Marylebone, Muggle London.
Severa had barely crossed the threshold of her flat when the sharp scent of something burning assaulted her senses.
Frowning, she dropped her bag and keys onto the couch, her eyes immediately scanning the room for the source of the acrid smell.
As she stepped into the kitchen, she was greeted by the sight of a pot smoking on the stove; the burner turned up too high.
With a sharp curse, Severa rushed over and seized the handle, yanking the pot off the heat. A thick plume of smoke spiralled into the air, the acrid scent of something burnt suffusing the small kitchen. She waved a hand before her face, coughing as she reached for the stove's knob and twisted it off.
Setting the pot down in the sink, she turned on the tap, allowing a stream of water to sizzle against the charred remnants within. Leaning over, she observed what might have once been soup—now reduced to a blackened, unrecognisable sludge.
Her brows furrowed. She hadn't left anything cooking.
Severa straightened and glanced around the kitchen. The fridge door was slightly ajar, and the cupboard above the stove hung open. A jar of dried herbs was precariously teetering on the edge of the shelf.
Severa closed her eyes, pressing her fingers against her temples as a dull headache started to settle behind her eyes. She pushed herself away from the counter, taking a deep, steadying breath before her patience finally snapped.
"Nicole!" she shouted, her voice sharp and frustrated.
She glanced around the living room, her eyes narrowing as she waited for her roommate to appear, but there was no response.
Kicking off her shoes, the sound of her bare feet slapping against the wooden floor as she stormed across the room. "Nicole!" she called again, her voice tinged with impatience.
The silence in the room was unbearable, and Severa's patience was rapidly wearing thin. She stormed down the hallway, glancing at Nicole's bedroom door, half-expecting it to be wide open. Yet, much to her annoyance, the door was firmly shut.
Frustration surged within her. Without a moment's hesitation, she strode towards the door, the thumping bass of the music reverberating through the walls. She raised her fist and pounded it against the door. "Nicole! Get your arse out here!" she shouted, the sound of her fist striking the wood echoing in the silence hall.
She paused momentarily, the blaring music continuing on the other side, completely undisturbed.
Severa's patience snapped. She wasn't about to stand there waiting any longer. Gripping the doorknob, she yanked the door open, the loud creak of the hinges blending with the thumping beats that filled the room.
There they were, a half-naked Nicole and Ben sprawled across the bed, their mouths pressed together, hands exploring in ways Severa never wished to witness, both entirely oblivious to her fury. The room was a chaotic mess—clothes were strewn everywhere, and the window was cracked open just enough for the cold air to seep in.
And as Ben's hands started to wander to pull at Nicole's panties, Severa's eyes flicked around the room, searching for something to throw. Her gaze landed on a half-empty can of hairspray, and without a second thought, she hurled it at them with a flick of her wrist, her voice sharp with rage. "Get the hell up!"
The hairspray can hit the edge of the bed with a loud clang, and rolled to the floor with a faint rattle. Nicole and Ben jumped apart in surprise, eyes wide and faces flushed, neither fully processing what had just happened. The room went silent for a moment, save for the hum of music still playing from the speakers.
Which soon shut off with a snap of her fingers.
Severa stood in the doorway, her chest heaving, her glare as cold as the breeze seeping through the open window. "Do you two ever stop?" she snapped, voice laced with frustration. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
She'd been having a good, no great day before all this. What the hell was wrong with this girl!?
Nicole blinked, still disoriented from the sudden interruption, before finally recognising the fury in Severa's eyes. "Severa, what—" she began, but Severa cut her off sharply.
"Don't Severa me! I get home after a long day, and what do I find? A pot smoking on the hob, not to mention on high heat! It was moments away from burning the flat down; meanwhile, you're in here blasting music with—" She looked at Ben, who was scrambling to sit up and cover himself, "—this."
Nicole rubbed her forehead, groaning. "We got a bit distracted, just one little mistake," she muttered, attempting to recover from the shock of being disturbed.
"One little mistake?" Severa's voice raised an octave in disbelief. "You've been making nothing but mistakes! It's not just tonight, Nicole, it's every damn day!"
Ben looked awkward, glancing between the two as he reached down, looking for his jeans, unsure whether to say something or stay out of it. Severa shot him a look that said he should keep his mouth shut.
