flesh-eating trees of the world

No, I mean sixth year Hufflepuff with curly hair and super bad eyes. He’s kind of short, but still taller than me, and he’s adorable and cute, but also sometimes really hot. And he has lovely eyelashes. I don’t know if you’ve met?

I may have.

BOTH OF US ARE AWESOME, WE’LL FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO PARTY AND NEITHER OF US ARE TOTALLY INCAPABLE TWATS.

Bettie puffed her cheeks out, leaning against William’s arm. “I’ve been trying to give you space,” she shrugged. “I mean… I,” gross,” miss you, too, but, I.” Super gross. She hated talking about her feelings. It was like torture. Worse. “I remember completely blowing you off when I’ve had any of my girlfriend, and I guess I wanted you to be able to do the same thing to me. But that’s a difference, because I’ve never had anything even remotely encompassing a real relationship. But I guess, if we must, we have to make two relationships work at once.” She grinned, rolling her eyes over to William. “I love you, Willy.”

“I love you too,” William grinned, getting to his feet and grabbing Bettie’s hand to pull her up with him. “So,” he started, falling into step beside her, “We’re going to leave here and we’re going to talk, okay?” He was still grinning, feeling so good about finally talking to his best friend again. “Because I’ve heard some things about a pool party and I know you wouldn’t miss a chance to look at a good majority of the student body half naked.” They were turning corners and he wasn’t really sure where they were going, but he couldn’t find that he minded much. 

She hung on to his words as he spoke, listening to his story, until he stopped. Her stomach lurched in her chest because she knew he wasn’t done Oh, of course. “These are yours,” she said, deflecting. She stretched her legs out beside him and tiptoed her fingers down her leg. “I don’t know why, but they were in my stuff, so I put them on. I had to wrap these around,” Megan pulled her shirt up, revealing the suspenders she put around the top. “And also I had to roll them up. You’re really tall.” She still wasn’t looking, because she knew if she did, she would spill her guts out. Sighing, she crawled towards William, easing herself into his lap, and nuzzling in to the crook in his neck. “Today was bad.”

William moved until his back was against the back of the couch, and they had as much privacy as possible. The common room was mostly quiet, and everyone was avoiding them more so out of kindness than anything else. “I’m not tall, you’re just small,” he whispered, his eyes squinting as he grinned at her, and then nudged her cheek with his nose. “I-” he started and stopped, preparing what he wanted to say in his head before he spoke it out loud. “I know that you know that if you looked at me right now, you’d tell me what was wrong. That’s not a bad thing at all. If- if it helps,” he paused again, trailing a firm pattern up and down her back with his hands. “If it helps, talk to me. I love you, and I want to help.” It had been a while since a particularly bad day.

She felt tears well up in her eyes, and she rolled over to her back, wiping furiously at her face with her sleeves, angry and upset. She groaned, trying to clear her head, as she put her hands over her eyes. “I just don’t get it,” she grumbled under her breath. Why was she always confused, and always horrible and always just so bad at everything? She slumped into the floor in defeat, lying still but for her usually twitching of her fingers. She tried to deep breathe, but wasn’t really getting anywhere, and oh, Merlin. Useless Megan Morrow. Again.

“Hi, he whispered, brushing her hair behind her right ear, the one closest to him, and kissing her nose. Her cheeks were stained with tear tracks, eyes blinking at him before she let out another hiccup. William frowned, trying to think of everything that had happened that day, before seeing scribbles upon scribbles on her parchment, and two broken quills next to her. “Hey, hey, hey,” he whispered, tugging her hands until she was sitting upright, still stubbornly not looking at him. “Talk to me,” he pleaded, pushing the rest of her hair falling over her forehead over her left ear, and cupping her face in his hands. “Were Trelawney’s tangents especially horrible today? I remember last year when I did divination, and I had to sit there and listen to a story about a toad and firewhiskey, and an ogre-” He stopped, paranoid that he was only making things worse. “Megs, please.” 

Her singing got louder and louder as she got further and further in to the room, finally reaching a crescendo, as she yelled out “FUCKINGINASHACK! FUCK ING IN A SHACK!” Which were totally the lyrics. At that, Marziporn clawed at her arm, and jumped to the floor, bolting to the couch Bettie was standing behind. “Fucking rudest cat out,” she said, rolling her eyes. She followed her cat’s rapid movements to the other side of the couch, to see William happily patting Marz, and Marz purring like the traitor he was. “Well, krump my face, if it isn’t William Piper.”

"Hi, Bettie," He rolled his eyes at her, pulling her sleeve with his free arm until she sort of floomped onto the couch beside him, immediately putting his arm around her. "What is the hip hap? The four one one? I feel-" he paused, looking for the right word, picking at the his robe when he realised his feelings weren't as playful as they'd seemed when she was galloping around the common room. "I miss you. I haven't spoken to you in forever and I- yeah. I really just miss you." He resumed petting Marziporn, but when he looked at Bettie properly he gave her a huge hug instead. His chin was resting against her shoulder, and he squirmed when he felt something tugging at his hair. "Wh- oh I- ow, Bettie!"

Rosalie pulled out her lipstick, coating her lips in the dark red make up. She smacked her lips together and used her index finger to blot. She, again, found herself, looking at how nice her shoes made her legs look. She heard him walk over to her, and smiled to herself, inclining her head to her right. “It’s the motivation,” she said, before he had the chance to sit down, “I know I should, but I just can’t seem to. I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.” She turned her head to look at him, very obviously checking him out, before shrugging, and blinking as if she thought nothing of it. Which she didn’t. “Salutations,” she nodded, “I’m Rosalie Muldrow.”

“I know exactly what you mean- Herbology is probably the only class I’m actually good at. I leave everything else to the last minute.” He grinned again, feeling comfortable enough to pick up the rest of her papers. The big kiss mark and various exes and ohs made him laugh properly. He glanced at her over the top of the stack incredulously. “How exactly did things work wherever you’re from? I take it you’ve met Loring?”

She brought out another piece of parchment, looking over her carefully compiled homework list, and got to work on another essay on The Importance of Gillyweed in Society. Rolling her eyes, and puffing out her cheeks, she wrote, THERE ARE NONE, in huge block letters across the page. Honestly, it was a stupid topic. Stupid subject. Fuck plants. She would quote T.S. Eliot, if even out of context. I am no prophet—and here’s no great matter.

“‘The importance of Gillyweed in society?’ THERE IS NONE!” William opened his eyes curiously, looking over at whoever had spoken. There was a small girl he recognised as the new sixth-year Ravenclaw sitting by herself, surrounded by parchment, with a huge scowl on her face. He hesitated for a second, remembering what had happened recently when he had tried to get involved with other people’s business, but sat up anyway. William shielded his eyes from the sun with one hand, squinting through his glasses. “Hey! Are you okay?”

They couldn’t help each other, if that was what he was purposing. All she could do was make him as awful as her, and all he could do was make her as soft as him. They had nothing to offer and it was past time William saw that.

He raised a hand to his chest to wave a quick, subtle goodbye as he turned on his heel and made his way back to the corridor. Nice going, Piper. He groaned, hitching his bag higher on his shoulder with one hand and rubbing his face with the other. Nice going.

Don’t laugh at me! I was defending your honour!

It’s okay. I love you. Except I don’t know if I was more worried about the the banging or banging in to the wall. Well, I mean, I guess it could work in both… places. I guess. I’ll… Okay. I mean-alright. Okay. I- wow.

Don't laugh at me! I was defending your honour!