Chapter 2
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, I truly appreciate it as always! You guys rock! And I would address people individually if it weren't for the fact that I'm in Colorado and can't get to my ff.net page at the moment ;)
Anyways, happy reading!
And Ryoko, thanks a bunch for helping me ;)
"So then I went upstairs and went to bed…but I could not sleep a wink." Caitlyn finished telling her friend Lana about the evening before.
"You made out with him?" Lana's blue eyes were bright.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "For a little while." She said, pushing open the doors to the castle. The girls both squinted at the bright sunlight, getting used to it after a few seconds.
"Do you know how lucky you are?" Lana asked, a tad envious. "I mean, almost every girl in this school would give their wands up just to kiss Blue Weasley for a moment, and you 'made out with him for a little while'."
"It's just not like that with us, though." Caitlyn said as they strode across the lawn to where their fellow classmates awaited their parents' arrival. "He's been my best friend for seven years, he's seen me at my worst and I've seen him at his. If we dated and broke up, we could never go back to being friends…." She trailed off as she caught sight of Blue through the crowd. "I'll be right back." Caitlyn said, leaving Lana behind in the crowd. She was glad to be rid of her for now; Lana obviously didn't understand her situation. It was sometimes hard being friends with girls who regarded her male best friend in a romantic sense.
"Hey." She said, coming up behind him and tapping him on the shoulder. "I looked for you at breakfast."
"I wasn't hungry." He replied, looking directly at her. "I came out here earlier to think."
Caitlyn bit her lip. "Blue, look…I'm really sorry…" she began.
"Look its okay." He finally smiled at her, although it lacked the usual warmth. "Friends, right?"
She nodded after a moment. "Right."
At that moment, a familiar whistle resonated through the air and the scarlet steam engine was seen pulling into the train station in the distance.
"Well they'll be up here in about 5 minutes, no more freedom for us." Blue said, watching as people started to depart.
"What are you talking about?" Caitlyn asked. "We can do magic anywhere after today, and we can get jobs and live on our own."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Blue said. He looked down at her as she turned her head to watch everyone start to arrive. He couldn't help but watch as the bright sunlight shone on her hair, making it gleam. She already had on her scarlet graduation robe, he wore the gold.
Caitlyn noticed Blue staring at her but decided not to draw attention to it. Another silence stretched between them, however this was not the comfortable one they usually shared. They were saved from making more awkward conversation by the arrival of their parents.
"Dad! Mum!" Caitlyn cried, throwing herself into her father's arms.
"Caty Cat, we're so proud of you!" Harry exclaimed, hugging his daughter tightly.
"Thanks Dad." She said, pulling away. Caitlyn turned towards her mother.
"Hello sweetie." Hermione said, pulling her daughter into her embrace. She pulled back and looked at her. "What's the matter you look a bit troubled."
"Oh…well…it's a long story…" Caitlyn said, giving a sideways glance at Blue who was in the process of being smothered in a hug by Lavender. "Maybe we could go talk about it in a bit?" she looked hopefully at Hermione.
"Of course." Hermione said, patting her daughter's arm. Caitlyn smiled, feeling better at the prospect of her mother helping her sort her thoughts out. "How have you been feeling?"
"Pretty good, for the most part." Hermione answered. "Your father isn't much of a help though." She cast a glare in Harry's direction.
"Why what did he do now?" Caitlyn asked, all too familiar with her father's way of sticking his foot in his mouth around her pregnant mother.
"Oh, just his little comments about how big I am." Hermione said. "As if it's my fault I'm having twins!"
Caitlyn shook her head playfully at her father, who shrugged helplessly. "Dad, you should know better by now." She said, tapping him on the arm.
"Your mother forgets to mention how many times these past few months I've had to run out in the middle of the night for things like sardines mixed with strawberry ice cream, and then SIT in the room while she eats it?" Harry grimaced. Caitlyn turned back to her mother.
"You ate that? Ew!" she said.
"Oh, and the time she wanted a grape jelly sandwich on rye bread, with taco sauce."
