Lucas Jade Zumann as Max Gaston
"Do I have to go?"
"Of course."
"I don't even know these people!"
"Watch your tongue, child."
"Please, Nan-."
"I've made up my mind, Brielle!"
Belle, in true teenage fashion, rolled her eyes and stomped up the stairs to her room in a fit of disappointing annoyance. Her grandparents, who apparently had too much spare time on their hands, had reconnected with a few of their old friends from school and now expected Belle to become friends with their son over dinner. Normally, Belle would've been open to making new friends, but once she heard the name of said family she instantly grew upset with the idea.
Out of all the families in Britain, it just had to be the Gastons.
It had been a month since she had seen Max Gaston, but the awkward tension between them still stood strong. She couldn't figure out why he acted so strange and if he would act differently now that he knew their families were friends. Maybe he would act exactly the same. Either way, Belle preferably did not want to see him in any condition.
Her summer had been going splendidly; she had managed to complete her summer assignments early and had even begun to play the piano. Though her friends had all lost touch the past two weeks, she knew it was mostly due to the paranoia of their parents regarding You-Know-Who.
"Belle, they're here!"
She let out a very long sigh, trying to put on a happy face for the time being. She could survive a couple hours around the Gaston family, right? After waiting outside the lounge room for a couple minutes, she entered. She first saw Gaston, looking a lot older than when she last saw him. He now stood inches above Belle and resembled a lanky teenage boy more than a child. Next to him was presumably his father and grandparents. He looked almost identical to his father, and his grandparents had the touch of french in their appearances just like her own grandparents.
"Ahh is this Brielle? She looks much like her mother!" Gaston's grandmother had a thick french accent which flowed melodically off of her tongue.
"Yes, yes this is Brielle. A beauty, isn't she?"
Gaston, who had moved closer to Belle, whispered a faint "Quite," before turning and winking at her. A shiver went down her spine as she moved her eyes away from the boy and towards her grandmother. She made sure not to look at Gaston again until dinner, when she unfortunately was placed directly next to him. Gaston did not bother trying to talk to her until both their families were deep into a conversation about mountain trolls.
"Nice to see you again, Belle."
"You as well..."
"Seems our families are very close."
"Indeed."
"Maybe we'll get a little closer as well?"
Belle turned her head sharply, looking the boy directly in the eyes. "Why would I want to get closer to you?"
"I don't think you'll have a choice, honestly."
She scoffed, "What, are you going to force me or something?"
"Me? No," He chuckled, "your grandparents, yes."
"I still don't understand."
"You will."
She hesitantly turned back to sipping her cold soup. Everything about Gaston confused her. He was an intriguing person, a mystery. But there was something about him that infuriated her, something that defined him as a person, and Belle was just starting to figure out what that was.
"Well you two seemed to have gotten close," Gaston's grandmother, Jeanette, grinned. Neither Belle or Gaston spoke but that didn't stop the woman. "You know, Nancy, times are getting tough out there and with You-Know-Who on the rise...we really should consider our grandchildren's future-don't you agree John?"
John was Gaston's father.
"Of course," he replied."It's important that both of our family lines make it through this."
"I think," Devin interrupted gruffly, "we should talk about this after dinner."
The adults glanced at the children before them; one was confused and one was worryingly neutral.
"Of course, of course." John nodded. The rest of the dinner was strangely tense, for everyone. Belle finished her soup without speaking, trying to ignore Gaston's stare. After the dishes were vanished and a quick round of desert was served and eaten, both Belle and Gaston were sent to Belle's family room. She was reminded of James and Sirius arriving here and her admitting to James that she liked Sirius.
"What is it?" Gaston asked suddenly, breaking her from her trance.
"What do you mean?"
"You're smiling."
Belle was indeed smiling as she thought of the memory. "Just thinking of something," She waved off, "What were they talking about in there?"
"Our grandparents?" She nodded. "Oh, they want us to marry each other, obviously. "
If Belle had been drinking water she would've definitely spit it out. To marry Gaston was something she would never do, no matter what. If her grandparents did try to arrange a marriage for her she would surely leave.
"W-What--"
"Yes, it can be shocking but you should understand where they're coming from. Pure-bloods are loosing their numbers now, soon everyone will be a half-blood. Making sure we marry will strengthen our family lines."
"I'm not marrying you, Gaston."
"I know, we're too young now. But times are changing, Belle-in three years it might seem much more...advantageous."
"Why would anyone want to marry you?" She scoffed.
"That's very rude. Do you even know me, Belle?"
Belle opened her mouth to say something, but was left speechless yet again by Gaston. He was right; she knew absolutely nothing about him and he has been nothing but nice. She was judging him for nothing. She was becoming a biased Gryffindor, if she hadn't been one already.
"Go on a date with me, Brielle, and I promise you'll change your mind." He offered, staring into her soul with his nearly black eyes.
"I'm taking a break from dating-so no."
"I'll wait for you."
"Don't."
"Gaston! We're leaving now!"
The boy glanced at the door-frame before moving closer to Belle and planting a soft kiss on her cheek. Belle, frozen by his movements, couldn't breathe until Gaston left the foyer. It was after she heard the sound of farewells and the shutting of a door that she bolted up to her room, hoping that what Gaston said wasn't true. Her grandparents wouldn't just force a marriage on her...unless they were pushed to do so by Gaston's grandparents. She moved her hand up to her cheek, directly where Gaston had kissed it, and sighed. She didn't understand why she felt so frozen whenever he got inches close to her. He will forever confuse her.
Belle jumped when the screeching of an owl flooded through her room. It fluttered in, circled her room twice, and landed on her outstretched arm, dropping the letter in its beak onto her lap. She watched the bird fly out of the room and into the night in seconds, the only evidence it was ever there was the letter now in her hand. She turned over the envelope and spotted familiar pretty handwriting.
A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter! Next chapter will maybe be short too?? but when they start school again should be longer! Thank guys!
-Hannah