Nicole sighed and slumped back against the pillows. "I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean to—"
"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Severa snapped, her temper flaring again. She threw her hands up in frustration. "Do you know how often I've had to fix your messes? The stove, the oven, the damn laundry—everything!"
Nicole winced, but Severa turned on her heel before she could respond, anger still burning hot as she slammed the door behind her.
Walking back into the living room, she snatched her bag off the couch, ignoring the sound of Nicole's door opening.
"Vera, wait—" Ben's voice drifted from the doorway; Severa turned to face him. His gaze flickered awkwardly, and he opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him with a sharp, frosty tone.
"Go back to your little fun, don't mind me," she shot back, voice dripping with sarcasm as she turned on her heel. "Try not to burn the flat down again while I'm gone." Without another word, she slipped her shoes on and left the flat, the door slamming shut behind her.
Ben's POV
Ben flinched as the door slammed shut and sighed, running a hand through his hair. He turned back and entered Nicole's room; she was still on the bed where he had left her half-naked. God, she's so beautiful, he thought, feeling a twinge of desire.
She looked up at him as he entered. "Is she gone?" she asked, huffed and laid back down when he nodded. "God, what is her problem!?"
"She has a point, love; we did forget about the pot," Ben said, kicking off his jeans and crawling back into bed. He pulled Nicole close to him, and she scowled, snuggling into his arms as they lay down.
"It wasn't intentional! Besides, who does she think she is barging into my room and yelling at me? Acting all high and mighty on top of that," she sat up and mocked Severa, "'Oh, look at me, I'm a grumpy antisocial witch doing secret witchy things, but I always have to clean up after you, Nicole.' Pfft. What a load of rubbish!"
Ben sat up and kissed Nicole's neck. "Come on, babe, she's your best friend-"
Nicole pulled away from him, glaring, "Best friend or not, she's a bloody bitch! I'm so sick and tired of her holier-than-thou attitude. She's always looking down on me and what I do, and not to mention she's always horrible to you whenever she sees you!"
"You know that's just how she is. I don't take it personally anymore, Nikky. You know that. I think it's merely her way of showing she cares." He brushed a strand of Nicole's hair from her face and gently held her chin, stroking his thumb along her cheek, "We were both in the wrong, you know that, love. It was careless of us to leave the pot cooking on the burner, and we should have turned it off before we came in here."
"Why are you bloody defending her!?" Nicole snapped, pulling away from him and slipping off the bed, grabbing her shirt and putting it on. "It doesn't matter if we forgot or what we should've done. It was an accident! I don't have a problem with that; I have a problem with the fact that she barged into my room and started insulting me! And you're defending her, not me!"
Sighing, Ben sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing a hand over his face. He glanced at Nicole as she shimmed into her shorts. There went their quality time together.
"I'm not defending her; I'm merely suggesting that she's not in the wrong. There was a more appropriate way to express it; she was wrong for saying she fixes your messes. All I'm saying is that the entire encounter wasn't typical for Severa. She doesn't usually snap like that and—"
"Ugh, just fuck off, Ben! Not everything has to be so diplomatic or well thought out! Sometimes people are just arseholes." Nicole snapped. Then she pointed at the door, "And that," she said, then pointing at Ben, "and this is utter rubbish. Both of you can go screw yourselves, or better yet, why don't you go shag her, and afterwards, you can both gossip about how much of a bitch I am."
Ben's eyes hardened, and his expression closed off. He reached over, grabbed his jeans, and pulled them on before doing the same with his shirt. He ignored Nicole's huff of "Where are you going?" as he opened the bedroom door.
Nicole followed him out. "Are you seriously leaving right now?"
After slipping on his shoes, he turned to Nicole as he grabbed his jacket off the rack and slipped it on. His voice was flat, not showing the anger or hurt he felt from Nicole's words. Despite their on-and-off relationship, Ben had never entertained the idea of another woman, and even though he understood her words were said in anger, it cut him deeply that Nicole thought so low of him.
"Yes. Perhaps when you've calmed down, we can talk, but I'm not going to remain here and allow you to insult me like that and transform this into a shouting match." He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead. He inhaled her scent, his eyes briefly closing. "I'll see you later," he mumbled, leaving with the door clicking softly behind him.
The soft sound caused Nicole to flinch, and a guilty feeling washed over her the longer she gazed at the door.