"Okay, enough!" Hermione said, her eyes growing dark as she glared at her husband. Harry only grinned at her and wrapped his arms around her burgeoning middle.
"Caty!!!" Colin propelled himself into her arms, and she staggered back, laughing.
"Hey squirt, I missed you." She said affectionately, mussing his thick black hair. "Been staying out of trouble?"
"Nope." He grinned at her.
"You're terrible." Caitlyn said. "You should be helping Mum right now not terrorizing her."
"I don't terrorize!" Colin stuck his lips out and made a rude sound at her. Caitlyn shook her head at her brother and tried not to laugh at him. She looked back up at her mother who was also trying to stifle her amusement.
"He acts just like his father when he's in trouble." Hermione said. Harry let out a mock outraged sound and they all started laughing.
"Congratulations Caty!" Lavender said, finally disentangling herself from Blue and giving Caitlyn a hug.
"Thanks Aunt Lav." Caitlyn said. Ron came over and hugged her as well, then looked up at Harry and Hermione.
"Have you two settled down yet?" he quipped, grinning. "It was getting pretty tense there on the train…." Caitlyn and Blue smiled slightly at each other for a moment, their problems forgotten for that split second.
"Honestly Ron!" Hermione was saying. "Sometimes I think you just like to cause trouble for us!"
"I do not!" he returned. "I just like to cause trouble in general!"
They all laughed, and then Dumbledore's voice was heard above the chatter of the students and their parents.
"Will all the graduates please come back to the castle…. parents should take their seats in the Great Hall!"
"We'll see you two in a bit!" Lavender waved them away as the four adults and Colin went into the Great Hall.
"Shall we?" Caitlyn asked Blue, smiling tentatively.
He shrugged. "All right." They walked inside side by side, but not necessarily together. "Good luck on your speech." Blue said once they got inside.
"Thanks…" Caitlyn's voice trailed off as he walked away without the usual customary squeeze of her arm or kiss on the cheek. Perhaps he was taking last night harder than she previously thought. She sighed and went back to where Professor McGonagall was motioning to her.
"Good morning Professor." Caitlyn smiled at her.
"Morning Miss Potter." The teacher gave her one of the rare smiles she was so unfamous for. "Have you gotten your speech prepared?"
"Yes, I have it right here." Caitlyn patted her pocket.
"All right, you need to be at the front of the line when you all walk into the room." Caitlyn nodded and went up to the doors. Her hands were shaking from nervousness by the time everyone had queued up behind her. "Just relax, just breathe…" she instructed herself. Lana came up behind her.
"Good luck out there." She said, hugging Caitlyn before taking her place.
"Thanks." Caitlyn uttered before the doors swung open, and all the expectant faces turned to her. "Merlin's Beard…breathe, just breathe…." She muttered quietly as she led her classmates down the long, long aisle to the front of the room. Every face was a blur; her focus was the area where the staff table usually was. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she reached it and breathed a sigh of relief, as she was able to take a seat.
After each student was seated, Dumbledore got up to issue a few words about how fine this graduating class was, and how fast their time here had gone by.
"…. And now I'd like to introduce you to a young lady who has kept the highest marks in her classes all 7 years here…Miss Caitlyn Potter!"
Caitlyn plastered a smile onto her face and brushed her long hair back over her shoulder. She stepped up next to Dumbledore and shook his hand, and then and turned to look at the sea of faces.
"Good day everyone…" her voice started out shaky as she began her speech but it became stronger as she talked on.
Blue watched Caitlyn as she spoke, and despite his resolve he made that morning to try and not think about her, he couldn't help but notice how her robe fit her perfectly, hanging closely on her curves, her hair catching the light as she turned her head periodically to look at people in the audience. Blue couldn't hide his feelings from himself; he knew he couldn't forget about her. He just wanted to know why she didn't feel the same way.
