ADDICTED | j.p x oc

55

After four days at Morgan's house, El had not seen anyone other than Evan, Benjy or Morgan since she'd left her and James' flat, until Dumbledore called The Order to come down to Devon for another meeting.

Lily was one of the first to arrive, after Moody and Dumbledore. "El!" she smiled, "it's been a while, how are you?" Lily was one of the only people to ask this question nowadays, normally the answer wasn't a good one.

"Fine," El said, giving Lily a smile half as enthusiastic as her own.

"Have you spoken to James?" Lily cautioned.

"He told you?!"

Lily appeared shocked by the sudden change in El's attitude. "Umm. . .yeah. He hasn't reacted well to it."

El looked Lily up and down, "he's to blame for that, not me."

Lily looked down awkwardly, nodding. Another knock on the door signalled a new arrival, Benjy went to answer it. In came Marlene, Dorcas, James, Sirius and Peter.

James stopped at the doorway, looking directly at El, conflicted on whether to hug or ignore the girl.

"El," he said hesitantly, "can we—can we talk?"

"Later," El dismissed.

More people arrived, causing James to move out of the way so they could enter the kitchen. El didn't listen to a single word Moody or Dumbledore said, she could feel James' eyes on her for the entire hour, along with the occasional worried glance from Sirius.

People cleared out quickly after the meeting was over, without the usual casual conversation. Several members of The Order were dead or missing, or at least had known someone who was. James hung back, waiting for a moment alone with Eleanor. His hands were in his pockets as he stood awkwardly to the side of the room.

"So. . ." James suddenly seemed like he was very interested in a certain spec of dirt on the floor. "Where have you been staying?"

"Here," she gave a rough gesture round the room, "with Morgan, Evan and Benjy."

"We have an argument and you go to stay with Rosier?" James let out a humourless laugh.

"No, you invaded my privacy so i went to stay with my sister and her boyfriend," her body tensed defensively, "then you went and explained our argument to the girl you used to be in love with!" El's voice got louder as she quickly got more frustrated .

"I explained our argument to my friend! You're the one that left!" he defended.

"Don't blame me for leaving when you made a massive decision for me!"

"That was a good decision, El, you've lived with Morgan for days, you have a sister!"

El gritted her teeth as James spoke, getting angrier by the second. "IT WASN'T YOURE DECISION TO MAKE."

"BUT IT WAS A GOOD DECISION! You don't always have to be right!"

"NEITHER DO YOU!"

They glared at each other for several moments before Morgan came in. "I think you should leave," she said calmly.

"This isn't your argument," James snapped.