ataraxia, lorenzo berkshire

"five"

it was around roughly 4AM when the party atmosphere decided to banish itself from the withered slytherin common room, the remnants of what was a euphoric night filled with sex, drugs, and booze were now headaches, hangovers, and snoozes.

luckily, Valentina had made the mature decision to slip away from the party at 2AM and head back to her dorm before the party effect wore off, and everyone began to become sleepy and practically become conscious zombies, drained of all energy, for it was absorbed by the immense level of physical exercise on the dance floor, the drugs and alcohol drying out their veins, leaving their mouths dry, desperate for a glass of water and a painkiller.

her and magnora had seemed to have stabilised some sort of acquaintanceship amongst eachother, and in all honesty, Val was grateful.

Valentina did adore onyx with all her heart, however it became somewhat predictable and boring only having one close female friend. Lucille was an option, but Val didn't think they had much in common, and she was almost always absent anyways.

so, Valentina decided she'd actually make an effort with magnora, despite being challenged by her social shield, saskia, who obviously didn't take a liking to her as almost every single time Valentina passed her airily in the corridors, she'd be greeted by a filthy look.

which she didn't deserve.

and that was what pissed her off the most.

she didn't do anything to saskia morton-wright.

but for no apparent reason, she hated her.

but why?

fuck knows.

"g'mornin' sleepyhead," onyx grumbled from the opposite side of the room, for she was tucked neatly in her bed too, however she decided to speak first.

"what a night, huh? do you have a headache?" i replied, rubbing my head suit to my statement, however there didn't seem to be an obvious presence of any sort of hangover.

bummer.

i suppose i know how to handle my alcohol well, then.

guess i won't be able to have an excuse to stay in my dorm all day.

"yep, hurts like a bitch." onyx groaned, flipping over and burying her face within the depths of her pillow, and letting out a shrill scream of annoyance, which didn't seem to help her recovering state as she began to violently rub the temples of her head.

"sucks to suck, de'loughrey." i taunted, grinning as i reached over to my side table and picked up a package of gum, removing one of the rectangular pieces and placing it in my mouth, beginning to chew.

"oh! you've just reminded me!" onyx announced loudly, this realisation causing her to sit up from her laying position in her bed, so she was now staring directly at me.

"who was sucking on your neck last night, Valentina?" she asked seriously, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow, resembling a scolding mother that was trialling her unruly child.

oh.

i forgot.

"oh, this?" i tilted my head upwards slightly, unveiling my bruised neck and letting the morning rays of dewy newborn sunbeams illuminate the nooks of every single imperfection that was imprinted in various epitomes of magenta and purple across my neck.

"..i don't know." i lied.

shrugging as if the answer floated above my head, something someone that was too intoxicated on party fumes to acknowledge who the fuck had attached themselves to their body would say. 

"sure." onyx murmured, rolling her eyes.

she knew.

"i'll figure out who it was later."

-

"so, how was last night for you?" lorenzo asked casually, leaning back in his chair he was leaning against during potions class, his tie once again strung loosely, lazily around his neck and his hair covering his eyes slightly.

"it was fine, how was yours?" i replied, not bothering to look up at him whilst i spoke, as i was filling in blanks on my potions sheet. i couldn't help but feel somewhat unnerved by the odd tension between us, for i felt myself shiver every time he began to speak, warily awaiting for what his reply would consist of, worried he'd bring up the events that happened last night.

or was i worried that i'd bring them up not realising i had?

fuck knows.

"good." he simply replied, looking straight ahead at the blackboard vandalised with chalk equations, his jaw clenched lightly, making his jaw and cheekbones more prominent than they already were.

don't bring it up.

don't bring it up.

don't you fucking dare.

"about last night," i blurted out, slamming my hand down i was using to write with after realising my fuck-up, causing his focus to transfer from the blackboard to me.

god fucking damn it.

why am i like this, man.

"what happened last night?" he asked, tapping his fingertips against the worn, splintering surface of the potions desk, his thin chain bracelet he wore making a gentle, harmonious jingling sound as it collided with the woody surface, causing somewhat a diversion from the now unpleasant atmosphere.

"oh, nothing." i replied quickly, looking away from him and attempting to focus on my work.

good, valentina.

don't say anything else.

please, for the love of god.

don't say anything.

"i just thought you looked at me weirdly last night."

i am absolutely fucking finished.

"what?" he furrowed his eyebrows together, his vigorous tapping against the wooden desk now speeding up in rhythm, the pattern of hollow sound reeling throughout my head, echoing off of the interior of my skull.

"don't worry." i mumbled, before finally returning to my worksheet, for i'd rather talk to lorenzo another time, rather than being slapped in the face with a detention.

lorenzo didn't reply, instead he let out a light scoff, his tapping momentum stopping abruptly, his hand now idle on the table.

"after class." he whispered to me simply, no further instructions, before literally getting up and exiting the class.

berkshire behaviour.

*slow clapping*

bravo!

i let out an exasperated sigh, resting my head on my hand.

for a moment, i thought about what the scenario would've been like if i'd just chosen to keep my mouth shut.

maybe he would've never thought about last night ever again.

maybe he would've brought it up first.

maybe he would remember it, as clear as day, but decide that it would be best if it wasn't to be spoken about.

but now, i have to await that answer from what seemed a somewhat bothered lorenzo berkshire after class.

what the actual fuck have i just gotten myself into.

<>

hi shordies 😇😇

idk what this chapter was, i don't actually plan them tbh, i just go with the flow, so i apologise if it's messy.

anyways, thank u for the boost in views, we're at 123 and i'm super grateful seeing as we were at 73 last night :))

next chapter coming soon 💝💝