes me shut my mouth almost immediately.
I bite my lip and try to think of a strategy. Why is she so mad? I seriously just don't understand her at all.
I look up and lock eyes with Hanna. She raises her eyebrows and nods at me to do something.
Taking a deep breath, I switch my stuff with Toby's so that I'm in the middle. I lean against the table with my elbow and try to get her attention.
"Ali," I say, "I'm sorry."
She rolls her eyes and looks at me. Her teeth grind and I notice her temple twitching, probably both from annoyance.
"Seriously," I insist, inadvertently putting my hand on her forearm. She stares down at it like it's a hot iron against her skin.
I glance around us; Toby is up at the desk asking Professor Thomas a question, and everyone else is engrossed with the assignment. I step closer to her until our bodies are almost completely touching.
"I didn't know what you were asking," I whisper.
She looks at me strangely and takes a step back. "What?"
"I was just saying you should go hang with your teammates," I tell her honestly. "I didn't mean to reject you or anything."
She's silent for a few moments, contemplating an answer.
But her demeanor changes in an instant and she shakes her head.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she shrugs casually, but something in her tone of voice sounds off. "You didn't reject me; that's not why I'm mad."
I know she's saying these things, but for some reason I'm just not believing her.
"Then why are you mad?"
She wipes her eyes and inhales deeply.
"I'm not, just forget it," she tells me, and there's a look on her face saying not to mess with her.
"Alison—"
"I said—" she interrupts, her voice unusually loud. She seems to notice that because she clears her throat and tries again, "I said just forget it."
"O-okay," I stammer. "So are we okay?"
"Sure," she answers tersely.
I don't think I'll ever understand her.
I haven't been able to get my mind of off Alison since Potions on Wednesday. I've tried to text her, but she hasn't really responded, and the few times she does, it's only with one word answers. I think I liked it better when she was ignoring me, which is saying something.
"Earth to Emily," Spencer says, waving her hand in front of my face. I blink a few times and come back to reality.
Gryffindor and Ravenclaw have Herbology together every Friday, taught by the beautiful Wren Kingston. He's not really my type, but his English accent still makes me swoon. Spencer is like obsessed with him, which I find kind of weird.
Not as weird as what we're talking about with Aria, though.
"I can't believe you're dating our History of Magic professor," I shake my head, but make it obvious that I'm just messing around. Aria blushes and shrugs, not sure of how to answer.
"At least he just graduated from school and he isn't like some middle-age creeper," Hanna adds.
"Hanna," Spencer shakes her head and gives Hanna her signature 'I can't believe you just said that' look. Aria and I chuckle, expecting a small 'fight' to arise from this exchange.
"I guess it's not as bad as Emily, though," Hanna laughs, and it takes me completely off guard. My smile vanishes in a split moment as Spencer and Aria exchange a confused glance.
"Hanna," I hiss. I can't believe she just said that.
Spencer looks at me expectantly and I open my mouth like a fish underwater. How am I going to cover this up? I grimace and sigh; I guess I have to tell them now.
As I'm about to speak, the door to the greenhouse opens, the glass clattering and catching everyone's attention.
I bite my lip when I see that it's Alison that's stepping inside. She narrows her eyes for a moment and then lightly shrugs; I guess she didn't know there was a class going on. Without any more hesitation, she approaches Wren and leans over on his desk. He smiles when he sees her and rests his cheek on his hand.
They exchange a few words, and I'm pretty sure I see Wren blush. Anger and jealousy bubbles inside of me, and I'm not even sure why. I guess I just don't want anyone else flirting with Alison.
After a little bit more conversation, Wren stands up and lightly smacks his wooden desk with the palms of his hands. Alison smirks and watches him as he disappears to a back room. She leans casually against the desk and looks around the classroom.
Her face falls when she sees me sitting a little ways down, and she narrows her eyes even more. I bite my top lip and raise my hand to give her a small wave. I can see her scoff even from this distance, but she still waves her fingers a little in recognition. I'll take that as a victory.
We maintain eye contact for a few moments longer before Hanna elbows me in my ribs.
"Go talk to her," she presses, basically pushing me out of my chair and towards the front of the room. I almost fall at first, but I catch myself and smooth down my uniform, trying to act like that didn't happen.
Alison continues to watch me as if daring me to come closer.
Challenge accepted, here I come.
The only sound I can hear besides my breathing is my shoes against the tile floor.
I stop when I reach her; she crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows.
"Hey, Ali," I say. I silently pray that maybe for some reason she's gotten over whatever she was mad about.
