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Even from the comfort of her house, Genevieve could smell the ocean. It was hard to hate the smell after growing up near it for so long, therefore a sense of serenity followed the scent. As she stood in the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea and toast, the realised the smell was strongest there.
From the dining table, Thomas looked up at Genevieve from behind his newspaper. A smile graced his ageing face. "Are you making tea?" he inquired, his voice holding a hint in it.
Genevieve sent him a pointed look. "Yes, Dad, I'll make you a cup too."
"One sugar and a splash of milk, thank you very much," Thomas finished, but he looked as if he wanted to say more. After a moment of seeming conflicted, he put down his newspaper. "Genevieve," he said, "I want to apologise for what happened at Kings Cross Station. The awkward encounter we had with that boyfriend of yours, Jason, was it?"
Genevieve snorted. "You mean Jessie?" she supplied. "It's fine, he didn't take it to heart." She paused. "I think."
"It wasn't ok, not in a million years was it ok," Thomas empathised. "I embarrassed both you and someone important to you. It was cruel of me, and for that I'm sorry."
"Trust me, Dad," Genevieve reassured, "It's ok. You didn't know."
"I'm glad that's settled then," Thomas smiled, returning back to his paper. Rising from the table, Genevieve returned back to making their cup of tea. "I would like to meet Jessie on better terms though. He is dating my daughter, after all." He peered at her from over the top of his glasses.
Genevieve smiled to herself and shared a look with him. Her father had always been a soft-hearted man, so she knew that his attempts to seem intimidating would only make her laugh. "I'll send him a letter today," she said casually, handing her father his cup of tea and taking a place across from him.
"This world could do with a lot more good in it," Thomas muttered disappointedly as he read the paper.
The corner's of Genevieve's lips curled. "You would get along well with my friend Bradley." A look of concern began replacing her sweet smile as she read the front cover of the paper.
THREE FAMILIES FOUND DEAD IN SALCOMBE UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES.
Noticing the change in Genevieve's demeanour, Thomas placed down his newspaper, folding it so she couldn't see the page anymore. It wasn't hard for him to guess why these deaths had come under 'mysterious circumstances'. "Don't worry about it, dear," he said, a comforting look in his eye.
Any sign of playfulness had left Genevieve's face. "Salcombe is close," she stated, her voice grave. And that was true. Salcombe was frighteningly close to their little house in Dartmouth.
"Ignore it," Thomas advised, taking a sip from his tea. It must have scorched his tastebuds, yet he didn't have any reaction. He remained perfectly calm and composed, as always. "That's what I do."
Genevieve stared at her own cup of tea, no longer craving it anymore. "But that doesn't make it go away."
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Anna Lewis was far from happy, and she intended to make that very clear. Not once had Jessie invaded her household, but six times. Each visit, she loathed him more. Anna had made sure to glare whenever he was in proximity, and she was positive he got the hint, yet he still hadn't backed off from her sister yet.
Growing agitated, Anna finally decided to do something about it. When you're a child, you can do anything you like and get away with it if you're skilled enough in the art of playing innocent— Anna was most definitely skilled enough.
Her opportunity came when Genevieve insisted that Jessie and her should go to the beach. Genevieve went to get changed, leaving Jessie all alone in the kitchen. In Anna waltzed, grabbed a glass of water and then turned to face Jessie with a deadly stare. "So, Jacob — that was your name, wasn't it?" she said, feigning confusion.
Jessie smiled weakly. "Jessie," he corrected.
"Right, Jacob," Anna continued, "How long has it been since you started dating Gen?"
Jessie looked up in thought. "A month and two weeks. But we've been sort of dating, I think I could call it that, for about four months."
"Ok," Anna nodded, surveying him, "So basically nothing on the six, nearly seven, years Gen's been best friends with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter."
An awkward silence took over the kitchen. As Jessie tried to find a reply in the back of his mind, Anna couldn't help watch him with entertainment. "I- I guess so," Jessie eventually said with a pathetic shrug.
"I thought so too." Anna dropped down from her spot on the counter top and lent back, nonchalant. "I think she's closer to them than she is to you. She always looks and talks to you like she's only half there, you get me? She doesn't do that when they're here." Her mouth twitched. "Especially with Remus."
"Remus?" Jessie parroted, brows drawn together. Memories of that day back at Kings Cross Station resurfaced. "What's she like with Remus?"
"I'm not sure how to explain it," Anna admitted. "But she definitely smiles more. And she doesn't seem so... filtered."
The sudden change in the boy's demeanour was more than noticeable, and for a split second Anna couldn't help but feel guilty. She was, after all, a naive child who thought she was bigger than she actually was. Hurt glowered in Jessie's sparkling eyes and he drew his lower lip between his teeth, chewing as he let the information sink in.
