the girlfriend experience ━━ james potter ¹

xxi. fan clubs and murder plots

     She cautiously approached the final vacant seat beside James, smiling sheepishly as she went. Sirius went out of his way to scowl. Remus didn't pay any attention but appeared to be the only one that was actually doing work. Peter smiled, and so did Dorcas and Mary. Marlene side-eyed Bronwyn suspiciously but it wasn't the first time the two girls had exchanged evils ─ that was just two Quidditch rivals sizing each other up. Lily wasn't happy.

     All in all, not the blood bath Bronwyn had been preparing for.

     Once Bronwyn had finally settled in her chair, items unloaded, still feeling like an intruder, she found James smiling at her encouragingly, almost sweetly. He motioned to the unfinished essay they had started in her dorm room as if telling her it was okay to carry on as normal. The rest of the group seemed to have moved on with the fact they had an unfamiliar newcomer ─ Lily, not so much ─ and it appeared that Bronwyn and James dating had become a new norm?

     "So, Bronwyn, how is everything?" Marlene asked, her expression strained revealing how hard it was for the blonde to smile as friendly as she could. Even then, it felt rude. "I feel like we rarely talk."

     Bronwyn knew what this really meant. Highlighting that they never usually communicate at all, so why start now just because she's dating their friend? Marlene obviously meant we never talk, so let's not start now. The politeness of the question was completely lost on Bronwyn because of the undertones.

     "Everything is okay," Bronwyn responded with a strained smile.

     "Good to hear." There was sickness in Marlene's subsequent smile.

     With greetings out of the way, the group returned to their work while Bronwyn and James continued on with the studying they had started in Bronwyn's dorm earlier.

     A muted snap then sounded out around their little segment of the library. The group looked over at the source, where Mary was cursing to herself. Her quill's end had just broken clean off.

     "Perfect," she sighed irritated before she lifted her head to look at the people around her. "Has anyone got a spare quill I could use?"

     A series of sympathetic shrugs ensued, the Gryffindors shaking their heads.

     "Brilliant," Mary said sarcastically, her eyes briefly meeting Bronwyn's, who had yet to look away from the quill-less girl.

     After a few brief moments of working up the courage, Bronwyn finally retrieved one of the extra quills she kept at the bottom of her bag, along with a fresh pot of ink.

     "I do," Bronwyn said as she passed over the two items to the girl at the other end of the table.

     Mary seemed taken aback by the gesture but quickly smiled ─ one of the very few genuine smiles Bronwyn had received from any of them ─ and accepted the quill and ink appreciatively.

     "Thanks."

     "No problem," Bronwyn nodded, trying to act as nonchalant as she could, despite feeling several sets of eyes on her.

     Nobody spoke to Bronwyn for the next twenty minutes as they studied their various subjects. Nobody really spoke at all (it was a library after all) but still, whenever someone wanted to say something or ask something, Bronwyn would not be their first choice to direct their words at.

     James looked over at the girl beside him a few times, and only momentarily as if just to check in on her, but that was about it.

     Bronwyn had almost finished completely what she had set out to do upon this visit to the library when she heard James' voice.