❝There were chocolate boxes and wrappers around the bed, stuffed under his pillow, and coffee stains on the duvet and sheets. This boy truely was a mess. But Ayla really liked the mess.❞
-
Ayla Quill was starting her sixth year at Hogwarts School of...
Ayla looked to him, into his tired eyes and scarred face. "Remus," she played back.
He held her gaze, so many words clouded behind his eyes and Ayla wished she could just read his mind because it would be so much easier than this and he wouldn't have to treat talking like it was something painful. Her hand inched towards his, their fingers brushing for a brief moment until he shoved his palms deep in his pockets. Ayla pulled back.
"I'm sorry," he breathed. "I'm sorry I've been such... such a fucking prick."
Ayla's brows raised.
He continued. "I'm sorry I've brushed you off and treated you like shit and acted all weird, like you're the problem instead of it being me." He took a breath. "It's like... it's just so hard when everyone hates you. And I don't want it to seem like I'm using this as an excuse because I'm not, I can't excuse what I've done."
"People don't hate you, Remus," Ayla insisted.
"They don't hate me but they hate the... the monster. I can't act like I'm not that."
"But you're not. You're Remus."
Remus gave a meek smile. "Thank you. A lot of people just don't see it that way, I guess."
Again, another pause.
Remus took another deep breath, "Anyway, I wanted to apologize. You don't have to accept it or anything, you have the full right to hate me. I just needed you to know that I didn't mean for all of this to happen and... and that I really do like you. I really do. You're... you're really brilliant and I hate to know that I've hurt you."
Ayla's mouth dropped slightly open. She tried to restrain herself from furrowing her brows at him in confusion. She mentally took a step back. "It's all right. I know you didn't mean to." She wanted to say more, so much more, but she didn't.
Remus looked down at his shoes. They were brown oxfords. "Thank you for being so kind about my-" The words caught in his throat.
"Lycanthropy?" aided Ayla.
Remus's head popped back up. "You know the clinical term."
Ayla nodded back. "I've been doing a bit of research about it. I don't think a lot of it is reliable but I've tried."
He stared at her with big eyes, his pupils blown wide. "You... did that for me?"
"Of course. If someone tells you something like that, you'd think to educate yourself a bit more."
Remus still stared in awe. "You're a great person, Ayla. You really are," he blurted.
Ayla smiled and felt her cheeks flush. "You are, too, Remus."
The air was tight.
"This might be out of place but," Remus took a gulp of that air, "would you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend? You don't have to, it's stupid, really, but-"
"Oh my god," Ayla interrupted. "Merlin, yes, I'd love to." She tried to bite down the excitement in her voice. This could not be happening.
Remus's eyebrows shot up, "Really?"
"Yes, really! Didn't I literally confess my feelings to you, like, two times?"
He shook his head, "I'd thought maybe you stopped liking me."
Now, Ayla laughed at that. It started as a burst, soon trickling off into a string of giggles, and she couldn't breathe, and damn, she just was so happy right now. "Of course I didn't!"
Remus grinned back shyly, letting loose a few of his own chuckles, "Well, now I know."
Ayla regained her composer, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. "So... you're really serious about going to Hogsmeade?"
"Serious as Sirius Black," Remus joked.
"So not serious at all," Ayla teased.
"You know what I mean."
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Finally! The dancing around each other has finally come to an end.
