"Can you please just come over later?" Lily pleaded with her cousin as he looked through the drawers in Jill's kitchen. "It's driving me mad being on edge in my own home. And having you there as a buffer might help."

Hugo let out an audible sigh as he finally located a bottle opener. He refrained from responding as he opened butterbeers for each of them, sliding one across the counter to Lily. In the three days they'd been home, Hugo hadn't been to her house once and she was starting to take it personally.

"I don't like all this pressure to spend time with someone that I've never had a single conversation with," he said. "Why do I owe her anything?"

"Do it for me, not for her," said Lily as he took a swig of his drink. "You don't even have to talk to her. She likely won't even be in the room."

"So why do you need a buffer?"

"Because my mum will actually let her keep to herself if I'm spending time with you. Mum keeps bugging me to bug her whenever I look like I have the time which is a bit too often."

He stood there silently for a few moments, taking a few more sips of his drink and either ignoring her request or pondering it deeply.

"Come on, Hugh," she pushed, leaning towards him across the counter. "Is spending time with me that much of a pain?"

Hugo shot her an annoyed look. "Fine," he relented. "If it'll get you to shut up about it, fine. I'll come over tonight."

"Thank you," Lily said with relief right as the door swung open behind her. "That means at least part of my day won't be as awkward as hell."

Hugo's wide-eyed look the second the words were out of her mouth was all Lily needed to know that someone had entered the room. And that someone was likely the worst option out of everyone in the house.

"Jill said to tell you everything's all set and to bring drinks for everyone," said Caleb, his tone in no way giving away whether or not he'd heard or understood what she'd said. Before she could turn around and face him, Lily heard the door close behind her. Hugo grimaced as he went to the fridge and pulled out more drinks.

"He heard that, didn't he?" Lily asked.

"Definitely," said Hugo. "And he absolutely understood it too."

Lily groaned and buried her forehead in her arms against the counter.

"I thought things had been better with you two," said Hugo.

"Sort of," Lily mumbled. She propped her chin up on her arm to look at her cousin. "We can be around each other and even exchange pleasantries, but that doesn't mean it's not bloody uncomfortable."

Hugo gave her a sympathetic smile, coming over to her side of the counter and putting his arm around her shoulder. "I know you're set on doing things the way you're doing them and ignoring whatever there still is between you two, but things'll get better. You know that, right?"

Lily sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. "I hope so."

They joined the others in the theater room with arms full of drinks, but the lights were already dimmed and it wasn't easy to make out who all was there.

"Lily," she heard Lucy call, and then saw a hand waving from the middle row of chairs. With a grateful sigh that her cousin had had the forethought to save her a spot, Lily moved to sit next to her, handing over a bottle of butterbeer to both her and Molly, who was on her sister's other side. Louis and Jill were over by the screen and looking at different film options.

"Anyone else coming?" Lily asked, observing a few notable absences and thinking through who still wasn't speaking to whom.

"Charlotte's coming and she might be bringing Zabini," said Jill, and all four girls shared amused and curious looks.

"Sorry we're late," said the girl in question as she entered the room a moment later, Corbin Zabini following behind her. Lily couldn't help rolling her eyes as her friend marched straight past Hugo - who was standing in the aisle and talking to Caleb - without so much as looking at him.

"Corbin, you know Lily and Lucy and Molly," said Charlotte as she led him to the row in front of them. Corbin gave a slightly awkward wave and sat beside Charlotte.

"Why'd they even come if they weren't going to really hang out with us?" Lily whispered to Lucy, who shrugged her shoulders and took a sip of her drink. With a roll of her eyes at her cousin's lack of interest in gossiping, Lily turned to Hugo, who'd just sat beside her.

"So, I take it Charlotte's still-"

The blue eyes staring back at her that were rather like her cousin's but definitely didn't belong to him had Lily freezing in her tracks. And the only word that could come to her mind was why?

Why was Caleb Wood sitting next to her instead of Hugo? And also, how?

He, however, didn't seem too fazed by their current situation and asked, "Is Charlotte what?"

"Umm…still not…still not talking to Hugo?" Lily stuttered out, unable to pull her eyes away from his, even as Jill asked them to vote on two different film options.

"Oh. No," said Caleb, glancing momentarily down towards Charlotte and Corbin before looking back at Lily again. "I mean, he did try to meddle in their relationship. Great reason for her to completely ignore him, right?"

Lily's jaw dropped open in shock at his words, but Caleb was smirking, and it wasn't condescending or judgmental. He honestly looked amused. Like he was teasing, and teasing in a very lighthearted and friendly way.

