When Enzo woke up the next morning, he had a vicious headache and the unrelenting sense that he'd deeply fucked up.

He groaned and sat up from where he fell asleep on the floor of the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. Seamus snored from his bed above, Harry Potter's bed seemed hastily made and he was nowhere to be found, Ron was drooling on his pillow, Dean was reading the Daily Prophet, and Neville was reading a Herbology textbook. The sound of his groan woke Seamus up who promptly said, "Bloody hell, mate. I'm never drinking that much butterbeer again."

Dean snorted. "You said that last time."

Seamus grinned. "And I'll say it next time." He turned to look at where Enzo lay on top of a bunch of random pillows, courtesy of the boys. "And there's our little singer. How are you feeling, Celestina?"

"Like shit," Enzo grumbled as he rubbed his head. Nothing a little morning-after potion wouldn't fix. Mattheo had a ton of them—courtesy of Theo's potions mastery—so Enzo would pay him a visit before breakfast. "Did I really get up on the couch and sing?"

"Yup. And it was beautiful."

Enzo highly doubted that. His sister was a horrible singer and they were related so Enzo was probably horrible too. Sometimes, he got the feeling that Aria was trying to sound like a dying bird. She would never have gotten up on that couch for many reasons but her terrible singing would have been one.

Enzo's mind flashed to the curly blonde girl who was quickly stealing his heart, whether she knew it or not. He wondered if she was a good singer or if she was like his sister in that regard. He'd have to ask her to do it for him sometime once he got over his embarrassment over his drunken behavior.

He could remember bits and pieces of the night before. Cass looking beautiful in her yellow dress, her talking with Neville and Ginny for most of the night, Enzo getting on the couch and singing, lots and lots of butterbeer, and something else. Something blurry that his mind insisted he should remember. Yet whenever he thought about it, his mind went blank.

The door creaked open and Harry Potter walked in with a mischievous grin. The boy was always trouble in an innocent, glasses-wearing package. It was why he was one of the few Gryffindors Mattheo could actually tolerate. Harry and the Weasley twins, that is. "What are you lot yapping about?" Harry asked.

"How Enzo is going to give Celestina Warbeck a run for her money," Seamus said.

Harry smiled at Enzo. "Oh, yeah, you were quite the singer, mate. Although, I think someone could say you were more of a lover last night."

Enzo's eyebrows furrowed together. Lover? What? He distinctly remembered Cass leaving not long before the party ended. His brain might have been fuzzy but he definitely remembered walking her to the Fat Lady portrait and wishing her a goodnight. "What are you talking about?"

Harry's eyes lit up like this was the question he was waiting for Enzo to ask. "The Fat Lady said she saw something interesting last night."

A pillow was launched toward Harry's head. "Get on with it, Harry," Ron grumbled from his bed. Enzo supposed the loud conversing woke the redheaded boy.

"Remember the blonde girl Enzo brought last night?"

"Yeah, Cass," Neville said, speaking up for the first time. Everyone looked over at him—surprised that Neville knew her—and he shrugged. "She's my friend. She's in my Herbology classes. Nice girl."

Enzo couldn't help but smile at the mention of her. Yeah, she was nice. She was more than nice. She was lovely and wonderful and beautiful and kind and everything he could ever want. She was like sunshine wrapped inside the prettiest body, like happiness embodied in a person. When Enzo looked at her, he saw forever. He saw everything that was good in the world. So, yeah, Cass was nice.

He turned back to Harry, who was smirking. "Well, the Fat Lady said she saw Enzo kiss her."

And just like that, Enzo's blood ran cold.

Suddenly everything made sense. No wonder his mind kept insisting he fucked up. It was because he had.

"Fuck!" Enzo exclaimed as he jumped up and ran out of the dorms to the sound of the Gryffindor boys laughing echoing as he darted out. Enzo didn't have time to care about the fact that his hair was sticking up in a dozen different directions or that his white long-sleeve henley was unbuttoned and wrinkled. He didn't care that he was wearing his clothes from the night before and he didn't care that his breath probably rank of butterbeer. Actually, he did care about that—one wave of his wand and his mouth felt minty fresh again. But that wasn't the point.

The point was Enzo fucked up majorly and all he cared about right now was fixing it.

It wasn't that Enzo didn't want to kiss Cass. He really, really, really wanted to kiss Cass—every second of the day. But Cass called him her friend and friends don't kiss other friends. He probably ruined their incredible friendship by being a stupid, impulsive drunk. Not to mention the boundaries that he crossed. He wouldn't blame her if she lost all respect for him. Hell, he'd lost all respect for himself thinking back on it.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, Enzo cursed himself. He'd probably ruined everything. Now, he was sprinting, hoping that he could find Cass and apologize relentlessly for being a complete and utter ass.

