CHAPTER TWO,
A LITTLE RUST.
THE NEXT TIME Verona sees Tom again (not that she's keeping track... because that'd be weird, right?) was during dinner time.
The Great Hall, as always, is bathed in shades of royal gold that's brighter than even she is. Even surrounded by her friends at the table designated for Ravenclaws like her, she's still ever so poised and elegant. Sitting up straight and dainty little bites, she's acting as though her mother will be around to judge her. Sit up, darling, and don't eat like such a slob! You're a Lancaster - you should be the perfect example to everyone. Her parents continue to linger around her even after they're long, the girl often feeling their judgmental gazes burning large holes into her porcelain skin.
It's almost as though they're hiding in the shadows still, judging her very mood.
Verona's determined to push all the negative thoughts out of her mind. She's the happy girl, remember? Positivity is practically her middle name. Forever smiling, the golden blonde listens intently to all of her friends' conversations. Juniper Donnelly ultimately drives most of the conversation, droning on and on once again about how she spent her entire summer partying on fancy boats and wearing nice dresses that cost lots (often adding smugly how her family's so loaded they'll most likely be doing the same thing next summer but in the Bahamas - big deal). Occasionally, Susan Samuels steals the show from time to time with the exciting story of how she turned snobby ol' Robert Charles into a rat during Transfiguration.
Verona just sits there and listens, occasionally smiling and giggling from time to time. She doesn't have a whole lot of exciting stories to share. She never does. Verona mostly just lives vicariously through her more adventurous peers, biding her time until she gets the courage to do something new.
But when will that courage arrive? For once, Verona wishes she knew the answer to that.
Ever so often, the girl drifts out of the various conversations going on around her - all of them suddenly become nothing more than blurred noise in the background. Verona rests her head in her hands as she glances around, noticing everyone looking more happy than she truly feels. Verona feels one emotion entirely more than false happiness - it's a burning envy that oftentimes swallows her whole. The girl feels as green as the flags hanging above the Slytherin table which is ironically where her gaze falls down upon next.
She quickly scans the long table before her search is over abruptly. There seated at the table is Tom Riddle himself, surrounded by a group of boys all around his age. He's talking avidly about something (Verona can't figure out what, she unfortunately can't read lips or minds very well) and although she doesn't know about what, his words seem powerful enough to have them all hooked and hanging on his very word. Verona herself finds her entranced with the Slytherin head boy once more, now studying him as he continues to talk.
Her gaze trails up his chin, lips, nose... before taking a moment longer to analyze his eyes. They're alight with an almost devious fire that Verona's never seen before. The look is paired with an equally cunning smirk that compliments his features well. Verona has yet to realize that she's slouched down and staring at him until he finally acknowledges her presence. Instantly, the blonde sits up straighter as he smirks over at her. She quickly looks down at the bowl of soup in front of her, finding it now ten times more interesting.
"Are you alright, Vee?" Juniper asks, noticing the blonde now as red as a tomato, "Is something wrong? You've been quiet all this time."
Glad you finally noticed. She wants to say it but she bites her tongue for the millionth time. "I'm fine, just a little tired," is all she says instead. She's lost track over how many times she's said those two words. I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm -. Verona figured that if she said it so many times, it'd finally sink in. That's yet to happen though. Every time she says it, she just feels worse.
"Sorry to hear that. You know... if you're not gonna finish off that bread, I'd be happy to help," Susan replies and with a nod, Verona hands her over the remains of her food. The girl's not nearly that hungry anyways.
This time, the girl feels someone looking over at her and she glances up to see that it's Tom.
"What are you looking at?" Juniper inquired curiously, following Verona's gaze. She then grins once she realizes what (or who) the girl's looking at before focusing her attention back on Verona. "I see. You have a crush on Riddle, huh?"
"What?" Verona chokes out, "That's absolutely preposterous."