She could feel her look of shock morphing into a smile. Hadn't she just made a comment on how awkward the night would be? Hadn't he understood that she was talking about them?

If he had and this was his response, what exactly did that mean?

"You know what, you're right," said Lily, trying to appear teasing but knowing she was likely doing nothing less than beaming at him. "She's still got a few more weeks of shunning him left to go, I think."

Caleb grinned as the last of the lights went out and the screen turned on. He turned to face it, his elbow resting on the arm that separated the two of them, the proximity making Lily bump up against him ever so slightly every time she shifted in her seat.

Her current shifting was due to her curiosity about where Hugo had ended up. Louis and Jill were behind them, and there was no way Hugo would decide to sit with either of the two couples in the room. She finally caught sight of him on the other side of Caleb, looking straight ahead and fighting back a smile.

Lily was tempted to be upset with him for - once again - meddling, as it was likely he let Caleb sit next to her. Had he possibly suggested it?

Not that she was going to complain or anything. She just hoped no one asked her about the film afterwards because it was highly likely she wouldn't be able to take in a single thing.

"I can't believe you did that," Lily burst out as soon as she and Hugo had Flooed back to her house.

"Did what?" Hugo asked, attempting to appear innocent but unable to keep from smirking. Lily gave him a halfhearted shove, causing Hugo to chuckle and then pull her into a brotherly hug. "I'd apologize, but you didn't seem to hate it."

Lily huffed and shoved him away, trying her best to scowl, but Hugo could tell she was acting more bothered than she genuinely was.

"Come on," she said, leading him towards the kitchen. "I'll give you some leftover pizza if you promise to tell me exactly what happened."

Hugo rolled his eyes at her persistence as he followed, but nearly barreled into her when she stopped short after pushing open the kitchen door.

"Fuck, sorry," said an unfamiliar voice, and Hugo looked over his cousin's head to see the girl staying with his aunt and uncle standing by the fridge.

"You're fine," Lily said, probably a bit too eagerly and more cheerful than the situation called for. Riley gave a stiff nod, glancing from Lily and up at Hugo for a second before resuming her task of grabbing something out of the fridge.

"I didn't realize anyone was home," said Riley, opening her retrieved butterbeer and letting the fridge swing closed.

"We just got here," said Lily, moving a step further into the kitchen. "And I think my dad is in his study. He was when I left, anyway."

Riley nodded, pausing for only a brief but awkward moment before turning to leave.

The majority of Hugo wanted to let her walk away, even though avoiding a conversation with Lily about her complicated relationship with Caleb sounded appealing. But that's not what had him speaking up.

"We were about to heat up some pizza," he said, shrugging nonchalantly when Riley looked back at him. "If you want any."

Without waiting for either girl to say anything, Hugo stepped around his cousin and towards the oven, turning it on before moving to the fridge, opening it again and pulling out the box of pizza from the night before.

"I'll go see if Dad wants some," Lily said when she found her voice. "Mum's working late tonight and he can forget to feed himself sometimes."

She gave a breathy chuckle, obviously feeling a bit awkward and uncomfortable. Riley gave her nothing in return and merely stood there glancing between the two of them uncertainly before Lily quickly left the room.

Well. Didn't take her long to employ him as a buffer.

The silence that followed his cousin's absence was, surprisingly, not all that uncomfortable. Hugo busied himself with putting the pizza in the oven, noting out of the corner of his eye that Riley was still standing awkwardly by the door that led to the dining room.

"She means well," Hugo said, setting a timer before turning and leaning back against the stove. "Just isn't sure how to go about all this."

Riley quirked her eyebrow at him. "'All this?'" she questioned, her voice a bit raspy. Having never heard her talk before, Hugo didn't know if it was how she normally sounded or if it was due to lack of use. It wasn't like she'd been interacting with people a whole lot.

"It's not like it's a fucking walk in the park for me either," Riley continued. Hugo shrugged, feeling like he was one word away from saying the wrong thing, but strangely okay with making an attempt to continue the conversation anyway.

"Sure, but you could go easy on her. She's trying."

"Trying to do what, exactly?" Riley challenged, crossing her arms and nearly glaring at him.

"Make you feel welcome," said Hugo. "Help you not have a shitty holiday. Sure, it's strange and not exactly ideal for her to share her home with a stranger over Christmas, but she's choosing to go out of her way to make sure your rather bleak one is at least somewhat bearable. Because to us, this time of year means time spent with people you care about, and if you can't have that, we can at least do what we can to give you a holiday you can somewhat enjoy."

Bloody hell, he sounded like Rose. Of course, she was the whole reason he was saying any of this in the first place. If his sister hadn't planted it in his head that he had any type of obligation to make an effort with Riley Clarke, he might have let her simply walk out of the kitchen without saying a word.

