Simple Kind Of Life

For All the Beautiful Things

"Piss off, will you," Ariana retorted, turning from him and heading for the trunk that sat at the foot of her bed. "I haven't finished packing and I honestly don't want to listen to you." 

Knowing he should've taken the irritation in her voice as a sign — because he'd seen the Malfoy girl upset before — the eldest of the Potter sons approached the Third Year nonchalantly. His eyes were solemn and his arms folded across his chest as he watched her fix her clothes. "Did you like me?" Ariana looked up at his whisper, her brows furrowing at him instantly. "When we were together, did you like me?"

Staring at him like he'd just announced that the Headmistress was dancing ballet on top of a table in the Great Hall, Ariana creased her forehead a little, puzzled about why this was even coming up. "You are aware that I'm with Al now, right?"

"Oh, I know. Trust me. He couldn't shut up about it when you were kidnapped," James grunted, leaning against the frame of her four-poster. "But talking about how my little brother stole my girlfriend isn't exactly what I want to discuss here."

"I'm not sure why we're discussing anything at all, actually," Ariana huffed at him, dropping her school robes into her trunk. "What exactly do you want from me?" she asked with more annoyance, not exactly looking at him (all the emotions in the air made her feel especially uncomfortable).

Feeling the same way about, well, feelings, James gritted his teeth  as he rolled his eyes at the entire situation. He just didn't really know why he'd asked Louis to help him up the slip-and-slide in the first place, but there had to be a subconscious reason. "All right, trying that whole honesty rubbish Dad's always telling me I need to learn, you're aware that I have...feelings for Savanna, right?"

Ariana tried not to smirk or snort, so she settled on a simple nod, motioning for him to continue.

"I just...I just assumed that if she saw me with her best friend then she'd grow jealous and admit that she fancied me as well." He cleared his throat. "And, well, that didn't necessarily go as planned."

"She's been with Fred for about two weeks now, yeah?"

James felt his heart drop. "Again, not what I came here to discuss." He was just not up to talking about how he has to grit his teeth every time he saw the witch of his dreams with his cousin. "I'll just get to the point—"

"Please do," Ariana said with a sigh, stopping her packing as she looked up at Potter with irritation.

James glared slightly at her, annoyed himself. It's not like he was having a pleasant time either. "I just want to know what I did wrong."

Ariana waited a few moments to reply. How he assumed he'd get Savanna Zabini by being with her had to be one of the most dumbest ideas that he'd ever come up with, and she'd been there when he tried taming a wild Hippogriff when he was seven. 

"You're just heartbroken, James," she spoke gently, knowing this had to be the way to handle it. "You need time to get over it, and, well, hopefully you'll find a girl that likes you in return."

James narrowed his hazel eyes at her.

She let out a heavy exhale, scowling. "You're feeling a bit thrown off your game, right, Potter?" She didn't even wait for him answer or defend his swagger; she already knew what type of boy he was. "You're not all that terrible if that's what's gotten you in a funk." She took a deep breath, every word that came out of her mouth was the closest to being as open as she'd have ever gotten. "You're sweet, caring, and obnoxiously funny — which I'm sure a girl will love at a point, and...you have the greatest ability to make someone feel better when they're down...That's something that I...that I really appreciated, James."