it only hurts this much right now ━✫ sebastian sallow

chapter 10

"Alright, alright! We'll prove them wrong, Astoria! We have been training so hard the last couple of weeks!" Everett chirped. It was true, to Sofiya's knowledge. Even before she was on the team, the Ravenclaw team would often return to the common room quite late at night, and Astoria would complain about how she was sore for days. Perhaps Sofiya hasn't even experienced a fraction of their training – she thought of it all to be quite easy.

The conversation quickly devolved into some bickering between Astoria and Everett, with Poppy being dragged into the mix to prove some unknown point. Sofiya began to slowly eat away at her breakfast, the familiar faces and conversations making her forget about the big game – or at least be less nervous about it.

Her attention was brought back to the voices around her as various owls started to fly over the Great Hall, periodically dropping a letter or package to a few students. To Sofiya's surprise, her owl dropped a small box onto her lap.

Nearly dropping her utensils, Sofiya was quite surprised she had received anything – she hadn't received nor sent many owls this school year. Especially from her own owl? It was quite odd.

She began to pull at the ribbon that held the box shut, it was like a small early Christmas gift. Once it came loose, she lifted the top of the box.

Inside was a chocolate frog and a note.

Sofiya let out a frustrated sigh. That's how she would describe herself, right now – frustrated, maybe even angry. She didn't even want to read the note or accept the chocolate. She wanted to shut the box and tie it tight before returning it to its sender... But of course, curiosity killed the cat.

The girl picked up the note from the bottom of the box, looking a bit closer at the writing on the page.

Don't be nervous, you are going to play spectacularly today. Some chocolate to calm your nerves?

"Is that another note?" Poppy's voice suddenly piped up from behind Sofiya, making her jump in surprise. She must have gotten lost in her thoughts a bit... Again.

"Yes." Sofiya sighed, placing the note back into the box and instead picking up the chocolate.

"You need to speak with him, Sofiya. It's been weeks." The Hufflepuff frowned.

The more people said that same phrase to her, the more Sofiya wanted to continue denying it. She was never the type to hold grudges, and she still finds it easy to let things go — so why was this so difficult? why could she not just forgive and forget instead of playing this game? Or even better, why could he not leave her alone?

But deep down Sofiya knew why. She was being stubborn, but it wasn't because she wanted to avoid him or end their friendship — it was because she was hurt. She had never been hurt like this before, and it seemed her first instinct was to shut him out of her life instead of speaking with him properly. She could thank her parents for her fear of communication.

Sofiya pursed her lips together before carefully opening the blue box in her hand, breaking off a small piece of the chocolate. She popped the piece into her mouth, and in moments the chocolate began to melt lavishly in her mouth. She couldn't help but smile at it.

She glanced at Poppy, "Perhaps you're right."

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"...Everett, I don't care how you block the goal as long as you do it. Astoria and Charles, please aim for their bodies, not their heads!"