Chamber of Love

Chapter 17

  The green salve was soft as silk on Juliette's fingertips. She uncertainly applied it to her forehead, her actions was timid as she touched the stain of her accident.

"That looks bad." Megan Jones commented from her bed. She was doing her last minute homework as the others tiredly got ready for bed.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Juliette wanted to say. She really did. Her irritable thoughts cheered for her, trying to encourage her to speak up for once but she restrained herself from doing so.

"I know." She decided to say instead. The salve smeared on her eyebrow before she wiped it with her pinky finger.

"Are you going to tell us what happened?" Hannah asked, looking at her with caution as if she was a dangerous threat.

Juliette rolled her eyes without hesitation. She hated how her roommates always tried to ask her questions about her personal life when they weren't even friends. She wished they would quit poking their noses in her business.

"No, I'm tired." She said before putting the star shaped box on her bedside table. Her tense shoulders made their presence known as her headache started to grow stronger.

She lied on her bed with an uncomfortable frown and covered herself with her warm sheets. The other girls didn't ask any further questions, much to Juliette's delight.

She knew her annoyance wasn't completely directed towards them. Truth to be told, she was bothered by the incident she had to live through after dinner. She was upset, disappointed and a little bit confused.

Her eyes closed and the events of the night played before her eyelids, accompanied by a stubborn headache as if it wanted to remind her how stupid her actions were.

"That wasn't uncomfortable at all." Juliette murmured under her breath as she left the Great Hall with Cedric by her side. Her head was still bowed down. She was trying to cover her anxious face with her dark messy hair even though pretty much everyone saw her bruise during the dinner. At least everyone on the Hufflepuff table.

"They only glanced at you. It was no big deal." Cedric tried to assure her but it was to no use. While Juliette sat on the table, in front of her chocolate pudding that was waiting to be devoured by her, she felt countless pairs of eyes on her. They looked at her and examined her face with curiosity, ignoring her pathetic attempts at hiding and isolating herself from other students. She couldn't dare to look up from her plate during the dinner even though Cedric tried to distract her with his meaningless jokes.

"I don't like being glanced at by the whole school." Juliette replied as they climbed down the stairs to the dungeons. The sombre, dark atmosphere around them with the cold walls completely reflected what inside of Juliette's mind looked like. All the anxiety, nervousness, timidity and shyness with the constant worry about everything.

Cedric opened his mouth with a smile, probably just about to make another joke to cheer her up, before an intruder called after Juliette; walking towards them like an uninvited guest.

"Juliette!" She looked over her shoulders and tried to see who was calling out her name. It wasn't an easy task since the corridor was occupied by Slytherin and Hufflepuff students who were trying to go back to their common room.

"Juliette!" There, he called again. She recognised his familiar voice before she saw him. The same voice that always sent chills down her spine every time he recited her name. The same voice that was adorned with his gentle and kind side that he always showed her, but cursed by his arrogance and pride to be displayed in front of everyone else.