Bianca
We need to talk.
That was the first thing Bianca had done when she woke up the next morning. She couldn't close her eyes due to what she had learned yesterday. She was having breakfast alone since Florence was still fast asleep, enjoying her ice coffee as she scrolled down all the messages she and Emma exchanged. She didn't think that the actress would be already up at this hour in the weekend, but instead, not even a couple of minutes later the screen of her phone showed her a notification from the older girl.
Em❤️
Meet me at my place whenever you want, I'll wait for you 😘
She didn't waste more time, putting on the first thing she saw in the wardrobe and changed the bandage that Florence had insisted on applying on her wrist. She slid in her ear her earphones and prepared something to eat for when the brunette would be awake. Then, after writing on a small piece of paper with her wonderful handwriting 'don't burn the house until I come back ;)', she checked not to have forgotten anything and finally closed behind her the entrance door in the most delicate possible way not to disturb her friend.
Taylor Swift's album 1989 started playing as she began her long walk until Emma's house. Well, to be more precise, Emma and Tom's apartment.
She felt like she was going into the lion's den. Where her ex-girlfriend lived with her current boyfriend, absurd. Probably no one, but Bianca would be willing to do that. Florence, for example, would rather die than stepping into Lorenzo's girlfriend's house, and they even never dated.
And yet, Bianca had walked for half an hour under the heavy rain without an umbrella just to know what the actress had kept for her for too much time for her liking. As soon as she walked inside the enormous building, she got off the giant hat she now had gotten used to wear, not to be recognised by the paparazzi. She hated it since it ticked her, but at least she wasn't being photographed anytime she breathed outside her home. And she wasn't even famous. She couldn't imagine what celebrities went through every day being followed and harassed everywhere.
Water drops rhythmically fell down on the floor as she climbed the stairs where at the end she got blessed by the vision of an ethereal Emma, still in her pyjamas holding a cup of coffee in her left hand as she leaned on the door.
"Bianca, you're dripping!" The actress exclaimed, rushing towards the younger girl, "you're gonna get sick."
Bianca shrugged, honestly not caring about anything at the moment but knowing the truth. If that meant that she would have a high fever the next day, then that would be it. "Good moring to you too, Em." Bianca retorically said.
"Good morning, sweetheart," the older girl softly smiled, "but now you better enter and give me this soaked coat. You must be freezing." She dragged Bianca inside and wrapped her into a warm white blanket while her coat stayed on the radiator to get dry. "Bianca, what happened to your wrist?" She asked, concerned.
This was the right moment to finally start the conversation they should have had back seven years ago. Even because now Tom wasn't at home, it was just the two of them.
Bianca let out a giggled, "Oh, this was a collateral effect of my little chat with Willam."
The actress' eyes widened so much that Bianca thought that they were going to fall down. "If that's a joke, it's not funny," she replied between gritted teeth.
"I wish it was a joke, Em, believe me, but it's not," Bianca summed up their conversation, leaving Emma out of words as she was trying to keep a grip on herself not to crush William's head for even placing a single finger on Bianca. She didn't deserve any of this. "And that brings me to the reason why I needed to talk to you," the younger girl affirmed, serious. Emma already knew what was going to come out of Bianca's mouth, but she wasn't prepared to spill everything. Reminiscing those awful memories hurt her in an unexplainable way.
"He wasn't even able to understand that it was all fake," Bianca reflected, "he just... ugh, nothing," she sighed, playing with her ring to ease the nervousness she was feeling now that she was a few minutes away from knowing the truth. "I wanna know, Emma," she locked her eyes with the actress', "I want you to be honest with me and tell me why that night you left me. And don't give me the excuse of your career cause I don't buy it. Tell me in honour of what we were, Em."
Emma took a deep, shaky breath, swallowing harshly as she collected her thoughts before speaking. "Since I saw you again, I always knew that this moment was going to arrive, but I didn't think it would be so soon."
"It's thanks to my brilliant tutor if I'm this smart," Bianca joked to ease the unbearable tension that was building up.
The actress offered her a timid smile, brushing their fingers together. "Well, you'll surely know that Willam had always been obsessed with you," she started, making Bianca frown. "Oh, come on, don't tell me you have never noticed how he looked at you."
The younger girl slightly shook her head, clueless. "I guess I didn't pay attention to anyone who wasn't you, so I didn't really notice it."
"I was jealous of him, don't you remember?"
Bianca grinned, "you were jealous of any alive person who got close to me," she pointed out, making Emma flush.
"Of course I was," the actress defended herself, "I couldn't tell anyone about us, but I wouldn't let anyone hit on my beautiful girlfriend without doing something."
Bianca felt butterflies erupt in her stomach when Emma referred to her as her girlfriend. Oh, what she would do to be hers again...