She looked so confident now, up there, and he had to admit, the speech they had come up with the night before was great, it dealt with making friends and now not seeing them often enough, how Hogwarts was no longer their haven, and the whole world was at their feet. "…and so, as we leave our beloved school, we must always remember that friends will remain in our hearts…" her eyes caught Blue's and held them during that last line. "No matter where you go or what you do." She finished and the audience applauded loudly. Caitlyn grinned widely as she stepped down and back to her seat.
Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall then began to hand them their certificates that declared them adult wizard and witches. Blue heard his mother sobbing loudly as McGonagall called out 'Ronald Weasley Jr.' and he accepted his certificate; he looked over and saw his father trying to keep her quiet.
After the ceremony, everyone congregated on the lawn. It wasn't a formal party, more of a last hurrah for the departing 7th years and the chance for congratulations from their friends and relatives.
"All right, I want the two of you together for a photo!" Lavender was saying, pushing her son towards Caitlyn. They both smiled obediently for the camera. "Now Blue, put your arm around her shoulder, Caty, you put yours around his waist."
They both looked at each other a moment, but did as Lavender asked. Caitlyn felt a strange sense overcome her as Blue gently slipped his arm about her shoulder and lightly squeezed it. She couldn't explain the butterflies in her stomach at his touch, nor did she want to dwell on them before she spoke to her mother.
"Mum…" she said, coming up behind her mother, who was holding a glass of pumpkin juice. "Can we go talk?"
"Of course we can." Hermione said. "Excuse me." She told the people she had been talking to.
"Who were they?" Caitlyn asked as they headed towards the peaceful lake.
"That was Colin Creevey and his wife Flora." Hermione smiled wickedly. "He was a huge fan of your father's while we were at school, and he also annoyed Harry greatly. So I told him we named Colin after him, and now I bet you he won't leave your father alone the rest of the day."
"Did you guys really name Colin after him?" Caitlyn asked.
"No, it was just a name we liked, it had nothing to do with him." Hermione replied. "But I just wanted a bit of revenge on your father for being a prat earlier."
"Speaking of baby names," Caitlyn said, coming to a stop and touching Hermione's stomach. "What are you naming these two?"
"Well, we've found out that it's a boy and a girl, and the names are Carl William and Corinne Elizabeth."
"How pretty." Caitlyn said. "It's going to be weird, being so much older than they are."
"They were certainly unplanned, that's for sure." Hermione said, picking up her pace again. Caitlyn tucked her mother's arm into hers as they strolled a little while longer.
"So what did you need to talk about?" Hermione asked, looking sideways at her daughter.
"Well, it's quite a long story…" Caitlyn started. "Last night, after Dumbledore told me about having the highest marks in the class, I realized I couldn't go to Hogsmeade because I had to plan my speech, and Blue stayed back as well…" she recanted the tale from the night before. "…and then after we kissed, I told him that I couldn't stand it if we went out, then broke up and were never friends again…"
"So now it's very awkward between you guys and you don't know what to do?" Hermione guessed.
"Well that…and I don't really know, but I'm not so sure my feelings are platonic either, but now I don't' know what to do about it."
"I'm sure you know that your father and I were best friends for years right?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, he told me that when I was younger." Caitlyn said. "I mean, it's hard for me to think like this because Blue's been like family since I met him. I call his parents aunt and uncle!"
"Well, I suppose the best advice I can offer is to follow your feelings." Hermione said. "Take some time and think if it's worth it to pursue a relationship, if that's what you really want. It took awhile even after your father and I got together to think of ourselves as a couple rather than just friends."
Caitlyn absorbed this information, and then nodded. "Thanks Mum." She hugged Hermione. "I always feel better after talking to you."
"I'm glad." Hermione smiled as they continued their way back to the castle. "I'll be damned…" she said quietly as they walked on further. "I can't believe it's still here!"
"What?" Caitlyn looked in the direction her mother was. "I don't see anything."
Hermione laughed. "You won't be able to. This is where your father and I would come for a little…quality time. We enchanted it so no one but us could see it." She blushed as she remembered those days.
"I see." Caitlyn said, not wanting to know any more. "I need to get back, got to see my friends one last time."
"Yes, I need to go find your father." Hermione said.
