It was only a month until the semester started, which meant that Diagon Alley was already beginning to fill with students trying to buy their supplies for the coming year, which wasn't an ideal shopping experience.
So for the sake of everyone's mental health, Rose had invited Zoe and all of her friends to accompany her to but their supplies together. Ergo Melody, Leslie and Theo were showing up as well.
A nice outing to distract Zoe from the truth she was living in.
"Wood! Catch!" Luckily for Melody who had already flung herself at Zoe, the brunette had impeccable reflexes, making her able to catch her friend before she split her skull open in the pavement.
Both girls where giggling wildly as the jumped hugging each other like when they were children.
"Hey! Where's our hug?" Zoe rolled her eyes dramatically before hugging Leslie and Theo just as tightly.
And just like before Melody tackled all of them into one big group hug in which every one of them laughed.
"Okay, yeah, you've all said hello, now can we leave? I haven't bought anything and need time to check each material." Zoe rolled her eyes yet again with a dramatic pout, her arms draped over Theo and Melody's shoulders.
"Chill, Rose. This is my last year with these hot idiots, let me savour it." Leslie faked a sob, fanning her face as if she was about to cry.
"Don't remind me, I just might start crying." Rose rolled her eyes at Melody and Leslie's and instead just brushed past them, beginning to search for the stores she required. The group of seventeen year-olds trailing after her still laughing loudly.
"Hey, Theo, Mel?"
"Yeah?" Leslie smirked.
"Bet you three galleons neither of you can get a guy to ask Rose out before we leave." The blonde boy and blue-haired girl turned to the other with a wicked smirk.
"You're on." Before anyone could utter another word, both of them were off in search for Rose's next date.
Zoe snorted.
"You do realize that was a waste of your money, right?" Leslie shrugged, leaning on the brunette as they walked.
"I know, but I needed to talk to you alone. And I know how nosy Mel is." The pair of friends laughed, their sight still following their friends chasing after every guy they saw. Melody stopping every once in a while to flirt with a girl or two every other step.
"You going to James' party?" Zoe shrugged, her mood immediately dampening.
It wasn't that she didn't want to go, or wasn't in good terms with James. It was the fact that she was beyond positive he was going to try every play in the book to try and gain back the affection he had lost from her. And Zoe wasn't sure if she was ready for it yet.
"I guess... Wait how do you know about the party? Did he invite you?" Leslie did what she had never done before in the moment, she blushed.
"I..uh...actually it was..um...Fred..he invited me." Zoe grinned excitedly at her friend.
"Who knew Leslie Tistle would ever settle down for none other than a Weasley?" Leslie rolled her eyes, playfully pushing a giggling Zoe right into someone.
Zoe immediately steadied herself on the shoulders of the other person she crashed into, her smile still staying strong.
"I'm so sorry. My friend over there-" The words died in her mouth as her eyes met the ones of the person who she suddenly became very aware of.
The grey eyes that seemed to stick to her brain like glue, the silky black hair that she never got tired of touching, the jawline she traced every time their lips met.
Taylor Simms.
"Simms-"
"Don't worry about it." In a split second Taylor had freed himself from Zoe's grasp and began walking the other way, faster than before.
Zoe gave Leslie a look before the Ravenclaw nodded, giving Zoe the go she needed to chase after Taylor.
"Simms! Simms! Taylor!" Zoe pushed person after person, muttering apologies left and right as tried to catch up to the raven-haired boy.
Finally after what seemed like an eternity of pushing people, Zoe latched on to his wrist and yanked him back.
"Wait." The boy sighed before pulling Zoe into an alleyway so they weren't in the middle of the street and interrupting the busy schedules of other wizards.
"Look, Z-" Before he could talk again, Zoe pressed her hand against his mouth.
"Let me speak first. I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry, I truly am. I liked what we had going, and I like you." Taylor's eyes softened as he slowly lowered Zoe's hands.
"You kissed him." Zoe stared at him with furrowed eyebrows.
"Who?" Taylor sighed before fumbling around in his pockets, until his hand came out with a photograph which he handed to Zoe.
It was of her and James, sitting under the tree next to the Black Lake. She had James jacket on, and both of them stared at each other with so much love that Zoe was really starting to doubt if she had actually been under amorentia or not.
"You've been carrying this around?" Taylor shrugged, hiding his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
"Taylor-" He shook his head, folding the picture back and hiding it in the depths of his pockets.
"Don't worry, I get it." He begun to leave but Zoe pulled him back again.
"I was under amorentia, that wasn't me." Taylor gave her a sad smile, one she knew all too well.
No matter what she said, it was over.
"Maybe that time. But, Z, you looked at James like that every day. You looked at him the way I wanted you to look at me." Zoe stared shell shocked at him, she had thought she was great at hiding her feelings, but apparently not good enough.
Taylor gave her hand one last squeeze before letting go.
"No hard feelings. Deal?" Zoe nodded, a sad smile on her face as well as Taylor slowly walked back to the Main Street.
But just before he joined the dozens of people out there, he turned back around to face her.
"Make sure to tell Potter he's a lucky guy." And just like that Taylor Simms was gone, leaving an exasperated Zoe trying to find her friend group once more.
Things were only going to get more complicated...
————————————————————————
a/n: Eyyyy Taylor's back 🥳 Well u kinda already knew that from the face claims- but let's pretend u didn't and this is all a big surprise shall we? 😁
Let's just say u probably won't want to get attached to him for absolutely no reason 😁
Anyways vote and comment and I'll consider giving y'all enough time to get attached to him 😁
YOU ARE READING
Red Roses {James Potter x OC} | Discontinued |
FanfictionEven after being saved by her ex-crush from the clutches of his brother, Zoe still found herself suffering the repercussions that came along with being in the hands of such a psychopathic being. Although unknowingly to the them, a connection had bee...