"Anyway, as I was saying, Willam couldn't bear the thought of you rejecting him, much less seeing you with somebody else," the older girl resumed to talk. "He had once caught us kissing in the library few months before we broke up, and he had started to threaten me." Bianca stared at Emma with shock written all over her face, definitely not expecting to hear this.
"He kept saying that he would hurt you rather than seeing you with somebody who wasn't him and that I shouldn't have told you anything if I loved you," Emma said, becoming emotional, "and God only knows how much I love you, Bianca. Therefore, I didn't really have a choice. I would have thrown myself into a fire to keep you safe, even if that meant that I was never gonna see you again." Emma maintained eye contact with Bianca, whose eyes were progressively becoming glossy.
"It has always been him, Bia. He had modified the photo that made us fight. He told the media our story and revealed your name. He has done anything to do us part for the past seven years," the actress admitted.
"B-but we could have handled it together," Bianca protested, "we faced everything together. Why not this? Why didn't you tell the police?"
Emma tenderly caressed the bandage on the younger girl's wrist, feeling guilty for not having been able to make sure that Willam stayed away from Bianca. "It was bigger than us, honey. We were just two young girls in love, and I didn't have any proof to accuse him. The only thing that was in my power was keeping you safe, and to do so, I had to leave you. But it seems that I failed even at doing that..." she lowered her gaze, ashamed.
Bianca laughed in disbelief, not being able to wrap her mind about the fact that Emma told anyone but her. "How could you do that? I was the only one who didn't know when I should have been the one you came to as soon as he said those things!" She was letting out all the anger that had lived inside her for all this time, distancing herself from the actress.
The older girl tried her best not to cry, feeling her heart falling apart as Bianca spoke. "I just wanted to protect you. I never meant to hurt you, Bia..." she whispered with a trembling voice.
"But you did," Bianca coldly replied, abruptly standing up to put on her coat. She had already listened too much. "The pain you caused me was far, far worse than anything Willam could have ever done. You were my whole world, Emma! And you broke my heart without even being brave enough to tell me the truth..."
Emma absorbed everything that Bianca blurted out without emitting a single sound. She just wished she could travel into time to fix the things she had messed up, but obviously, she couldn't.
"I'm so sorry, Bia... but there's something more you need to know..."
"I'm tired of hearing these bullshits, Emma. I'm only sorry that you didn't trust me enough to tell me how things really were."
They stared into each other's eyes for what it seemed an eternity, desperately trying to communicate what they couldn't put up in words: all the pain, the sadness, the love they felt for the other; but in reality it lasted just a couple of seconds cause just when Bianca had placed her hand on the door handle and slightly turned it down, Tom bursted into the apartment, smiling like an idiot.
"Oh, Bianca, it's nice to see you there," he greeted her, "I suppose Emma wanted to tell you first the big news."
"W-what news?" She asked, confused, altering her gaze from Emma to the boy.
The actress stared down, unable to look at her, biting her cheeks. So it was Tom who spoke. "We're engaged!" He beamed, "I just went to make widen the ring a little bit to make it fit on Emma's finger." He said, showing it to her before sliding it back on Emma's left index finger.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
Bianca felt like she had just been shot in the chest multiple times. She wanted to scream and cry, but nothing came out of her mouth. It seemed that she had lost her word as she tried so hard not to break down in front of them.
She didn't think that existed a worse pain than the one she felt when Emma left her, but there was, and it broke her into pieces another time. Seeing the love of her life getting married with someone else is something that made her arrive at her rock bottom.
Everything ached. Her heart, her body, her soul, her ring... everything was burning.... it all fell down...
There wasn't hope anymore. They were done forever this time. There was no turning back. She just had to accept that she had already had her time with Emma, but now it was over.
After all, maybe Emma neither ever loved her. Maybe it was all a lie...
She had to swallow a sob before she could respond with her best fake smile. "That's... amazing, guys. I'm really happy for you."
Tom smiled brightly, gently squeezing Emma's side, "I know," he chuckled, "I still can't believe it. I don't know what I did to deserve her."
Yeah, those were the same words she had said when the actress gave her the promise ring.
In her mind, she almost heard the older girl saying: "Failing English literature." Which made her lips curl up into a melancholy smile.
At least he knew that he should have considered himself the luckiest man alive to have the privilege to marry Emma Watson.
"Well, now guys, I really have to go. Florence must be wondering where I have been," she managed to say somehow.
"Do you need a lift home?" Emma had the gut to ask, finally locking their eyes, which were anything but joyful. Strange. "It's raining cats and dogs." Bianca would have dared to say that Emma didn't want to be engaged to Tom, but it seemed that she didn't know her anymore.
"Don't worry, I'll call a cab," Bianca shut the actress proposition, greeting the couple once more before finally getting out of that suffocating room.
Francis was wrong too. They weren't meant to be, and no one could ever do anything about that.
********
It had been exactly a month since Emma and Bianca last saw each other. The younger girl couldn't bear the thought of being in her presence without having to cry all her tears. So she kept a security distance from her, but it still hurt. Anything remained her of Emma. Even writing remained her of the actress' neatly handwriting and the letters she had written for her.
