＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚
Rune stared down at the words on the page.
Because I like you.
She reread it.
She moved the book away from her and tried it from a different angle.
Because I like you.
She slapped her hand over the words and breathed deeply. In through the nose. Out through the mouth.
She regrouped.
Then, she moved her hand away from the page.
Because I like you.
A scream escaped her mouth as she tossed the journal aside and scrambled beneath her sheets, pulling her blanket up over her head and shutting her eyes.
She saw the words in her mind, so her eyes flew open again.
"Okay, Rune." She lifted herself up and took the journal again in her lap. "Okay. It's fine. He's probably joking."
She opened to the page.
Everyone likes you, I'm sure.
You have such a likeable personality.
Oh my God.
You scared me for a moment.
Did you think I meant that I like you in the romantic way?
Yes.
And then I got so scared.
Why?
Because then I'd have to reject you.
Why?
Because even though I like talking to you,
I like someone else more.
Regulus Black?
Yes.
Hmmm.
What?
I'll deal with it.
What do you mean?!
It's 3am. We should sleep.
What do you mean you'll deal with it?!
Goodnight, Minute ;)
Don't leave.
...
Hey!
...
What do you mean??
***
Rune was proud of herself. She completely blocked Regulus out of her life.
She hadn't bothered looking at him or worrying about him or speaking to him. She was completely Regulus free.
Her resolve quickly ended as her eyes followed him flying through the air on his broomstick.
He was playing Quidditch.
His shoulder needed at least two more months to recoup before he even thought about lifting a broomstick, but he was soaring, and jerking and actually playing a rather vile game of Quidditch.
Every time a bludger or quaffle narrowly missed his shoulder, she felt a part of herself shrivel up and die.
He was meant to be intelligent.
She could not fathom which part of his intellect decided it was a good idea to strain his shoulder like that.
Her hand was completely over her mouth when a quaffle sliced past him brushing against his injured arm. Since James Potter had scored a goal, everyone missed the way Regulus winced in pain as he rolled his shoulders.
"Are you okay?" asked Sylvia Sallow who was seated on Rune's left.
Rune nodded; her eyes still locked on Regulus.
"You're going to fall off your seat if you move any more, sit back. You're making me uncomfortable."
Rune pushed back and slumped down in her seat as she anxiously waited for the match to end.
At long last, the snitch was captured by Regulus and while the rest of the Slytherin's ran onto the pitch to celebrate, Rune followed the direction he rushed away in until she found herself in the change rooms.
When she walked in, there was complete silence for a minute until she heard the fast running of water.
It was definitely a shower.
Rune turned to leave but then she heard a grunt of pain followed by a clang as something clambered to the ground.
Help me, God, she begged.
Then, she turned around and walked until she stopped in front of the only cubicle which had the curtains drawn.
There were no signs of his clothes being discarded anywhere so she hoped he was still fully dressed as she took a deep breath and said, "Regulus."
She got no reply for several seconds, until there was a muffled, "Hmm?"
"Can I come in?" she asked quietly.
He seemed to have expulsed all the air in his lungs before he answered, "Yes."
Rune pulled the curtain enough to slip in. She found him slumped against the wall, wand in his hand and completely soaked by ice-cold water.
He was bleeding through his bandages and robes and was frowning as though he was being burdened by intense pain.
"Just how dumb are you?!" she demanded frowning as the icy water hit her. Immediate shivers ran down her spine and she reached forward and turned off the tap.
Regulus shivered as he murmured, "I thought the cold with numb the pain."
"You are bleeding. You don't need to be numbed. You need to be healed."
She used a severing charm to cut through his robes and get it off his body. Once she saw the state of his shoulder, she audibly gasped.
The bandages were nearly in ruins and completely tattered.
"How often have you been changing your bandages?" she asked angrily.
"Once a week."
"Once a week? I told you once a day!"
"You told Rabastan once a day. You told me to get out of your room."
Rune stared at him.
He sounded bitter about it.
He was the one who had been begging her to stay away from him.
She cleared her throat. "Why did you play today?"
As she moved her fingers to his shoulder to remove the bandages, her fingers brushed his skin and he shuddered at her touch as a heavy breath left his mouth.
Her fingers stilled.
Since he was slumping, his mouth was so close to her ear. She heard every hitch, every labored breath, every little sound.
Goosebumps formed all over her skin.
Stop it, Rune. He's in pain.
In an attempt to remind herself of that, she lifted her gaze to his face.
His eyes quickly darted away from her lips as he met her eyes.
His eyes flashed and she immediately dropped her gaze back to his shoulder and pulled off the bandages.
She was shaking but she told herself it was from the coldness of the water.
His body was tense beneath hers and she begged her foolish brain to not commit the lines of his body to her memory. It would haunt her.
There was an open gash beneath his collar bone that the blood was flowing out from. Nothing else seemed to have torn or splintered and she was so thankful for it.
She pointed her wand at it and a single spell had the gash closing in on itself and mending the broken skin.
She dared to look up into his eyes again.
She cursed mentally when she realized how close they were. His face was mere centimeters away from hers and he was looking at her as though he might do something wrong.
He leaned closer to her, and she immediately turned the water on again, letting the streams of cold water pour down on them and hopefully knock him (and her) out of whatever dazed spell was overcoming them.
He let out a sound that was a mixture of a scoff and a laugh as he leaned his head back against the wall.
Rune's eyes watched as the water fell on his body, wiping off the blood and rolling down his chest and stomach.
She was no better than a gawker, unable to move her eyes away.
"So, all I have to do is start bleeding and you'll look at me?" he asked breathily.
She jerked her eyes away from his body and turned around so her back faced him. "I'm going."
As she was about to withdraw the curtains, countless voices and steps and cheers entered their vicinity as the rest of the Slytherin team entered the changerooms.
"Anyone seen Black?" asked Evan's voice.
"Yeah," answered another boy. "I saw him coming down to the changerooms. He's probably in the shower. I can hear one running."
Rune took a step away from the curtains as footsteps drew closer. She practically pressed herself against the wall as someone stopped in front of the curtains.
"You in here, Black?"
Regulus looked at Rune through the running shower.
"Yeah," he answered. "I'm in here."
"Cool. We're waiting for you to debrief."
Rune lifted her hands to her face. There was no way she was getting out of there without the whole team seeing her.
The showers were the main attraction of the entire changeroom.
Regulus' robes were torn through, and they were both soaking wet. She knew exactly what it would look like.
"What are we going to do?" she mouthed at Regulus.
He shrugged.
"Please be helpful."
He mouthed back. "They're not going to leave until I come out of here."
"What about me?"
"They all think we dated. They'll just think we were hooking up."
"No!" she exclaimed silently. "Think of something else."
"There is nothing else."
"I don't want them to think I was hooking up with you."
All she could think about was Super Mysterious Guy. Rumors spread quickly around Hogwarts. If he somehow found out who she was some day and traced back to some rumor of her hooking up in the showers with Regulus, it would not be nice.
Regulus moved to withdraw the curtains, but she pulled his hand back.
"They'll think we were hooking up!" she reminded him.
"Okay? And?"
She clicked her tongue at him but then immediately clapped her hand to her mouth when silence fell over the changerooms.
"Reg," said a voice rather amusedly. "Are you in there with someone?"
Rune tried to take another step back, but her foot slipped on the wet tiles.
Regulus had just reached out and grabbed her when the shower curtains flew open.