warmth - cedric diggory

chapter thirty

athena rosewood sat in her friend's desk chair with a round mirror placed before her, listening to the new drama ivy had to scream about, further involving 'hateful and overwhelming' draco malfoy.

as the girls softened in the scorching sun that came through the brown windows, athena's mind wandered into memories of the hot june days that seemed to arrive and then quickly end. her eyes fell upon the desk as she remembered how fast her year was ending.

"i believe you should communicate these strong feelings to him," belle spoke with caution, brushing tenderly through athena's light brunette hair, making sure the silver brush didn't tug too hard. "you know?" she added quietly, her voice cracking into a high squeak after noticing the sour scowl ivy wore.

ivy held her fists clenched tightly with a tight-lipped smile and she rested her back against the dresser, angry thoughts dying to drive her to madness. "just bloody communicate? as if i could just do that, belle." the plaid skirt she wore was adjusted when she turned away from the other girls.

"easier said than done," athena assured. "but you could." the girl insisted, smiling down at her friends, slouching back, ignoring that she had been turned away. ivy turned her body to face the blue dresser, giving athena a positive but sluggish shrug.

the dark-haired girl's posture told every answer for any question regarding her current state. leaned shoulders that aligned with her knees, light eyes that didn't budge from the bedroom floor, dirty shoes pressed firmly together, almost as if it were holding her together.

a loud knock followed by sudden noisy bickering interrupted the girl's conversation, causing all of them to whip their heads at the room door. after releasing the hairbrush from athenas smooth hair and setting it back down, belle swiftly walked to discover the explanation for the disturbing sounds.

"i'm not mad you did it, truly ced, i'm just mad i didn't think of it.-" edmund squabbled in a loud manner, standing in front of cedric as he complained about his behavior. belle laughed when she noticed his hands were flying around in the air. "oh, hey! can i come in?" he spoke rather quickly. then, he walked in immediately after asking, an unreadable expression spreading over his face.

"don't look at cedric." he uttered before stopping to stand in the middle of the room, applying his hands to his hips. "we ready to head out?" he added, high pitched voices seemed to be the theme today, athena thought. ivy stood up weakly, but in no time at all, she was standing beside him.

with a lighthearted smile, cedric diggory walked in with three small and colorful bouquets of assorted flowers for each of the lovely girls. he handed them out accordingly, giving athena the biggest one, of course, with a hand-written note that read, "but you are my favorite."

"i went for a walk today and found those, decided you ladies deserved it!" cedric laughed, finding his place next to athena. she couldn't help but look up at him, notice her heart suddenly was beating faster, and just grin.

cedric's lips formed into a mirror smile, placing a familiar hand against her shoulder. he acted as if it were completely normal like every man does this, as if it were not any inconvenience whats so ever.

"thank you, ced." belle set her flowers on her side table, fixing her shirt shortly after, giving a smile at edmund. ivy sat hers down next to her friends on the bed, gave the kind boy a sense of gratitude, and headed to the door.