i'm sorry for everything

   “Are you suggesting that, I, a prefect, sneak out to Hogsmeade with you? The answer is yes but still.” He chuckled.

   “Honestly? Can we please skip the big brother speech?”

   Mason had thought their last conversation was best to have when they were alone. He wanted to talk to him without anyone coming and interrupting them. He wanted to give his cousin his time and space. Mason waited with his hands stuffed into his pockets as he looked over the lake.

         “Well, I was kinda trying to figure out what to do first. What do you think, Waldo?”

“It’s okay, Mason,” Albus said, but wondered what it would be like when Mason graduated. And then we he graduated. They’d still see each other–family was family, right? But he didn’t want to see him just at family events. Life got tricky, he thought. “You have a lot of responsibilities. A lot on your plate. I don’t blame you.” And he didn’t. He didn’t blame him one bit. Besides, what had happened shouldn’t have been as big a deal as it was in the first place. “It was just…a silly little thing. People get kissed all the time. It’s nothing.”

           “And handsome,” Henriette insisted and she smiled as leaned back against him. “I am, but I’m glad you’ve finally found me. Though…” she looked him over, “I’m supposed to be finding you, right?”

“It’s whatever,” Albus said as he shrugged. “It wasn’t important.” Though, in truth, he couldn’t help but feel like, once again, he’d been left behind. What had happened probably wouldn’t be considered a big deal to most, but to Albus it meant so much. He’d spent years telling himself no one would ever love him, that no one would ever want him. He’d needed his best friend, but everything else took precedent, he supposed. “Are you having fun?”

           Henriette was enjoying a bit of frozen custard when everything around her went dark. She chuckled and leaned back on her heels as she pretended to think over her options. “Hmm… someone very tall and very handsome,” she replied.

    “Hey I know our conversation got cut early last time but how you holding up?” Mason had spotted Albus and was happy to see him about. Sometimes something out of the norm was enough to get one’s thoughts off certain things. 

    Mason had thought his costume was pretty funny. He had decided to dress up as Waldo and had a few people come and say they found him which he found amusing. Despite being dressed up, he could easily find her anywhere. He came up from behind and covered her eyes, “Guess who?” Although he knew his voice gave him away. 

  “Rest of this year? Mason, you have way too much hope in me.” Tobias eyed his friend, “You alright there? You seem tired.”

          “Who knew our last year would be so busy,” she hummed softly and shook her head, as she tried to push down her nerves back down. Slowly, she smiled. “Are you thinking an adventure for this next weekend? Or a winter break sort of adventure?”

“I just don’t want you to look back and say ‘wow, I did a lot, but who did I do it with?’ Do you know what I mean?” Albus reached over and began to rub his back. He wished he could lighten his load, but he was positive there was nothing he could do. “I–I don’t know honestly. My head is swimming, Mason. I–s-something happened…” He looked to his hands. He sucked on his bottom lip, remembering the sensation of Scorpius’s lips on his own.

Albus tilted his head, concern etched into his features. “Maybe you should cut back some,” he said. It wasn’t that he didn’t have faith his cousin could do it all–he just worried what the cost would be.