The next morning, Grace tried her best to keep to herself. At breakfast, she remained at the Gryffindor table, not even glancing up from her plate, hoping this action would lessen the chance of Ryan beckoning her to the Slytherin table.
She wasn't sure how she could face him. Every time she would be looking into his eyes she'd be reminded of what he had done.
Once she finished picking at her food, she stood up, keeping her eyes on the floor as she hurried to exit the Great Hall. Striding down the corridor, an elbow bumped her arm as someone matched her pace to walk with her. Grace peered out of the corner of her eye, attempting to catch a glimpse of who it was.
"Can we talk?" The voice pleaded, sounding rather rushed and urgent.
"I don't want to talk to you, Noah."
"Grace, we need to talk about what happened yest-"
"No! We don't!"
A few heads turned as students walked by Grace and Noah bickering down the corridor, but no one listened intently, too focused on their own lives on the sunny, Sunday morning.
"Grace, give me a chance to explain. Ryan and I aren't that close. What you saw-"
"What I saw was you cheering on a boy who was spewing pathetic lies just for the benefit of his own reputation."
Noah sighed, clearly exhausted by the current conversation. He briefly brought his fingers up to massage his temples before setting his arms down by his sides once more.
"Yeah? And what I'm seeing now is a girl who is so fucking scared of letting someone in that she can't even let that person speak to her," Noah finished, stepping in front of Grace so that she would stop walking.
Grace flickered her eyes up to meet his. He was right. She should hear him out.
"Fine. If you want to talk, then talk. But not here." She broke their eye contact before adding, "Follow me."
She stepped around Noah, continuing a few more yards before opening the door to an empty classroom, anxiously waiting for the boy to enter before shutting the door.
Grace sat on a desk, crossing one leg over the other as she leaned back slightly, her hands resting behind her. When he didn't say anything, she raised an eyebrow, impatiently asking, "Well?"
He jumped right in.
"You're afraid of someone finding out what he does to you because he'll hurt you, or even them, right?" he asked rhetorically, seeming to think out loud as he prepared to continue to his next point.
"What does that have to do with-"
"I thought you were going to let me speak."
Grace bit her lip, holding back the words that were creeping up her throat.
Noah continued, "You have to give me some credit. I pieced it together pretty quickly. And knowing that, you should be able to understand that I'm smart enough to know I have to pick and choose the battles I throw myself into."
Grace pinched her brows together, utterly confused. Noah, however, still carried on.
"You're mad because you saw me at breakfast cheering on Ryan with the other boys..." he trailed off, his eyes strongly gazing at Grace, making her shift in her place. "But what would have happened if I didn't? What would have happened if I sat there and just stared at you instead? What would have happened if I confronted him in your defense?"
Grace took a silent, deep breath, not saying a word.
"You said he would kill you if someone found out. I know what he's like, Grace. I know what he's capable of. Merlin, if he was anybody else I'd have beaten the shit out of him by now." Noah paused, his stare so intense it stopped her heart. "But we know he's violent. We know he's cruel. I faked that applause because I had to. I had to play the part. You're right, Grace. The second he suspects something..."
Grace's gaze matched Noah's in magnitude, a fire inside of her set ablaze by anger and fear. She completed the sentence for him, finishing, "...all hell breaks loose."