A/N: Soooo ummm, idk if I'm grounded but I'm using my school computer to write the next few chapters. (I'm taking summer PE lol my schools over) and yeah. My parents haven't given me my phone back, and idk if they are planning to anytime soon. (or at all at this point). *sighs* its great being the disappointment of the family. I won't be active much so if you message me it might take me some time to reply. (please do i have no friends). Also I'm writing this on Father's day (idk when I will publish tho lol) so Happy father's day to all the dads. (And daddys if you know what I mean.)
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*Peyton's POV*
"I'm gay." Alayna says. I stop running my brush through my hair. I look at her to see if she's joking.
Alayna's expression is a mixture of scared and surprised. I open my mouth to say something, but words didn't come out. We stare at each other, no one saying anything. After a few good moments Alayna breaks the silence.
"I'm not lying Peyton."
"I didn't think you were." I say. It's not a complete lie, since I did consider it. "I thought you liked Blaise?"
Alayna just laughs and the concerned expression travels from her face to mine.
"No." She manages to get out in between laughs. "I just knew he had a crush on me."
"What?" I say.
"Pansy didn't tell you? Blaise thinks I'm cute." Alayna says dragging out the 'u'.
"No." I huff. Why wouldn't she tell me?
"Oh well yeah. He does. Or did I guess, I don't know."
"When was this?"
"Um. When Pansy and I started becoming friends." She says. "It's actually the first thing we really talked about."
"Oh." I reply.
"Yeah." Alayna sighs.
"So you like girls?" I ask. Alayna hesitates before answering.
"Mhm." She hums. "Boys are gross."
I laugh and Alayna joins in.
"Who was your gay awakening?"
"I don't really know. I guess I just never liked boys."
"Oh." I say softly, leaving the room in silence again.
After a few moments Alayna breaks the silence again.
"Hey Peyton?"
"Yeah?"
"I like someone."
"Okay?" I mean was it weird that she liked someone? Wait-
Does she like me? I turn to her hoping she says something else. Anything else.
Alayna notices my face and immediately starts laughing again.
"Not you!" She giggles. "I mean you're hot and all, but not you! You're my best friend!"
I let out a noticeable sigh and burst into laughter along with Alayna. We laugh until both our sides hurt and lay on the bathroom floor together, holding our aching sides.
"So who do you like then?" I giggle. Alayna stops laughing and looks away from me.
"You have to promise you won't be mad." She says, and adds, "And you can't tell them."
"I promise for both of those things." Alayna sighs and bites her lip.
"Pansy." She says, after a few seconds of eager silence.
"What?" I sit up and look at Alayna. When did Pansy get brought up?
"Pansy." Alayna repeats as she sit up to look at me. "I like Pansy."
I sit there on the bathroom floor taking that in. I start babbling all the questions that come to mind.
"Why? When? Wha- How? Who knows? Are you gonna tell her? Does she know? Wait-"
"Jeez Peyton. Calm the heck down." Alayna cuts me off.
"I am calm. Thank you very much." I lie, sticking my nose in the air.
"I like Pansy because she's hot." I cringe at this and Alayna just laughs. "But she's also like super sweet and funny. Kind of like you but different." I raise my eyebrow at her but she continues. "Um, I think I started liking her at the beginning of the year. No one knows but you. I'm not going to tell her and she doesn't know. I think that's all of your questions."
"Wait-" I say and look up at the ceiling thinking.
"Waiting." Alayna replies.
"You like Pansy." I repeat.
"Yes."
"You think Pansy's gay."
"I never said-" Alayna starts but I'm not done talking.
"Does that mean you would date her?" I ask. Alayna looks taken back by this question, like she's never thought about it.
"Probably not." She says after a few moments.
"Oh." I don't know whether I should be relived or offended.
"Why?"
"I don't know. I was trying to imagine you two together I guess."
Alayna chuckles, but doesn't say anything. We let the silence take over for what seems like the millionth time that day and it was barely eleven in the morning. The thing that breaks the silence is not one of our voices, but a voice from our stomachs. Almost simultaneously our stomachs let out a grumble, saying "Feed me! Feed me!" We laugh and with out having to tell each other, and make our way downstairs to get breakfast.
We make pancakes, with chocolate chips mixed in. Alayna teaches me how to make them with out magic and they turn out pretty good, minus the few we burned because we weren't paying attention. During our pancake making, Lily-Grace came down stairs and told us to "Be careful because the last thing Jeremy needs, is to have his house burned down on Christmas Eve."
It was Christmas Eve! Normally I would be sitting by the warm fire in the Slytherin common room, but not this year! I was making chocolate chip pancakes with my best friend! Ew, that was cheesy, but hey! Did I lie?