Also, Doctor Sloan kicked William off the clinic as soon as he saw what he had done to Bianca, so now she and Florence worked together again. Everything had come back to normal eventually.
"I missed being your assistant," Florence smiled softly as they exited the clinic together.
"I missed it too, Flo. It wasn't the same without you," Bianca replied, with a forced smile. Not that she wasn't on cloud nine that she had her best friend back with her at work, but it seemed that her true, bright smile had disappeared. Life had made her understand that she was destined to love a woman who was going to marry another person. And despite everything, Bianca's heart still beats faster whenever she hears her name or when she watches her photos on Instagram.
Because, even in hundreds of years, Emma's name would be tattooed on her heart, and nothing could ever change it.
Her mother was right after all. Not always our person is the one we end up with, but that doesn't mean they weren't the one for us. And that perfectly fitted her and Emma's case. They were never gonna be together again, but they were each other's person.
"Do you think Dan would like to have me as a girlfriend for tonight?" Florence asked, regarding the fact that Bianca had refused to go with him at the Bafta Awards in order not to see Emma.
The younger girl giggled, shaking her head amused. "You can always ask him, but I don't think that transforming yourself in me would be pleasant."
"I wouldn't just because that would mean that I would be shorter than a vigorsol," the taller girl mocked her.
"Ahaha, very funny Flo," Bianca sarcastically laughed, "but at least I got the courage to face Emma," she observed, "you can't seem to be able to tell Lorenzo that you love him."
But Florence's cheeks immediately painted pink, making Bianca's jaw fall down. "OH, MY GOD!" She shouted, "when did it happen?"
"A week ago, actually. I was leaving the clinic while you were talking with Sloan, and I found him outside with a bunch of roses while he was holding a poster where there was written: I'm sorry it took me more than ten years to understand that I don't want you to be my little sister but my girlfriend. Will you go on a date with me?" She told Bianca with dreamy eyes.
"That's super cute, Flo," she said, glad that they finally became a couple, "but why didn't you tell me anything?"
"How could I overwhelm you with my new love story when you're suffering for Emma?" The brunette questioned back.
"I'm f-"
"There is no reason to tell me that you're doing fine, Bia, cause I know you're not," Florence calmy replied, tenderly caressing Bianca's arm, "I might not be able to fully understand what you are going through since I luckily never had seen the person I love more than myself be engaged to someone else, but I know that you're not okay." She softly looked at Bianca, grabbing her hand to make her feel less alone. "I hear you crying at night, Bia, or waking up after a nightmare screaming Emma's name... but mostly, I see the pain you have in your eyes. They talk more than you do sometimes, I've always told you that."
Bianca lowered her gaze, fidgeting with her hands, embarrassed. She hoped that Florence hadn't noticed those things.
"I-I suppose I didn't want to burden you with my problems. You have already put up with me for too long when I was younger," Bianca muttered, ashamed, "I didn't want you to surround you again. You deserve not to think about my sad ass, especially not now that you have a relationship."
Florence's expression softened, bringing Bianca into a comforting hug. "Did I ever tell you that I see you as my sister?"
Bianca nodded weakly.
"Then can you please tell me why would I want to abandon you when you need me the most? Bia, friendship is not just for when you wanna have fun; friends will support you through everything, rejoicing with you when you're happy and helping you when you are suffering."
Florence's words made her finally let out all the pain she had kept inside for all this time, bursting out crying on her shoulder as the brunette held her tight, soothingly whispering in her ear that everything was gonna be okay. "We're gonna get through this together, Bia, as we always did. I promise."
********
"Won't you ever try a different pizza other than the Margherita?" Florence asked Bianca as they comfortably sat in the living room to watch the Bafta.
"Will you ever stop eating a different one each time we order them?" Bianca questioned back, giggling.
"Touché."
They laughed, not focused on the screen, but when Dan, Emma, and Rupert made their entrance, Bianca thought she was going to have a heart attack. They all looked stunning, but obviously, her attention had been instantly caught by the actress who was glowing in her white dress. Seeing the older girl almost made her choke on her bite for how much she was attractive. Tom was a lucky man...
They were representing the Harry Potter cast, presenting the best leading actress in a sci-fi/ fantasy film.
When Bianca saw Emma on the stage, her first and only thought was, 'break a leg, Em. I love you.'
What she didn't know, though, was that in the actress's mind, it kept reaping: 'I love you, sweetheart. I hope you like the dress. I wore it for you.'
Until now, Bianca had believed that Tom was winning ten to zero, but perhaps after tonight, things were gonna be different...
********
A/N: Emma's dress is the one from Noah's London premiere.
When will they get together?
We will have more explanation on Emma and Tom's relationship in the next chapter...
Also, what trope would you like to see into an hypothetical Hermione story?