They arrived back on the sloping lawn, Caitlyn went off in search of Lana or Blue and Hermione located Harry trying to shake off a very eager Colin Creevey. "Harry." Hermione came up to his side. "I see Colin has found you."
Harry turned to his wife, a fake smile stretched across his face. "Yes, he has." He looked up at Colin. "Will you excuse us for just a few moments?" he herded Hermione away.
"Thanks, so much for telling him we named our child after him!" Harry said as they walked away.
"It's a little something called payback." Hermione said sweetly. "You're not mad at me are you?"
"I should be." Harry said gruffly, and then grinned at her.
"You won't be when you see what I've found." Hermione said, pulling on his arm towards the lake.
"What?" Harry asked curiously. Hermione seemed to have forgotten her earlier anger towards him and was now looking thoroughly excited.
"You'll see!" Hermione pulled harder as they approached the spot.
"I'll be damned…" Harry grinned. "Our spot is still here." He pulled Hermione up against him, then leaned down and pressed his lips lightly to hers. "What would a visit back to this place be without a good snog?"
"It would be horrible." Hermione said. "So shut up and kiss me already."
Harry obliged immediately, bringing his lips to hers softly at first, then pressing more firmly as she deepened the kiss by opening her mouth under his and inviting his tongue to explore by flicking hers against his. Harry groaned and wrapped one arm around her waist and the other gently ran it's way over her round stomach.
"Harry…" she mumbled around his lips, pressing her mouth harder against his and running her hand through his wild raven locks. The textured strands slipped through her fingers as she brought up her other hand to cup the side of his face.
This went on for several minutes and if it weren't for the fact that they were no longer students at Hogwarts sneaking out for a snog but parents attending their daughter's graduation ceremony, things would have gone on even longer.
"Mione…" Harry groaned, straightening out his clothes as she tried to leave love marks on his neck. "I can't go back LOOKING like we've been necking…"
Hermione pulled away. "I know. She turned and faced Harry, looking into his deep emerald eyes. "I love you."
A look she could not read passed over his face. "I love you too, Hermione. You, Colin, Caty, and these two, you're my life." He pulled her close again and kissed her once more on the lips.
Hermione smiled at him, patting her stomach. "I can't wait till these two are born. I miss being with you."
"Me too." Harry agreed. He took her hand in his and they walked back up the hill to the castle.
Meanwhile, Caitlyn had finally located Lana near a group of now former Gryffindors, talking and celebrating their graduation.
"Hey everyone." Caitlyn said, joining them.
Everyone greeted her, congratulating her on the speech she had given. Tears were shed by some of her classmates who were leaving, none of them knew if they'd see each other again soon. Hugging Lana goodbye with promises to owl each other often, she waved as more students started to leave.
She began walking around, looking for her parents. She tried not to think about what they might be doing back at their 'spot' instead focusing on finding either Colin, or any of the Weasleys. Caitlyn finally spotted Blue's red hair on the other side of the yard, his back to her. She walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Any idea where our parents are?" she asked.
"No." Blue answered. "Can I talk to you in a bit though? I'm a little busy right now." Caitlyn looked beyond him, she had not noticed he was talking to Kristen Close. She wasn't sure why, because Kristen was one of the most horrible people that Caitlyn had ever come across. The girl had always been jealous of her friendship with Blue and ever since their third year at Hogwarts Kristen had never been kind to her.
"Hi Caitlyn!" Kristen said sweetly, and falsely. She knew better than to be rude to Caitlyn in front of Blue.
"Hello." Caitlyn said politely. "I'm sorry for interrupting you." Without waiting for either of them to answer, she turned on her heel and walked back across the lawn. She finally saw her parents coming up the lawn, hands clasped together.
"Can we go?" she asked, feeling somewhat snappish for a reason she couldn't explain to herself. 'Jealousy!' her mind shrieked, but she pushed that thought aside.
"Already?" Harry asked. "You don't want to stay around and talk to your friends one last time?"
Caitlyn shrugged. "I'll see them again… besides they've all left anyhow."
