Duplicitous | T.N.

X • Every time 'Great' is said, note the sarcasm

To endeavour the pain she flexed her fingers but instantly clamped them close again due to the light, uncomfortable pulsate she felt within them. Her jaw fell open as she released one silent whimper. To stop herself from crying in front of her teacher she bit her lip. She wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

The Gryffindor in pain glanced at her teachers desk. She was already looking at Aurora in fake concern. Her tea grasped in one hand a small spoon in the other as she stirred. To Rory, she looked more worried about her sugary concoction than her.

Her head shot back down to her paper. She didn't have to mentally prepare herself to write again, she figured it'd be best to get it over and done with. The pain only increased as blood oozed down her olive skin, staining the wrist of her white flannel. Blood drops made contact with the page and her fingers numbed.

As her writing progressed and the page was filled with beautifully written words and amber drops, her wrist increased speed. Her neatness lessened and she no longer focused on the page, but rather her hand. She gazed at it in fascination as more and more cuts embedded her once flawless skin. It used to only have one little freckle above her knuckle but now it was painted with thick crimson liquid and an open wound.

You couldn't read the designated words anymore. It had been retraced messily over the original marking again and again until it only looked like a bunch of fat gashes. Her eyes continued to concentrate on her wrist as she concentrated on the pain.

She wasn't thinking of her issues. She was thinking of her physical dilema. Where she had been feeling dejected she now felt ache. Where she felt the hole her mother left, she now only felt the hole left by the pen. She preferred this pain. It was bare able.

Physically, she was imprisoned in a small pink room. She was forced to endeavour bodily torment. She had no escape, and was being mocked by her captor.

It may sound cliche or just plain stupid, but during her time locked in the room of pink, she felt free-er then she had in so long, because during her time there, she wasn't thinking of her mother. She preferred the somatic anguish rather than the psychological agony she had been enduring those past months.

To her left, Harry had been feeling the very opposite. He begrudgingly wrote word after word, desperate for it to end. The pain for him wasn't an escape but a reminder.

In the chosen ones situation, physical pain from cuts or more specifically scars were just simple mnemonics of what he didn't and never could have. Compulsory, unending love from a parent.

Not only was his childhood snatched from him by the dark lord when he was merely an infant but he had been forced to share a connection with his parents murderer, a connection that spoke to him through the familiar sting that resided on his forehead. The sting he was feeling on his hand at that very moment.

Regardless of the parallel emotions, both teenagers were at their lowest. Neither of them would ever tell anyone of their current thoughts and emotions, or lack of emotions.

They were the best of friends placed in the same situation with the opposite thoughts and wants running through their minds. As much as they loved each other, maybe more than anyone else, they managed to connect and communicate just about anything but at this point they couldn't bring themselves to do so.

After an entire hour, their time in detention was up. They walked back to the common room in silence. Not a word said, but rather an action. Half way back Rory grabbed her friends hand. Their blood coated hands held tightly to another as their red ichor mixed in an unspoken pact.
They were there for each other.

Both felt guilty at the fact that they failed to express their current emotions but they vowed they would in the time to come. Unfortunately in the future, one of them would break this pact.

They parted ways and resided back to their bedrooms. Rory rushed into her bathroom to tend to her injuries. With a face washer she lightly dabbed at her arm until there was no more blood. She couldn't recognise the words. It resembled an odd scribble, she nearly laughed at her peculiar analogy.

Her eyes welled with unshed tears. She giggled lowly. Her laughs loudened, and her chuckles increased. She chose to laugh instead of cry. She didn't need to cry. Correction, she didn't want to cry. If she cried it would mean she was sad. She had cried enough that summer, she didn't need... want to do so again.

Aurora Flores was sick of tears, so she held them back. Even as her torso shook and her lips quivered she refused to weep.

Twice in one day she felt like wailing. How pathetic is she. All she does is cry. She has to stop. Rory crying, would be a selfish act. She should be out there helping others.

Understand, that it is never selfish to cry. Sadness is a beautiful outlet of emotion in a way that is un harmful to the individual and everyone else in doing so. Tears are a natural and chemical stress remedy. It would take Rory a long time accept that. But rest assured, she one day would.

In the mean time, she distracted herself. She left the sanctuary of her bathroom and went to the common room. She dedicated the rest of her evening to cheering up others.

People loved her facade, it was a stress reliever for everyone. It was only a mere distraction for her but effective at the very least. Although she wasn't doing okay, she took comfort in the fact that the fake happy version of her helped others.

It helped knowing that people liked her and needed her support, everybody likes that feeling. So, that afternoon she laughed and spread her jokes to her Gryffindor peers. They copied in return all eager to experience the bundle of joy that is Aurora Flores. The fake Aurora Flores. The real one was doing great. Just great.

__________________________________

AN

My goodness these last two chapters have been real mood killers. The next ones won't be so depressing I promise

I will also add more Theo in the next chapters

I also haven't been doing much editing lately besides a quick read through, hopefully it isn't too messy