He definitely didn't care.

"If you let yourself enjoy it, at least," he threw in, sounding a bit more like himself.

It was hard to catch, but Hugo could swear a softness came to her usually cool stare. At least, he assumed it was her go-to. He hadn't seen her do much of anything else.

It was a bit disarming how a little bit of vulnerability could change the way a person looked. Hugo hardly minded the slightly awkward staring contest they found themselves in now that she didn't look like she wanted to hurt him.

She was actually rather-

"Dad would like some pizza," said Lily, a bit too bubbly as she walked back into the room. Hugo blinked and refrained from shaking his head to clear it, forcing his thoughts back into the current moment and away from anything to do with Riley Clarke's appearance. Lily looked between the two of them, an uncomfortable silence falling yet again.

"This is my cousin, Hugo, by the way," said Lily, moving to stand next to him by the stove. He gave Riley a tight, closed lipped smile at the awkward introduction, but was surprised a moment later by her response.

"I know."

She stayed downstairs until the pizza was ready, even taking a seat at the kitchen table. But she didn't partake in the conversation that occurred between Hugo and Lily. She gave a few responses to simple questions, like how much pizza she wanted, and even thanked Hugo for it, but she didn't stick around once it was out of the oven, choosing to take it back to her room instead.

Still, maybe something he'd said had gotten to her. She hadn't stormed away at least, even if she hadn't managed to look him in the eye again.

Well, he'd tried, he told himself as he sat down with Lily to enjoy their pizza. If anything else, he could assure his sister that he'd made an effort and carry along with the rest of his holiday in peace.

"So, what exactly happened with Caleb today?"

Or maybe not.

"He asked if he could sit next to you," Hugo said with a sigh.

"Did he say why?" Lily asked eagerly.

"No, and I didn't ask, but here's a revolutionary idea! Why don't you ask him?"

Lily gave a huff and sat back in her seat, taking a rather ferocious bite out of her pizza. "Stop being an arse," she said around her mouthful of food. "My confidence has been shot to hell because of how it all fell apart last time."

There wasn't much Hugo could think of to argue that point. And it was hard to not in some way reassure his cousin. Especially when he actually had the ability to do so.

"Look, I wouldn't worry about it."

"You can't keep saying it'll all work and that I shouldn't worry and then just expect me to not worry. Why shouldn't I worry?"

"Pick up on the hints, Lily," Hugo said with an eyeroll. When that simply had his cousin staring at him blanking, he shrugged and told her the truth. "He's still in love with you."

This merely had Lily continuing to stare at him, albeit now with a dropped jaw.

"Why are you so surprised to hear this?" he asked skeptically.

"I'm not, I mean…" Lily ran a hand over her face and let out a huff of frustration. "Why the hell would you tell me that?"

"Because it's the truth."

"But..but you…you can't just spit it out like that!" Lily snapped, standing from the table and beginning to pace with a huff.

"Lil, the reason this whole mess started in the first place was because no one was being honest about how they felt," said Hugo, turning in his chair so he could watch her fret. "Sorry if I'm a bit done with all the childlike drama and lack of communication."

Lily wrinkled her nose in annoyance, stopping at the island and leaning back against it with her arms crossed. "Still, knowing the truth isn't really helping me worry any less."

"How come?"

"Because everything went to shit last time, Hugo!" she said in exasperation. "Knowing that he feels the same as me means that it's possible for us to give things a shot again, but that's not a guarantee that things won't just fall apart all over again."

Hugo sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "Look, whatever you do is up to you, but if you want my advice?" He looked up to find her watching him closely. "Quit being so bloody afraid all the time."

Having never been in a relationship himself, Hugo felt like he didn't really have much room to give advice in this area. But he did know enough about life to realize that letting fear guide you wasn't always the best option.

"It's not that easy," said Lily, chewing nervously on her lip.

"Doesn't your dad say something about the fear of fear?" asked Hugo, prompting a soft smile from Lily.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Just that it's wiser to be fearful of fear rather than anything else. I think It's something Teddy's dad told him once."

"And who knows more about fear than your dad, yeah?" said Hugo. "So can you quit with all the worrying?"

Lily shot him an annoyed look, but didn't argue as she resumed her seat and took another bite of her pizza.

"You know I'm still going to be a nervous wreck at the party," said Lily as she chewed. Hugo chuckled.

"I know. But you wouldn't be you if you weren't."

A/N: A short one, but it's fun to write their friendship again. And hint at things to come. Hope you enjoyed! Leave a review if you did!