"All right." Harry said. He turned to Hermione. "Where's Colin?"
"With Ron I think." Hermione answered, her eyes scanning the grounds. "There they are."
Ron and Lavender had just walked up to Blue and Kristen, with Colin following along beside them. Harry, Hermione and Caitlyn also joined them as they all made their way down to the train depot. Caitlyn was most displeased to see Kristen accompanying them as well, and her mood was suffering most displeasingly in the short walk to the station.
Colin tried to engage her in a game of Exploding Snap, but after the deck had exploded two minutes into the game, she threw her cards down and sat heavily next to the window. Her parents were talking to Ron and Lavender across the aisle, and Blue was still with Kristen in another car across the hallway. She glowered at the two of them for a few moments, but when Blue turned his head and looked straight at her, she snapped her head around and resumed staring out the window.
Blue was very confused. He knew he'd been rather cold to Caitlyn back at the castle, and he did feel bad about it, but when Kristen had approached him he had welcomed the distraction from his thoughts. He also couldn't understand why Caitlyn was acting so angry now; she had made her feelings for him clear the previous evening.
"So what are your plans this summer?" Kristen asked flirtatiously. "Are you going to find a job right away or wait till fall?"
"I don't know." Blue replied. "My dad told me he might be able to get me a position at the Ministry, but I'd rather play professional Quidditch if I ever hear from Puddlemere or the Chudley Cannons." Blue had been the Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
"Oh how fun!" Kristen exclaimed. "If you get accepted, I can say I know a famous Quidditch player!" she bobbed her head from side to side.
Blue smiled politely. He liked Kristen, but she could be so dumb sometimes. He knew how Caitlyn felt about her as well, but he wouldn't let Kristen say anything bad about her in his presence. Kristen flirted openly with him, and even though he knew he could never like her in a romantic sense, she was fun to be around.
"My parents are throwing Caitlyn and me a graduation party." Blue found himself saying. "Want to come?"
"Of course!" she exclaimed loudly. "Oh my goodness, I have to go tell everyone that I have a date with you!" she got up and rushed out of the compartment.
"WAIT!" Blue yelled. "Shit!" he said angrily. He hadn't meant her to think that his invitation was a date. It was useless to go try to find her now, he realized. He sighed heavily and went into the compartment where Caitlyn sat with their families. Plunking himself down next to her, he sighed again, annoyed at the confusion that still reigned inside of him.
"What's wrong?" she asked, trying to act disinterested.
He shrugged. "Nothing, really." He said.
"Okay." She simply replied, still smarting over his earlier coldness.
"Blue, Caitlyn," Lavender said. "You two haven't forgotten about the party that we're all throwing for you right?"
"No, in fact I just invited someone else." Blue replied. "My friend Kristen Close."
Caitlyn bit her lip so hard at this that she could taste blood. She squeezed her eyes shut; at that moment she hated Kristen so much. Opening her eyes after a few moments, she saw her father looking at her with concern.
"Are you all right Caty?" Harry asked, noticing her change in demeanor.
She forced a smile onto her face. "I'm fine. I just miss Hogwarts already." She wasn't really lying, she did miss Hogwarts but it was the situation at hand that had her more confused and upset. Hermione was also looking at her now.
"Is this about earlier?" Hermione asked, carefully choosing her words so that no one but she and Caitlyn would know what she was talking about.
Caitlyn looked away for a moment, then turned back to her mother and nodded softly.
"Later?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, okay." Caitlyn responded, happy that she had a mother who would understand her troubles. "Thanks."
"What are you two talking about?" Harry asked in confusion, watching the exchange.
"Girl stuff." Hermione said, smiling at her husband and kissing him on the cheek.
"I see." Harry smiled back at her and then at Caitlyn. "Guess that's all I need to know."
Some time later, the train pulled back into King's Cross, everyone tumbling from the train, and more tears were shed as the last goodbyes rang through the depot.
Harry unlocked the door to their Muggle car, heaving their belongings into the trunk, and then they and the Weasley's piled in.