"Mm-hmm. It's perfectly fine to fancy him. He's cute and all with cheekbones to die for. It's just too bad that he has the personality of a brick. No one should ever be that serious all the time," Juniper shrugs.
"You two have the worst taste in guys," Susan remarked, mouth full of bread, as she shook her head.
"You're just saying that because you like girls," Juniper teases, although her tone's quiet enough for only the trio to hear.
Susan's not bothered by it - mostly because Juniper's words are true. Unfortunately, not everyone is nearly as accepting to the idea of a girl kissing another girl as they were. You'd think with all of the bigger problems going on in the world, people wouldn't care so much. "That doesn't make what I said any less true."
"I don't fancy Riddle and I never will," Verona argues, eager on shutting them both down and moving on.
Juniper's not eager to just yet. "Well, you've got to fancy someone sometime. You're a pretty girl, Vee. Pretty enough for some guy to notice you one of these days. What are you gonna do when a guy asks you out - cower away and hide in the library?"
"That's an excellent idea, you should definitely do that. I've had to use the invisibility cloak a couple times whenever any boys attempted to even come near me," Susan cuts in, pushing up her glasses further up the bridge of her nose.
"No boy is ever going to ask me out. School work's more important than boys anyhow," Verona simply states, coming to grips with the fact that she's not nearly as pretty as Juniper or as daring as Susan. She's just boring Verona Lancaster.
"Oh, Verona... When are you gonna learn that all work and no play makes you a very dull girl?" Juniper remarked with a dramatic sigh, onyx colored curls framing her face beautifully. She looks like a painting, the very picture of elegance and grace.
Verona lets out a playful huff, shaking her head as she looks away from her. Thankfully, the conversation manages to move on after that. But Verona's mind is still swarmed with thoughts of Tom. She's not sure why she's thinking about him so much all of a sudden but she can't seem to stop now. What if Verona does have a little crush towards the head boy after all?
Merlin help her now.
BY THE TIME that the following morning arrives, there's an owl at her window with a new letter. She instantly knows who it's from and it's enough to make her suddenly become overwhelmed with dread. The letters weren't that bad most of the time, just merely reminders for her to do good and checking on her progress. She sits down in bed as she rips it open neatly, unfolding the letter written in careful and precise handwriting.
Blue eyes quickly scan the letter before her, speeding through the letter that's obviously written by her father. Not only could she tell by the writing but it's the words used. Verona's known the man long enough to know how he operated. But the grogginess she feels disappears as she continues to read on, learning the more serious note behind the nature of her letter.
Her grandmother's passed away during the night, old age finally creeping on her. Verona's pleased to know that she died peacefully in her sleep. The woman deserved that much. Verona loved the woman very much, loving her more than both of her parents combined. She let Verona get away with a lot, sheltering her from the brunt of her parents' harsh words and critiques. So naturally, the blonde had held a special place for her in her heart.
But now with her gone, she wouldn't be safe anymore. The only real protector in her life was now gone and no one could shield Verona from her parents' unbridled mood swings and anger. Verona can't help the quiet sob that erupts from her throat, blinking away tears and wiping away the stray ones that roll down her cheek. Verona's obviously devastated by the news, even more so when she learns that she can't go to the funeral. It's on a school day and so Verona couldn't simply leave. Anger consumes the sorrow that had once been there, the girl throwing the note down onto the ground. They both knew that she loved her grandmother and it was like a slap to the face not being able to go. They cared more about Verona maintaining her perfect grades rather than letting her grieve properly for the only actual maternal figure in her life.
Verona knows, however, that she can't argue against it. She can't fight against them. Once they said something, that was it. And judging from the strained relationship her mother and grandmother had, Verona doubted that she'd be going to the funeral either. Once again, Verona had to be the golden girl and act as though she was fine. She had to just move on in the matter of a day and still maintain her perfect little world. It's just one loss, you'll get over it. Act happy, act perfect. Be golden.
The thing is, this golden girl's beginning to grow a little rust on her.