And there she was. Sitting under a tree by herself with a book in her hands and a soft smile on her face. Enzo's steps faltered as he realized he kissed this girl. This beautiful, wonderful girl. His lips had been on hers and though it'd been incredible, it was also very wrong of him. He couldn't even remember asking her for her consent. What kind of asshole was he?

Cass was wearing a dark blue-grey sweater and jeans. She seemed oblivious to the boy creepily watching her, her fingers lightly holding the book while she watched the distant, choppy water of the Black Lake lap against the shore. Merlin, she was so fucking lovely. Even now, underneath the cloudy November skies, she was like sunshine. Her golden curls were a halo of light and her soft smile was the warmest thing he'd ever seen.

"Cass," Enzo said in an almost pained voice.

She whipped around and looked at him with wide eyes. "Enzo. Oh my goodness, are you okay?" she asked, shooting up and walking over to him.

He shook his head and closed his eyes. No, he wasn't okay. He was a complete fuckup. How had he managed to fuck everything? He couldn't blame Cass if she never forgave him, just like he couldn't blame Aria if she never forgave him either. How many more people was he going to hurt before he realized they were better off without his idiocy?

Enzo opened his eyes and stared at the small girl in front of him. "No," he rasped. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. It wasn't right of me to do that without asking if you were okay with it and, anyway, you said you want to be friends so I should have respected that and—"

But then suddenly, in the midst of his apologetic ramblings, Cass had stood up on her tiptoes and cut him off with the gentle feeling of her lips on his.

Enzo sank into the kiss like it was the most natural thing in the world. To him, it was. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closely, savoring the way she seemed to fit perfectly against him. Her lips were warm and tender as they slowly moved against his. Enzo probably should have waited to respond—letting her take the lead—but he didn't. His hand snaked up to the curls he'd been dying to run his fingers through while his lips worked against hers in a soft kiss. She tasted like sunshine and happiness. She tasted like his best friend and his greatest love. She tasted like the beginning of a long and joyful life.

He pulled her even closer while their lips melted together. Cass suddenly seemed much taller; Enzo wondered if, in his daze, he'd picked her up. His mind was fuzzy because the only thought running through it was, She's kissing me. Cass is kissing me. Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss. He finally understood why his friends were always talking about kissing girls. If kissing girls always felt like this—like a beautiful dream he didn't want to wake up from—then he'd kiss her all day.

Before, Enzo thought that he only needed food, water, and sleep to survive. But now he knew that he needed food, water, sleep, and Cass's kisses to survive. They were everything to him—and he'd only had two. Yup, he was officially addicted.

He briefly opened his eyes to see that Cass's legs were wrapped around his waist and the hand that was around her middle was now cupping the ass that had been the subject of many of his daydreams. He'd pushed her against the tree she'd been sitting against. Cass's hands were wrapped around his neck, holding him closely and toying with the ends of his hair.

"Fuck," he whispered as he pulled back with a heavy breath. "That was... everything."

Her brown eyes stared at him with the devotion he knew was reflected on his own face. Enzo had been dying for Cass to look at him like that and now that she was, he couldn't help but feel like he'd stepped into a fantasy. Was this real? Or was he just having one incredible dream?

"Enzo," Cass whispered, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Yeah, sunshine?"

"I don't want to be friends."

Well, bloody hell. If this was a dream, he'd happily live in it for the rest of his life.

Enzo smiled. "Really?"

Cass smiled back and he swore that, at that moment, the world sang. The birds chirped a little louder and the wind rustled the branches of the nearby tree. Cassiopeia Crane was the kind of girl that painters fought to depict, that was written in the pages of the world's greatest books. She was the kind of girl that made stars wished upon, the kind of girl that even angels wanted to kiss. And yet there she was, in his arms.

"Really."

Enzo's muscles tightened with anticipation. "I don't want to be friends either, Cass."

Her hand moved to his cheek, where she pulled him back down for another bloody incredible kiss. Enzo wasn't sure how long they were there, kissing and holding each other against the wild cherry tree. All Enzo knew was that he wanted to do this forever. And now, maybe he could.

Yay, what a great place to be! We've finally moved past friends into lovers and there's no looking back. What do you think is in store for Cass and Enzo? We're not quite halfway but I'd love to hear your guesses.

This is probably my last update for a few days. With the holidays, I'll be turning off my computer to focus on my family and loved ones. My parents come to visit tomorrow through Christmas and then the 26th I'll be going to see Nosferatu with one of my girlfriends and then my in-laws come on the 27th until New Year's, when one of my best girlfriends is getting married! So busy times full of love, which sadly means that unless I have a few free hours, I probably won't be updating until maybe my in-laws come.

Enjoy the holidays and I hope the time is joyous for you. You, my darling readers, are all my greatest gift :)

P.S. I have something big I'm announcing January 5th. It's not a new story but it's something you don't want to miss (and maybe there will be a face reveal in there hehe).