"Good thing you can expand this car with magic." Ron remarked.
"Just like the old Ford Anglia, eh Ron?" Harry said and all the adults roared with laughter.
"What are you talking about Dad?" Colin asked.
Harry, through his laughter, explained about how he and Ron had flown their car to school back in their second year. By the time he was done, the whole car was hysterical, even Caitlyn.
"Did Dad honestly do that?" she asked her mother. Hermione nodded through her tears of laughter.
"Yes, he did. Biggest spectacle he ever made too!" she answered. Lavender vigorously nodded as well.
"Ron, remember, you were so pleased with yourself too, biggest thing you ever did back then." Ron scowled at his wife then grinned and pulled her into a suffocating bear hug. "Ron!" she shrieked as they waved and Blue went back with them to his house, next door to theirs.
Caitlyn followed her father as he grabbed her trunk and brought it upstairs for her.
"Glad to be home?" he asked, setting the trunk down and hugging her.
"Yeah, I am." She replied. "Our house is so fun, with the mix of Muggle stuff we brought back."
"It is fun. Colin doesn't seem to know what to do with himself half the time." Harry laughed. "He tries to enchant the toaster with his play wand."
Caitlyn smiled faintly as Hermione entered the room. "Hey Mum." She said, lifting open the lid of the trunk and pulling out her neatly folded robes.
"I came to see if you needed any help unpacking." Hermione said, one hand resting on her stomach.
"Sure." Caitlyn said, knowing her mother really wanted to talk more.
"I guess that's my cue to leave." Harry quipped, winking at Caitlyn and squeezing Hermione's hand as he left the room.
"So what was that about on the train?" Hermione asked as soon as she had closed the door.
Caitlyn bit the inside of her cheek. "Well, Blue knows I hate Kristen Close, she's always so nasty to me because he and I have been friends since before we started Hogwarts."
"I see." Hermione said, picking up a few of Caitlyn's old schoolbooks from the trunk and setting them in a neat stack on the dresser.
"And he's one of the only people who is really nice to her and now she's taking advantage of that." Caitlyn said angrily.
Hermione stopped stacking books and took a deep breath. "Are you sure that it's her you're angry at?"
"What do you mean?" Caitlyn asked.
"Well," Hermione said, sitting heavily on the edge of the bed and patting the spot next to her. "You did tell him that you didn't want a relationship, right?"
"Well, yeah, but I'm not sure if I did the right thing." Caitlyn said as she sank down next to her mother. "I'm still so confused."
Hermione reached up and stroked her daughter's long hair. The motion was soothing to Caitlyn, and she felt some of her anger and confusion ebb away.
"What do I do?" Caitlyn asked after a few moments.
"First, you still need to sort out your feelings." Hermione said. "Then you go talk to Blue and you figure out where the two of you stand, be it in a relationship or just friends."
Caitlyn sighed. "Yeah, you're right." She smiled at her mother. "Thanks again, Mum." They hugged and Hermione got up from the bed.
"Ohhh…." She groaned. "I swear my stomach just gets heavier each day…" she smiled back at her daughter and then left her alone to her thoughts.
Bringing her hand up to touch her lips, she thought back to the previous evening in the common room. "Why did I kiss him in the first place? Why did I kiss him back if I don't feel anything like that for him?" she asked herself aloud. "Maybe I do…I just don't know…" Caitlyn could remember the taste of his lips on hers. Why had she pushed him away, she had been enjoying that kiss as much as he had.
Caitlyn flopped back down on her bed with a sigh. Blue was her best friend, her very best friend in the entire world. A memory from her first year of school sprang to mind.
Caitlyn looked back as her father disappeared from sight. The Hogwarts Express roared ahead towards her new school, and her new home for the next nine months as well.
"Let's go find a compartment to sit in!" Blue was enthusiastic about what lay ahead for them. "You can come meet my cousins, they're two years ahead of us."
"Okay." Caitlyn agreed shyly, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Are you okay?" Blue peered at her. "You don't look like you're feeling too good."
"I'll be all right." Caitlyn replied softly, fighting away some tears.