The sound of the stairs creaking as Genevieve ran down them rang throughout the whole house. If her mother had been home then she would have scolded the girl for acting so wild, but luckily she was meeting up with a friend. Her father wouldn't of cared, but he was out at work. "Are you ready to go then?" Genevieve asked Jessie as she walked into the kitchen, a bright smile on her face.
The blue-eyes boy cleared his throat, disregarding his feelings of inferiority. He smiled back. "'Course I am," he said, accepting her outstretched hand. She kissed the back of it and began guiding them both to the door.
"Don't have too much fun," Anna called after them. She took a sip of her water. "Literally," she muttered under her breath.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*.
Genevieve brushed her soaking wet hair out of her face and sat down on her beach towel, out of breath from running back. "You're getting slow," she triumphed as Jessie sat next to her, his toned chest rising up and down as he tried to steady his breathing.
"I let you win," Jessie retorted, his tanned skin glimmering from the droplets of ocean water. "I could have easily beaten you."
Genevieve grinned and wrapped a towel around her shoulders, and then one around his. "If you're going to lie then at least make it believable, Jess. It's ok to accept losing."
"You just love to gloat, don't you?" he pointed out, lip twitching upward.
"It's one of my favourite things to do," Genevieve agreed, pressing a kiss to his shoulder blade.
Pastilles of blue and pink painted the sky as the setting sun sunk slowly into the ocean. Through her green eyes, it was probably the prettiest sight Genevieve had ever seen. Sunsets by the sea had always been one of her favourite things, and sometimes while at Hogwarts just imagining them made her homesick.
"Gen," Jessie murmured. She hummed in response. "You think about me, right?" he wondered, casually.
Genevieve smiled as if he had just said something silly. "Of course I do," she answered with a small laugh.
"Do you think about me most?"
Genevieve kept her eyes directly on the sunset, but Jessie was too busy looking at her. He watched the way her smile slipped slightly, and her eyes softened. If he hadn't payed such close attention then he wouldn't have caught the change at all.
"I think about you a lot," replied Genevieve, skilfully avoiding his question.
Jessie, however, was persistent. "Most?" he repeated.
"You're definitely up there."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Well that's my answer," Genevieve said, an edge to her voice. Finally she turned to look at him, her forehead creased as she saw the indescribable look on his face. "Whats this about, Jess?"
With a long sigh, Jessie ran a hand down his face. "I wonder if you know how confused you make me feel," he said, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "I mean, one moment you're kissing every part of my body, and the next you're barely acknowledging me."
Remorse hung around Genevieve shamefully as she listened to Jessie talk. To make someone feel this way, so unsure in someone you're supposed to depend on, made her question if her intentions had ever really been good in the first place. Did wanting more come at a price?
"I promise you, Jess, every moment I've spent with you has not been forgotten," she protested gently, her voice not as strong as it usually was, "I do acknowledge you. I like you."
Jessie hummed, but he didn't at all seem convinced. "But you like Remus Lupin more."
Here's the thing about denial - you can absorb yourself in it, let it contort your mind, attempt to shift key events in your existence, and get lost in a spiral of self-sabotaging actions, but denial doesn't change reality. The more you live in the fantasies that denial provides, the more it unsparingly hurts when you face actuality. Being a realist is probably the best thing you can be in a world so brutal. The quicker you are to confront this fact, the less it leaves you grieving for that sense of comfort that denial had sadistically warped you in.
And just like that, Genevieve was just as clueless as she had been when she first came out the womb. She tried to search for some words to say, anything that might make Jessie want to stay because at this point, it was inevitable - Jessie was breaking up with her. Their relationship was like fireworks, shining brightly for a moment and captivating their attention, before slowly twinkling into nothingness. It ended almost as quickly as it started.
She felt like crying.
"I know I'll fall in love with you if I stay," Jessie said, his voice an octave higher than a whisper. "But I can't do that if you love someone else." He looked at her intently, meeting her eyes. "Tell me you don't love Remus," he begged weakly.
Tears shimmered in Genevieve's eyes, her lips bunched to one side as she bit the inside of her cheeks to keep them at bay. "I can't."
Jessie's expression closed up as he gave her a small nod. "Ok," he simply replied.
"I wish I could," she rasped, a tear finally leaving a glistening trail down her cheek.
"Hey, it's ok," Jessie comforted, using his thumb to wipe away her tear. He gave her a small smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You don't owe me anything."
They sat like that for a while, watching the sunset, with equal amounts of sorrow in their heart.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
To Lily,
One of your hugs would be good right now. Either that, or a bottle of Firewhisky.
From the best,
Gen.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*