when love arrives ( lavender brown ) ✓

iv

[ SHE'S SEEN THE WORST OF YOU AND SHE'S SEEN THE BEST OF YOU. SHE'S BEEN TO THE UNEXPLORED PARTS OF YOUR MIND, OF YOUR HEART. YET, SHE STILL THINKS YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL ]

When Lavender Brown started dating Ron Weasley in a last ditch attempt to get rid of the butterflies caused by the beautiful stargirl who she called 'friend', she did not expect things to go downhill. 

The last conversation that Lavender and Callisto was not their usual animated, flowing chat where it seemed like they were both on the same wavelength. Instead, this one had gone a little like this: 

"So, I hear your with Weasley now?'' 

''Yeah. He's a good person, Calli.'' 

''I just,'' a deep breath, ''I never thought, you know, he'd be your type."

''What do you mean?''

''...That came out wrong. I'm sorry, Lav. I didn't mean it like that!'' 

''Yeah, okay...Sure,'' a few beats of silence, ''I'll see you later?''

''Yeah, definitely.''

Safe to say that they had yet to meet up after that conversation. 

For some reason, Callisto had begun to distance herself from Lavender and this did not settle well with the golden-haired girl. Every time she wanted to spend time together, Callisto would always say that she had to study or that she had other plans. Other times, Callisto would just rush away from Lavender as soon as she caught sight of her, no greeting or friendly smile. 

As for Lavender's relationship with the Weasley boy, well, her plan was not working as well as she'd hoped. The butterflies still inhabited her stomach and the red heat still crept up her neck to settle on her cheeks. The worst part of it was that she still felt how soft Callisto's hair felt under her fingertips and how it smelt of honey; she still remembered how soft her cheeks were and how she looked so, so beautiful under the moonlight that night in the halls. 

Fed up with her mind always taking her back to that one moment even when she was with Ron, Lavender decided to confront Callisto during lunch. 

''Callisto Aerglo,'' Lavender approached the Hufflepuff table, standing behind the girl in question with her hands on her hips. All conversations at the table faltered, ''We need to talk.'' 

''I'm eating, Lavender. Maybe some other time,'' Callisto mumbled, forcing herself to not turn around despite how much every nerve in her being wanted to see Lavender after days of avoiding her. 

''Now,'' Lavender insisted, sighing through her nose in relief once Callisto abandoned her seat and followed her out of the Great Hall. 

''What?'' Callisto licked her lips, crossing her arms over her chest, giving Lavender a glimpse of her bandaged hand. 

''You know exactly why we're here, Callisto,'' Lavender huffed, ''What's up?'' 

Biting her bottom lip harshly, Callisto furrowed her brows and pretended to not know what Lavender was talking about, focusing her gaze on the stone floor. 

''Callisto!'' 

Lavender's outburst made the Aerglo girl jump, her eyes snapping up to meet those of the exasperated Brown girl, who was looking at her with a pleading expression, tears lining the corners of her baby blue eyes. 

''I'm sorry,'' Callisto finally spoke, letting go of the words that had been pent up inside of her for the last two weeks, ''I'm sorry. I just...Agh, it's complicated, Lav! Just know that I never meant to hurt you and I never meant for this to happen, I just - I was afraid.''

Lavender stood there, staring at her friend with a surprised expression on her face while she racked her brain for something to say. 

''What...What were you afraid of?'' She asked, noticing how Callisto tensed slightly, ''Calli, you can tell me. It's alright.'' 

''I was afraid you'd forget about me, alright?'' Callisto stressed, pressing her lips together as she saw Lavender's face fall. 

''Why would you think that?'' Lavender whispered, placing her hands firmly on Callisto's shoulders, ''You're my friend. I'd never choose a stupid boy over you.'' 

At the word 'friend', Callisto felt as her heart shattered into a million tiny shards, yet she plastered a smile on her face and wrapped her arms around Lavender, deciding that being a friend was better than being just another face in the crowd. 

[toLD Y'ALL I WAS ABOUT TO MAKE YOU HURT (& this ain't the worst of it)]