"You'll miss your dad a lot, won't you?" He said.
Caitlyn nodded, her head down and her arms folded across her chest. Suddenly she felt a pair of thin arms circle around her. Blue was hugging her. Suddenly, she started to feel a bit better. Caitlyn sniffed back the tears she hadn't let fall.
"Look…" Blue felt awkward, he'd never hugged a girl before but he liked Caitlyn a lot. "I know I'm not your dad, but I'm your friend… I'll be here for you."
That was the real beginning of the deepest friendship of her life, there was also the time in 5th year he had taken her to the Yule Ball so she could worm her way out of having a date she didn't want, and the time in 6th year when there had been an exceptionally long Quidditch match, and Blue had been hit by a bludger. He had slipped off the broom, hanging on precariously with one hand.
Caitlyn had felt horrified as she watched her best friend dangle in midair. Several other girls screamed as he almost lost grip; Caitlyn grabbed Lana's arm and clutched in fear. A loud sigh of relief had gone through the whole stadium when the Gryffindor seeker flew over and rescued him.
Last night probed at her mind again, the way that he had willingly helped her on her speech, paid for her butterbeer, walked through the park… she thought about the way his hand had wrapped around hers, how he had examined the bump on her forehead. And then her heart plummeted as she thought about the hurt in his eyes when she had told him she didn't feel the same way he did.
Caitlyn went over to the window, which looked out over the pond that bordered their backyard and the Weasleys' as well. Blue was standing out there, skipping a few stones across the surface of the water. She had to tell him she had made a mistake. 'I'm willing to try this… I hope it works out… I can't ever lose him.'
Those thoughts flew through her mind as she tore down the stairs.
Caitlyn slipped out the back door and walked down the path across the backyard.
"Hi." She said tentatively.
"Hi." At first she could not tell if it was a grunt or a greeting, but decided to take it as the latter.
"What are you doing?" she asked after a few moments.
Blue shrugged. "Nothing. Just bored."
"Why didn't Kristen come back with you?" Caitlyn said sharply before she could stop herself. Blue turned and faced her.
"What does it matter about Kristen?" he asked, matching her tone. "You and I are only friends, why should it matter who I invite as my date to the party?"
Caitlyn narrowed her eyes. "You know how we feel about each other."
Blue shrugged again, and turned away a little. "Well I like her, we'll just have to stay clear of you for the whole day then. At least I know she's honest about her feelings for me."
"Blue I don't understand how you can hang out with her!" Caitlyn said, the tight feeling in her chest beginning to unravel a bit. "She's so…trampy, with her robes too tight, and all her makeup…"
He folded his arms across his chest. "What, you're jealous of her now?" Blue didn't really know where his anger was coming from, and words just started flowing from his mouth without him even thinking. "You think just because of what I told you last night that now I'll never look at someone else? You can't string me along, acting like now you have some sort of hold over me! Today before graduation, you come up acting like nothing ever happened. And now you think you have the right to tell me who I can and can't date? You know what you are? You're a tease, that's what!!!" he said the last words harshly, and then bit his lip, wishing he could take them back.
"You asshole!" Caitlyn shouted, her fury rising. "You really are! I came down here to tell you that I made a mistake last night when I told you that a relationship between us would never go anywhere."
"What?" Blue's eyes grew wide.
"Never mind now!" Caitlyn was so angry over his last comment to her that she knew if she stayed there would be some serious hexing going on.
"No, Caty wait!" Blue called, hurrying after her as she stormed back to her house.
"Get away from me." Caitlyn said coldly through clenched teeth. "If you don't, you'll find your legs locked from here till next Tuesday, and that doesn't count the boils!" she glared at him once more and went inside, banging the door shut behind her.
"I am so STUPID!!!" Blue kicked a tuft of grass next to him. He'd really botched that one up.
(A/N: Well I apologize for leaving you at such a horrid place, I had the WORST time writing this chapter because they are mad at each other throughout the whole thing. Next chapter, things start looking up, I promise :) Please don't forget to read and review!)