That night Loralei stayed awake, going through the fight over and over, until she had everything, from the heartbroken stare, to the black-purple bruises on his neck, shoulder and ribs. She didn't know what to think of it, was that their final showdown? Would he let it be? She was so tired of fighting with everyone, she just wanted to rest. Could she rest now? She just wanted a rest from the thinking, and the sadness. Was that too much to ask for?

When they first got together, he promised her forever. She believed him, and how she wished she didn't. The worst part was she wanted to believe him, and that made her. They were so happy, they fit together. They kept up with each other and never could get bored or sick of each other. They were in the honeymoon-relationship faze.

Then after a while, she could hear the talk. That they would never last, that he would eventually cheat on her, or dump her for someone else. She didn't believe a word, and she should have. She should have. She should have.

She believed him, all of his promises, everything he said. That they would eventually get married, because he wouldn't let her go, because he would never hurt her, because he would always be a safe place for her.

She remembered all those times they just fell asleep talking or just reading. They didn't let the words touch them, they were better than that. They would make it, because it was no one else's business. It didn't matter about anything but them, or so they thought.

It was too hard to think about how things were for her now. It was too good, too fun, too perfect. Even if she could remember without the heartbreak, how could she be sure that she wasn't seeing it through in-love eyes, making everything so much better than it actually was.

After everything he had done, she still wished that they could go back to what they had, before they ever kissed, before they ever got together. They were friends, no one could deny that. She wished she could touch him again without thinking of him touching that other girl, who's name she still didn't know. She just wanted to go back, so she could not think of him as a memory. She wanted him to be her present, no matter how much she didn't want to forgive him.

She couldn't get passed what he did though. How he tormented her once-friend, and cheated on her. They were perfect, and then they were dust. Some of her wished, in the back of her mind, that he would prove himself in some way, and show her that she could trust him. That he would never hurt her again, that they could be together in the end, like in the stories that she was so fond of. They were just stories though, and she doubted Sirius would be able to fight for her, since she never told him she wanted him to.

Then again, who knew?

Sirius laid awake that night too, knowing that ten feet above his head Loralei was having a sleepless night just like him; he could hear her floorboards creak when she got up to walk restlessly around the room, before returning to bed, and twenty minutes later do the ritual again.

He figured she must be thinking about him too. He was the last thing to screw her life up, from what he knew. He always knew she deserved more than him, maybe he should just let her move on to some better guy. That's what he should do, what she wanted him to do.

Could he though? He had never loved another girl in his life, never a childhood crush; she was his childhood crush, that grew up to be his first love, and he wished to be his last, but who knew if that was ever going to happen?

Sirius always knew Loralei was as stubborn as she was fierce, and it was rare to see her get upset about someone in front of said person, meaning that he was going to have to take a lot more yelling and fighting before he was allowed to even look at her unless he was asking her a something such as, "Could you pass the peas?"

He had a very long way to go, all right.

He had to go that long way though. She's proved that she doesn't hate him because she not only called for help, but healed some of him herself while she waited for the help to come, that's at least what Mrs. Potter told him. She also lied to her brother about why they broke up, yet more proof that she didn't want him to drop dead at her feet while she smiles at his corpse.

He had a chance, he could feel it, maybe he could get her to encourage it before summer was over, maybe he could get her to agree to friendship before they board the train to Hogwarts.

It didn't matter how many "might's" and "maybe's" were going through his mind. He might have a one percent chance that he could change her mind, but if there was something Sirius was better at than Loralei, it was at being stubborn, and he would use it to his advantage, as well as all her compassion and empathy. She had to know he would do this, or at least he hoped she did.

A/N crazy1person2you3been4warned : I will tell you that they will eventually get back together, it's a SB/OC story after all! Thank you for loving this story! I think we all love drama as long as it's not our own, amiright? LOL.

Please review!

Kat