Newt had ducked his head the moment Tolliver had entered the room. He had avoided looking at everyone as the argument started. Tolliver had stormed out and Tina had followed a moment later. The room had been left in silence. Tina reappeared a few moments, storming through the room and down into the basement. After a pause, Nagini set her cup in the sink and followed after her, leaving Jacob and Newt behind.
"What happened?" Jacob finally asked.
"Tolliver thinks Tina cheated on him," Newt mumbled. "He--"
"Where did he get that idea from?" Jacob asked.
Newt blushed. "He -- he must have seen what happened last night. I suppose I was yelling at Tina for trying to leave. I'm surprised you and Nagini didn't wake up."
"Well, what happened?"
Newt groaned. "I was crying. Tina was crying because I was crying. I felt so bad for making her cry. She was so beautiful. I couldn't help myself."
"What are you saying?" Jacob asked.
"I kissed her," Newt admitted. "I kissed Tina and she kissed me back. I shouldn't have and now I've made things even more confusing for her. She's already going through so much and this kiss just adds another thing for her to worry about, especially since Tolliver saw."
"Well?" Jacob said.
Newt glanced up at his friend. He was looking at him intently.
"Well what?" he demanded.
"Well, how was it?"
Newt's blush intensified. "I've never kissed anyone before," he mumbled. "I don't have anything to compare it to."
"You don't have to compare it to anything, Jacob said. "Just tell me what you thought of it."
"It was amazing," he admitted. "I've never experienced anything even comes close to how that kiss felt. I --" Newt groaned and ran his hands over his face. "What's gotten into me?"
Jacob chuckled. "You're in love, buddy. You're in love."
"What am I supposed to do?" he moaned.
"Go talk to her," Jacob suggested. "Find out what she's thinking; how she's feeling."
"Jacob."
"Newt, I'm serious. Just go. She needs you."
Newt shook his head. "I -- I've got to go out."
Before Jacob could protest, Newt had left the room and grabbed his coat off the hook on the wall. He pulled it on and yanked the door open. Leaving the house, he closed the door and Disapparated. He appeared in another part of London.
He wandered through the streets for hours, going in and out of different shops but never buying anything. He was trying not to think about Tina, but she was the only thing on his mind.
She's so beautiful. And kissing her . . . it was wonderful. Her lips were so soft. . . . It was wonderful.
These and many other thoughts swirled through his mind. Eventually, his hunger got the better of him. He ducked into a nearby restaurant and ordered something to eat. He ate slowly, trying to kill time. When he was done, he paid for his food and left. He ducked into an alley and Disapparated, appearing in Diagon Alley. He was already out of the house so he figured he might as well pick up a few things.
He stepped into the apothecary and purchased a few potion supplies. He slipped the package into his pocket and left the building. It was getting dark. As he walked down the street, he thought he recognized someone coming towards him. It was Tolliver.
Before Newt could react, Tolliver had reached him. He grabbed him roughly by the arm and Disapparated. They appeared in a dimly lit alley.
The moment their feet were firmly on the ground, Newt felt Tolliver's fist come in contact with his nose. He heard the crunch of his nose breaking and felt blood streaming down his face. He staggered backward, instinctively bringing his hand up to cover his nose. Tolliver grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him closer.
"Listen here, Scamander," he growled. "How dare you kiss Tina? She is mine. If you touch her again, you will pay." He punched Newt in the stomach. Newt doubled over but still didn't say anything. "You hear me? Keep away from her. If you lay another finger on her I will kill you. Are we clear?"
Something inside Newt snapped. Tolliver had just proven himself to be a violent man and every part of Newt needed to protect Tina. He straightened up to his full height, proving that he was, in fact, taller than Tolliver was. He kept his head bowed, not looking Tolliver in the face, as he spoke, his voice low and even, but it had a slightly menacing edge to it.
"Now you listen to me, Tolliver. First of all, you need to remember just whose house you're currently staying in and as long as you're living in my house, you'd better be careful what you say to me. Secondly, I know I shouldn't have kissed Tina and I won't do it again, but I want us to get one thing clear. I know Tina isn't mine, I know she chose you, but I still care deeply for her and if you do anything to hurt her, anything at all, you will answer to me. Are we clear?"
He stared down at Tolliver. The man took a step back, a flash of fear passing through his eyes.
"Are we clear?" he repeated slowly.
Tolliver nodded once. Then he Disapparated. Newt's shoulders slumped and he raised his hand up to his nose. His face was covered in blood. Sighing, he pulled out his wand.
"Episkey," he murmured. His nose suddenly felt very hot, then very cold. He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the blood off his face. He glanced down at the formerly white cloth. It was stained a dark red. Sighing, he slipped it back into his pocket and Disapparated.
Newt appeared on the top step of his house. He pushed the door opened stepped inside. Pulling off his coat, he hung it on the hook and started through the living room. Tina was sitting on the couch, a book lying open in her lap. She scrambled to her feet as he entered to room. He ducked his head and darted across the room. He wanted to talk to her but he remembered his promise to Tolliver. Talking to Tina wouldn't be breaking his promise but Newt suspected that, if he spoke to her, if he looked at her, he wouldn't be able to keep herself from kissing her again.
"Newt, wait," Tina called.
Newt stopped halfway up the stairs. Tina climbed up to him. She gasped softly.
"There's blood on your clothes," she said quietly, pointing to his shirt.
Newt glanced down. Sure enough, there were a few red stains on his white shirt.
"And on your face too," she continued.
Newt pulled out his handkerchief, having forgotten it was already covered in blood, and began to wipe his face. Tina gasped again.
"What happened?"
"I -- It was . . . One of my--"
"Don't try to tell me the blood is from one of your creatures," Tina interrupted. "You've been out of the house all day. That's your blood. What happened?"
Newt glanced up at her but he had to look away quickly. She was so beautiful and concern was etched into every part of her face.
"Nothing," he mumbled. "It was nothing." He gently pushed past her and made his way to his room, leaving her standing alone on the stairs.
A/N: I probably forgot something in this chapter. Oh, well. I hope you enjoyed . . . but I doubt you did. Please vote and comment anyway.
I've got a pretty bad headache right now and I'd like to be in bed. I've also got this issue where my laptop doesn't have internet after 10:30 from Sunday night through Thursday night. Friday and Saturday night's it works until 11:00. It's not a problem with my laptop, it has something to do with the Wi-Fi I use. I know what's wrong but it's not something I can fix and the person who set it up isn't here anymore so I've just got to live with it. Anyway, my point is that it's after 10:30 now and I'm having to Hotspot my laptop from my phone just to finish this chapter. I don't know how much data I've got left on my phone so you're welcome.
This is completely random but, at the beginning of the last chapter, I had Tina say "Mercy Lewis" which is something she says in the first movie. I'm sure we all know that but I was wondering how many of you actually know where that comes from. (And don't look it up and claim you knew because that's cheating.) I learned it's origin about a year after seeing the movie and I didn't learn it from looking up the phrase, I learned it in my Junior English class. We were studying American literature. (That's a hint that might only help you if you already know its origin.) Anyway, I don't know why I'm still talking. I need to go to bed.
Have a good day!
Bye!