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My head is pounding when I wake up, it feels like a buldger is being tossed back and forth against the walls of my mind.
I quickly notice that I am not in my room and from the drunken sleeping Draco on the bed to my left, I deduce that I'm in the boys room.
The familiar scent of one of them infiltrates my nose as I deduce this.
Fresh mint, sweet fire whiskey and a shadow of cigarettes.
It's obvious who's bed I ended up in last night,
the night comes back to me in blurry fragments, some more coherent than others.
My cheeks warm at certain memories that resurface.
Despite Theo being largely featured in most of the memories and this being his bed, he's nowhere to be found in the room.
I slowly sit up, wincing as my headache intensifies. The room spins briefly before settling into a somewhat stable state.
Merlin, I need a pepper-up potion.
Quietly, in order to not disturb a sleeping Draco I make my way into their bathroom, I know they have some of the potions laying around somewhere.
After digging around in their cupboard, I finally find their stash and quickly down one. My headache dulls and my body doesn't feel sluggish anymore.
I sigh pushing myself up from my knees and against the tiled wall, the cool texture offering relief to my overly warm body.
My eyes shoot open though when I hear someone entering the washroom in hopes that it was Theo.
Instead I see a scowling Enzo, his eye is swollen and bruised while his knuckles are red and irritated.
I gasp quickly getting up, "What the hell Enzo?"
Unlike all of our other friends, Enzo didn't fight, while he could if he wanted to he rarely ever did, he was also friends with everybody so this was so out of the blue.
He notices me in the reflection of the mirror after a moment, flashing me a sheepish smile as he washes his hands, the blood tinting the water pink as it flushes down the drain, "Hey Evie."
I roll my eyes at his attempt to be casual, "Don't hey Evie me, what happened." I demand, getting up as smoothly as possible without wincing.
Stalking over to him, I grab his jaw to get a better look at his face.
He shakes his gently, or tries to at least while I'm inspecting it, "It looks worse than it is."
Despite his efforts, I don't let him brush it off and instead give him a expecting look.
I narrow my eyes at Enzo, not buying his attempt to downplay the situation. His eye looks seriously swollen, and his knuckles are evidence of a scuffle.
"Enzo, seriously, what happened?" I insist, my voice laced with concern. My hand remains firmly on his jaw, and I can see the sheepishness in his eyes.
He sighs, shrugging it off and tearing his face out of my hands to splash water on himself.
I'm about to speak again when Daphne comes into the bathroom, a scowl deep on her face but softening slightly when she sees Enzo.
"You two are so bloody stupid!" She utters smacking Enzo gently as she chides him, "Getting into a fight in the middle of the hallway?"
He averts eye contact with me when I turn to him questioningly so instead I turn to Daphne, "Him and who?" I demand.
Enzo turns to give Daphne a look, "Daph no." He says with a serious expression but she ignores him and turns to me.
"Theo and Enzo got into a bloody fist fight this morning!" She explained with a frown at Enzo, "If I hadn't seen and stopped it they would've torn each others heads off!"
My eyes widen in disbelief as Daphne reveals the shocking news. Theo and Enzo, of all people, getting into a fistfight? It's almost inconceivable.
Mattheo and Theo? The two never knew when to stop pushing each other: Theo and Draco? The two had too much pride to not fight. Even Blaise and Theo from time to time got into it.
But Enzo and Theo was out of left field, completely.
I turn my attention back to Enzo, who looks increasingly uncomfortable. "Theo? You and Theo fought?"
Enzo nods, his gaze now fixed on the floor. "Yeah," he admits reluctantly.
My mind races with questions, trying to make sense of this unexpected turn of events. "But why? What could possibly have led to this?"
Daphne shakes her head, looking exasperated. "It was about something trivial, really. Some silly disagreement that spiraled out of control. Boys and their pride."
Despite her words, I have a sinking feeling it had something to do with the party yesterday.
Theo and his jealousy.
Glancing at Enzo, the guilty expression is written all over his face and that's all it takes to confirm my thoughts.
"I'm going to beat the bloody hell out of him." I mutter, trying to push past Enzo in a fit of frustration and annoyance.
Enzo quickly grabs me, firmly holding me in place, "No Evie, that'll just make things worse." He says with a shake of his head.
I grit my teeth together. I told Theo there was nothing going on between us so Merlin knows why he went and attacked our friend.
"I can't believe him." I mutter shaking my head in annoyance and disappointment, "Bloody idiot, immature twat."
Daphne sighs, turning Enzo's face toward hers in order to better evaluate his injuries, "If it makes you feel better Evie, Enzo gave as good as he got."
Enzo gives me a sheepish grin and shrugs to which makes me give a strained chuckle.
"I-..I," I struggle to find my words while I watch Daphne cast healing charms on our battered friend, "did you see where he went?"
They both shared a quick look, clearly hesitant about whether or not to disclose his location in fear of me going on a rampage.
"I just want to check up on him," I defend honestly, there's another pause before Enzo finally let up with a small sigh, "Astronomy tower."
Shooting them both a grateful smile I take my leave and begin to walk to the Astronomy tower, the whole time, trying to calm my simmering anger.
Theo and I never fought. Well we used to never fight, there was something different in the air this year that seemed to be causing us to fight an amicable amount.