When we finish making, and eating our pancakes, Alayna and I join the "old trio", which consists of Emmy, Douglas and Lily-Grace, in the library. The trio is playing some sort of card game, though they do more of smacking each other's hands than using cards.
"What are they playing? Slap your siblings or something?" I lean over to Alayna. She glances over at them.
"Egyptian rat race I think." giggles Alayna.
"Egyptian what now?" I say confused.
"Egyptian rat race." Alayna repeats. "Don't tell me you've never played it?" I shake my head. "Heard of it?"
"Not until now." I admit. Alayna shakes her head in disbelief and stands up.
"Move over children. We're teaching Peyton how to play the best card game ever." Alayna pushes in-between Emmy and Douglas, and they scoot their stools over to make room for us.
"Egyptian rat race?" Emmy asks, shuffling the deck.
"Egyptian rat race." Alayna confirms. I sit down on one of the stools and wait for Emmy to finish.
She puts all the cards into five different piles and hands everyone a stack. She tells me not to look at them but to hold them face down. Once everyone is ready Alayna starts talking.
"We're each going to take turns putting a card down. And then here comes the slapping part." Alayna giggles. "You slap the deck of cards if there is a red seven, double card, where there are two of the same card on top of each other, or a sandwich, where there is a card in-between the two cards. Like this." She takes a few cards from her deck and sorts through them to find two of the same.
She pulls out two tens and put them on top of each other. Emmy and Douglas reach over and smack the cards, smacking Alayna's hands in the process. She yelps and pulls her hand away.
"Hey!" Alayna rubs her hand and everyone laughs.
"Hay is for horses, Alayna." Douglas says, struggling to keep a straight face. Alayna playfully smacks Douglas on his chest.
"Anyway." Alayna puts a card in-between the two tens, "Sandwich." Alayna pulls her hand away before Douglas and Emmy slap the stack and we all laugh again.
"It's really a simple game. I'm sure you'll pick up on it soon." Lily-Grace says, turning to me. I smile and nod, subconsciously rub the back of my hands. Emmy, who is sitting next to me sees and laughs.
"You'll get used to the pain." She places her hand on my shoulder. "Honest."
"Okaaay." I say, and laugh. Alayna shuffles her deck and repositions herself.
"We'll start out slow." Alayna says.
Emmy flips a card and puts it face up on the table in one swift move. Lily-Grace does the same, then Douglas, then Alayna, and lastly me. It repeats again but this time Emmy places an ace.
"Oh!" Alayna gasps. "I forgot to say. When you have a face card, like king, queen, jack, or ace. The person after them have to put more cards. Ace is four, king is three, queen is two, and jack is one. If you don't put down another face card they get the stack. Oh, and to win you want to have all the cards." I nod, understanding and Douglas continues.
After the game of Egyptian rat race, I lose, and have a red hand to prove it. Alayna wins, and has a extremely red hand to prove that. The game only went on for a few minutes, but my brain is exhausted.
Alayna and I decide to get a snack from the kitchen, a bowl of cereal, and go back upstairs to get ready to go shopping.
I grab my black puffer jacket and money from my suitcase. Alayna grabs her things and we walk back downstairs. Lindsay is sitting on the couch in the living room, reading the daily prophet. She hears us walking down the steps and turns around to face us.
"Are you guys going shopping?"
"Yeah." says Alayna. "We'll get lunch while we're out."
"Would you mind letting Bella and Kendra come along?" Lindsay asks. "I have to wrap gifts and I don't want anyone snooping."
"Do they have to?"
"I would appreciate it. And I think they would to."
"I don't think Peyton wants them coming." Alayna says.
"I don't mind actually." I say. Alayna gives me a look.
"See Alayna, you don't have to hate your siblings."
"First, she's only saying that because she isn't rude. Second, step siblings, and third-"
"They can come." I say cutting Alayna off. I like their company, and they are super fun, regardless of what Alayna says.
"Thank you Peyton." Lindsay says, giving me a smile. I return it.
"Fine. But they have to use their own money." Alayna grumbles.
"I think they are upstairs in Kendra's room, playing some game." Alayna turns around and leads me to Kendra's room. The door has 'Kendra' written on it and moving lines around it. Alayna turns the handle and leans in.
"Yo. You guys are coming shopping with us. And bring your own money."
"Ok." Kendra and Bella say together. I hear them move around the room, colleting their things.
Kendra comes out first. She's wearing a beige shirt, with a white puffer on top. Her grey sweatpants bunch around her white shoes, which look fairly new. She says hi to me and we wait for Bella who needs to 'fix her hair'. She takes only a few minutes and then steps out of the room in a black sweatshirt, jeans and black converse sneakers.
"You ready?" Alayna asks the two. They both nod and we walk back downstairs to the living room. Lindsay says goodbye to us, thanks me again, and we floo to the shop.