#ethanmacintyre

Rory knew that she wouldn’t get out of dealing with Ethan forever. It seemed that everywhere she turned, she had someone telling her to stop being a bitch, or to talk to Ethan, or to get the fuck over herself. Which, to be entirely fair, wasn’t something that she particularly disagreed with--or that she would have disagreed with had the situation been turned on anyone else. 

Still, it didn’t make it any easier to deal with. 

She had so many things to say that she didn’t know how to, and it wasn’t fair to make her talk when she didn’t have the words out there. Rory knew that Ethan wouldn’t particularly like what she had to say, so she didn’t see why it mattered if he was mad at her for talking, or mad at her for not talking. 

So instead of moving to fix it like people continuously thought she should, she spent most of her time actively avoiding him. The girl probably was taking for granted how much he cared about her, but she just figured that she could get her space and it would also be okay in the end. 

Things were getting harder for Rory, and she didn’t think that anyone was noticing. That was probably a good thing, really. It meant that she was better at hiding it, or that she wasn’t reacting as harshly as she did before. That was good. That was what Rory wanted. But it didn’t make it any easier for her, as she felt those old familiar feelings creeping up in her. She knew where they led to, and this time there was a feeling there that was more terrifying than anything else before. Moving back into it scared Rory beyond comprehension. And yet... she knew that’s where she was heading.

After awhile, she knew that she couldn’t handle it anymore on her own. Everything that’s been coming out lately in the news, added to the stress of school, added to the stress of just being around people sometimes was getting to be too much for her. And while Rory almost wished that someone noticed, she knew that it wasn’t everyone else’s job. It was hers. She had to take care of herself.

That’s why Rory went up to his room that afternoon. He’d been busy--he’d been busy a lot, actually, and she slowly felt it pulling them apart--but she didn’t have time to wait for him to have time. She needed him. Rory had to tell him how she was feeling, and she had to say that she needed things to change. The problem was, Rory didn’t know if it was good for him, or if she was being selfish in all of it. But she figured that figuring out how to work it out for both of them was a job that both of them should take part in.

Sitting at the end of the Ravenclaw table Fletcher poured himself a glass of water as he waited for Ethan, the sounds of the other students already echoing off the walls. It was French Night, one of Fletcher’s favorite themed dinners because partly because of the endless supply of bread and well ok mostly because of the endless supply of bread. God he loved bread. Pulling a loaf over to his plate he cut it in half and picked off a large chunk. 

The first thing that Rory had to do when she got back to school was meet with Capscien in the Headmistress’ office. The woman didn’t say anything to her, besides offering her a place to come if she felt like she needed to take a break. Apparently, the terrifying quality of a student who self harmed got to her, and she just wanted to make sure that Rory felt like she could go to someone if she needed to. Of course, Rory knew that she probably wouldn’t come to Capscien if she needed someone, but at least the school had covered all of their bases. Rory’s da would be proud.

Once she was done with the meeting, and she was able to grab her extra work and head out, Rory went into the corridors to feel eyes on her constantly. Whispers followed her, and Rory could only imagine what had been said about her behind her back while she had been gone. Her head ducked, her hair covered her face, but she knew that her hair didn’t do much to make her appear anonymous. 

Luka walked into the dorms, having seen Ethan head up there after dinner. The guys were still all out, no doubt enjoying their last hour or so of freedom before the end of the day and the beginning of the tournament tomorrow. When he walked into the room, Luka shut the door, then walked over to his friend. “We need to talk,” he said, already having fallen into Italian. “It’s important.”

Luka felt the warm water rush over his body and he wished that it could wash away how he felt like it washed away everything else. He needed something to wash away the confusion, and the anger, and the stress... but the showers here at Hogwarts weren't that magical, and he knew it. So he just let the water rush over his face, thinking for a second that everything would be easier if he faded into the background like usual. The things that made him stand out were the things that made him want not to. How ridiculous, really--there was no right answer for who he wanted to be.

After Rory was able to tear her eyes away from the puffy red skin of her fresh burn, she started to panic. She knew that if anyone saw it, she'd be in a lot more trouble than she was before. If Serafina saw that she had done it again, Rory had no idea how she would react. Ethan would... 

Ethan would still love her, and she knew it. She also knew that he would want to know, because hiding it from him again would not be forgivable. 

The girl pulled on her cardigan, wincing as the fabric ran roughly over the burn. Then she pushed the waste bin under her bed so no one could see the letters. Finally, she stood up, and grabbed her wand, starting to make her way up to the Gryffindor dorms, where Ethan told her he would be studying all night. She'd planned to drop by later, but she figured that the longer she waited, the worse off she would be.