I hated it.
Entering the tower, I can see him sitting on the floor, his chest leaned up against the railing and a lit cigarette in his hand.
I take a moment just to observe him, still unsure of what I was really going to say.
Before I can even announce my presence though he begins to speak, "I can feel you staring at me Princess."
His deep gravelly voice echoes throughout the whole tower and like a siren it lures me in because before I even know it I've walked over to him and slid down to sit.
Theo takes a long drag of his cigarette and I can't seem to find the words that I want to use to say anything, so we just sit in silence for a bit.
"You weren't there when I woke up." I state quietly, finally turning to glance at him, my eyes focusing on his cut lip and the bruise I could see forming on his jaw.
Theo exhales a plume of smoke, his eyes not meeting mine. "I left early," he mutters, his voice carrying a tinge of bitterness.
I nod plucking the cigarette from between his fingers and taking a drag of my own, "Why?"
The word seems so packed and I myself am not even sure what the word is referring to.
Why'd you leave this morning?
Why'd you and Enzo fight?
Why're you so distant?
"Wanted to take a smoke, Draco hates when I smoke in the dorm." He answers swiftly, his eyes still not coming to meet mine.
Swallowing harshly I let my hand creep up to cup his jaw, "Theo look at me." I demand softly.
He sighs and turns slightly to meet my eyes, "What do you want Evie?" His words don't have a bite to them like the way I'm sure he intended for them to have.
Or maybe they did and I've just become immune to it.
"Talk to me." I murmur, taking another drag from the almost done cigarette, "What's going through that pretty head of yours?"
His eyes flash with amusement, "You think I'm pretty?" He taunts his fingers grabbing the cigarette butt from me.
I roll my eyes, "So not the point Nott." I chide, my eyes darting away from the view of the Astronomy tower to his eyes.
He shakes his head, "Seems like something we need to circle back to." He hums gently.
Scoffing, I raise my eyebrows expectantly, if Theodore Nott thought he was going to be let off the hook so easily, he has another thing coming.
Coming to terms with the fact I wasn't budging he sighs slightly, "You and Enzo." He offers and it feels like time has stopped when his words are spoken into existence.
I grab his free hand, lacing it between my own fingers. It's cold in contrast to my warm ones, "Theo, you have to understand, there's nothing between me and Enzo. He's just a friend."
A sarcastic chuckle escapes him, his eyes narrowing as he speaks, "How me and you are friends?"
The questions leaves tension behind it, we hadn't discussed what was going on, both of us dancing around whatever we were doing with each other, waiting for the other to say something.
This in a way felt like him giving me an opening, his eyes conveyed the same message, staring at me expectantly.
I swallow harshly, my mouth suddenly dry, "You know it isn't like the way we are." I answer him, "We're best friends." I state after a beat of silence.
Theo's eyes narrow, a mix of skepticism and frustration evident. "Even best friends don't just end up in each other's beds, Evie."
"What're you insinuating here Theo?" I mutter, tearing my eyes away from him to the abyss beyond the astronomy tower.
In reality, I knew exactly what he was trying to say, he'd backed me into a corner and he knew it, but he also knew I was stubborn.
Unfortunately, I knew we both were.
He didn't move to respond so I continued, "We've all had our fair share of drunken nights Theo," I hum, "You and Pansy, Mattheo and I, Daphne and Draco..are you trying to say those weren't innocent as well?"
He shakes his head, "You're driving me mad."
I let his statement linger in the air, unsure of what to say. Theo and I danced on the line between whatever we were so often, it only takes one misstep and Theo will run from the conversation.
"If you want something tell me." I state, unknowingly, hopefulness slips into my tone.
He seems to be contemplating it for a moment, his eyes flickering between mine and then down to my lips.
"I don't like this." He mutters, brushing a strand of hair out of my face, "I don't get jealous, I'm not a possessive person, if I want it, it's mine."
My breath is stuck in my chest at his words, it seems I've broken Theodore Nott.
Theo sucks in a breath, "I'm warning you now Evie, I don't do monogamy, I don't want to be locked down."
"Why're you telling me this?" I ask, trying to feign a mask of indifference.
Theo sighs, "You're a girlfriend girl Evie, you have boyfriends..I-I can't be that for you," his fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns on my hand. "I'm not good at...commitment. I wouldn't want us to get into anything without you understanding the situation, I don't want to hurt you."
A wry smile plays on my lips. "Who said I was looking for something traditional? We've never been conventional, and I don't see why we should start now."
Theo's expression softens, a flicker of relief in his eyes. "So, you're okay with... whatever this is?"
I nod, a sense of understanding passing between us. "As long as we're honest and respect each other's boundaries, why not?"
He exhales, seemingly relieved. "You always surprise me, Evie."
A mischievous glint enters my eyes. "Well, that's the beauty of our friendship, Theo. It keeps things interesting."
As the conversation settles, I reach for his hand, intertwining our fingers. "No more unnecessary fights, though. Deal?"
Theo smirks, a hint of playfulness returning. "Deal. But I can't promise I won't drive you mad occasionally."
Chuckling, I reply, "Likewise, Theo. It's the Nott way, isn't it?"