Her mouth stretches into a thin line and she gives me a curt nod.
"Emily."
"I'm, uh, a little confused," I admit, lowering my voice and taking a step closer to her. She instinctively takes a step back. I suck my cheeks in with annoyance and try to ignore the rising feeling of anger that begins to flow through my bloodstream.
"Surprise, surprise," her voice drips with acidic sarcasm.
That's it. I'm done.
"Okay, what is your problem?" I demand. She blinks, looking shocked at my sudden change in attitude.
She opens her mouth to speak, but I don't give her the chance to.
"I've tried to apologize, I've tried to make whatever I did right and just be nice, but all you're doing is holding on to some stupid anger that I don't even deserve. It's seriously caddy of you, Alison, and I wouldn't expect that from you. Cece and Mona, yeah, but not you. I didn't even do anything to you." I'm shaking by the time I finish.
She gapes at me with her mouth slightly open, and I'm thankful when Wren comes out of the back room with a small vial. If he hadn't interrupted, who knows what Alison would have done in the heat of the moment?
"Here it is, Ali," he starts to say, but stops short when he sees me standing beside her. He clears his throat and hands her the vial without another word before scurrying off to 'help some students.'
"What is that?" I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.
Alison glances around to make sure no one is listening, then takes a step forward. She places her hand lightly on my bicep and leans in close to my ear.
"I'm not mad at you," she whispers. "Cece and Mona know that we kissed."
I back away slightly so that I can see her face. I search her eyes for any kind of dishonesty, but come up short.
"I've just been keeping my distance," Alison tells me. "They're on my back about it."
"How could they know we kissed if you didn't tell them?" I ask suspiciously.
She takes a deep breath and sighs it out. "We weren't alone in the bathroom. There was someone else in there; I don't know who. But this potion is going to help me find out."
"Couldn't you have gotten that from Ian?" I ignore the formalities.
"I have a different one from him," she assures me. "In fact, you helped me make it."
I narrow my eyes at her, not understanding.
"That potion we made on Wednesday wasn't random; it was a favor for me," she glances behind me. "But I have to go."
"Wait, this answers nothing," I protest, grabbing onto her arm to stop her.
"I can explain later, hon," Alison says, putting her free hand on top of mine. She gives me a small smile and turns away from me, exiting the greenhouse without another word.
What the hell does she need potions for?
My mind reels as I make my way back to my seat. Hanna looks at me triumphantly, and I roll my eyes and nod at her to tell her that she's right. Spencer and Aria watch me apprehensively as I take my seat.
"What was that?" Aria raises her eyebrows at me; I sigh.
"Alison and I," I hesitate because I'm not even sure myself, "I guess that we have a thing. I don't know. We kissed on accident last week, but we haven't talked about it at all. Then she got mad at me for some stupid reason on Tuesday, but then I find out that it wasn't what I thought at all. Now I'm just super confused."
Spencer's jaw drops, but she doesn't say anything.
Aria frowns for a moment as she weighs a few things in her mind, but finally nods and smiles at me.
"If she makes you happy, then I'm happy," she grins. I sigh with relief and turn my attention to Spencer.
"Well, I'm with Aria," she finally says. "But I swear if she makes you cry I'm going to go all Hastings on her ass."
"Deal."
My phone buzzes from inside my robes. I pull it out and almost have a heart attack when I see that it's Alison.
Alison: Hey ;)
Emily: Oh, now u can text me?
Emily: Jk. Hi
Alison: I changed your name to someone else's. I don't know why I didn't think of that before.
Emily: Guess ur just not as smart as me.
Alison: Watch the sass
Emily: :(
Alison: Want to meet at our spot later? There're a lot of things we should probably talk about
Emily: I can't imagine what u mean
Alison: Sass. Watch it.
Emily: Time?
Alison: 10pm.
Emily: That's so far away!
Alison: Sassy.
Emily: See you then ;)
Alison: Speaking of 'see,' that reminds me of my grade in Transfiguration. Can you bring your notes?
Emily: Cheater
Emily: jk I can do that
Alison: SASSY.
Alison: Aw, yay! Thanks boo
I lock my phone and put it back into my robes pocket. I hadn't even realized how much I was smiling, but now I do because my cheeks hurt so bad.
Hanna raises her eyebrows.
"Was that Ali?" she teases.
I roll my eyes but can't suppress the blush. "Maybe."
I can't wait until 10pm so we can just get everything out in the open.
yay! actually a quick update this time :) hope you guys enjoyed this! let me know what you think