LONG STORY SHORT, james potter

𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐱.

Her eyes were bloodshot and hair was messy. Alarm streaked her features and forced her eyes open wide.

"Peter," was all she could manage in a half whisper.

"What happened?" Peter's voice was gentle as he looked at her curiously. "James is just about worse than you. Whatever you two said in your spat I'm sure can be amended. I know you two can be mean to each other, but we're all friends at the end of the day."

"Oh how I wish that were true," her voice was small. "This is all my fault." She blubbered as a sob tumbled from her lips, making her shoulders shake in sync like thunder and lightning. Carefully, Peter placed his arm around her shoulder. He gently pushed her until he and she gave in. "I can't fix it this time."

"What happened?" Peter's voice was quiet, but it urged her.

Betty went quiet as pressed her lips together. "Well I supposed it's all out in the open now." Peter's breath hitched in expectation. "James and I have . . . well . . . I don't really know how to describe it, really. We've been in a relationship." Peter gaped and then immediately clamped his mouth shut from all of the questions that bubbled up and let her keep talking. "It was purely sexual at first . . . god when did it start? Around Valentine's Day. And then it just . . . kept happening and then we started spending time with each other and he's actually lovely once you get to know him and I . . . I thought that I could steal the time, you know? Because it's different from all of the relationships I've been in. He listens to me and it just . . . feels right. I feel like myself . . . the self I haven't been in a great long while and I'm happy, you know? But I couldn't—"

"Remus?" Peter asked quietly.

"Remus." Her voice was wispy as it came out. Peter's arm pulled her in closer as her shoulders shook once more. They descended into silence as the House Elves avoided their feet and ends of their robes. As life continued on around them. The House Elves flinched as a ragged sob echoed through the kitchen, ripping through the comfort ever so often, but continued doing their work. Peter never flinched, his thumb would only stroke her shoulder slightly. Neither of them said anything for a great long while. The only signs of time turning was the light, hidden behind the clouds, shifting in the room, growing darker as the sun sank and the turn from lunch foods being carted out to the dinner that had been meticulously being prepped suddenly plated.

"You should eat something," Peter said eventually. "You weren't at lunch."

"I'm not hungry." Her voice was miserable and childlike.

"But you need to eat." She didn't stand down. "I'm hungry too."

Betty sniffed and nodded as Peter started to unfold himself from over her. As she looked up, he saw how red and patchy her face was.

"I don't want to go upstairs," she blubbered. "I look ugly."

Peter tried to hold it in, but chuckled slightly. "You don't look ugly, Betty. And besides, Aisling will kill us if she doesn't see you." He went quiet for a moment. "And besides, if the falling out is this bad, then you already have someone who loves you."

Betty's world stopped spinning, she stopped breathing and her eyes widened. Her body washed cold as she turned to Peter, alarmed. "He doesn't love me. We aren't there." The ghost of the word "yet" haunted the space between them. "It's not—" She looked back down at the floor, searching for an answer. "It's not like that. It's casual. We just enjoy spending time with each other." Peter bit his tongue as he exalted harshly, disappointedly. "It's a friendship where we like to . . . you know. We're comfortable with each other. Trust each other. We tell each other things. Things that we normally wouldn't tell other people. It's not—It's not a relationship. I've been in them. It's not like this." Peter made no move to interrupt her, only watching her curiously. "And besides, he doesn't know how to flirt and he's annoying and he doesn't know when to give up. And he had horrible judgement because he shouldn't have done this in the first place." Betty went quiet for just a moment. "And he thinks he's the king of the universe. I mean, I'm surprised his head hasn't burst from the size of his ego. He wants to think that everyone's in love with him and I refuse to be someone who falls for it. Because he's overly charming and he knows it. And he's so annoying and . . ." She cut herself off, shaking her head.