Just Friends (Rory Campbell x Fem Reader)

Chapter 20: Greenhouse

~Y/n~

"I'm not familiar with what shrivelfig sprouts are supposed to look like, but I'm fairly certain they don't look like that." Outside the warm greenhouse where Rory, Cedric, and I stood, it was one of the coldest days of the winter. It's been almost three weeks since it snowed on Valentine's Day, but none of the residual snow had actually melted. Now it's all packed down and frozen into ice, but luckily there was a path cleared from the kitchen door to the greenhouse. The path was icy too, I'd almost fallen a few times just on the way here (thankfully Rory caught me), and now I'm showing them my shrivelfigs that I was growing for herbology. The stems were all withered and the buds looked more black than purple, and Rory was looking at them like he'd smelled something rancid.

"How bad is it?" I ask Ced.

"Do you know how hard it is to kill Shrivelfigs?" he laughs as I move the pot to a small table.

"Shut up," I reply. I pour some water into the pot, and I'm not sure why I halfway expected that little bit of water to resurrect my sprouts.

"Why don't you let me grow them for you? Make life easier for yourself."

"Professor Sprout knows I kill everything," I explained, placing the pot back on the shelf. "It'd look suspicious if I brought in something alive. I did everything I was supposed to, I swear, but nothing ever works."

"Might be the soil or something. What are you even using them for, anyway?" Rory asks.

"Shrinking potion. Why does such a thing even exist? It's so asinine."

"You're telling me you wouldn't like to see the world from the perspective of a little bug?" Rory wraps his arms around me from behind as I'm stirring a mixture of plant nutrients.

"If I was a little bug I'd probably live in fear of being stepped on," I laugh, twisting out of his grip.

~Rory~

"Must you always be like this? It's just like any other potion, you'll be fine as long as you don't ingest anything."

"Must I always be like what?"

"Like, uh..." I trail off as I follow behind her. She dumps the contents of the flower pot in the rubbish bin. I'm too busy watching her movements to explain myself any further, and she turns on me.

"Come on, then, speak up. Must I always be like what?" Her eyes are full of fire, daring me to say the wrong thing.

"Nothing," I said hastily. The sound of a smothered laugh reminds me that Ced's still here, watching all this play out, and it just adds to it all.

"Good answer, mate," he says. Maybe it wouldn't be as awkward for me if Ced and Y/n didn't have the exact same smirk on their faces.

"Can both of you just...not?" I blurt, already feeling my face growing red.

"Not what? Rory, would it kill you to finish your sentences?" Y/n asks, moving closer to me.

"In this case, yes it would. Now could you stop looking at me like that?" She just laughs at me.

"Actually, I think the idea of staring through your soul sounds pretty appealing right about now," she said, leaning back against the counter and drilling through my eyes with hers. Eye contact is such a strange thing; the longer it lasts, the more it feels like you can hear the other person's thoughts running through your head with your own.

"Stop doing that," I say again, looking away from her again. Is it bad that some part of me sort of enjoyed the embarrassment?

"What, does this bother you or something?"

"Uh...no, I'm not...bothered, really. You're just...weird." I busy myself with some potted plants on the counter, foolishly thinking that doing something with my hands would make this situation less awkward for me.

"Oh, I was just pointing it out because you looked a bit rosy, that's all," she said, her voice growing louder as she walked up behind me. Would there ever be a time where I don't feel bad about saying something that made Y/n's face just as red as she had made mine? I'm already starting to conjure up some ideas.

"We're in a greenhouse, wearing winter coats. It's hot in here."

"Sure, if that's what you need to tell yourself."

"You shut your face," I said, turning on her, but it was hard to keep from smiling.

"Or what? You'll shut it for me?" she challenges, leaning against me.

"That's exactly what I'll do." I stand up to my full height so that I'm all but towering over her. I see her grin falter a little; we both know that I keep true to my word no matter what.

"How many times do I have to tell you two to get a room?" Cedric laughs again.

"Come on, Ced, you know I'm bad at maths," Y/n groans.

"And herbology, apparently," I mutter, kissing the top of her head. She shoves me in the chest with both hands, but luckily for me, it wasn't forceful enough to actually knock me over.

~Y/n~

Herbology, apparently?

"I'd like to see you pass an astronomy exam without cheating off me, then," I shot back at him, and I'm delighted to see the humbled look on his face. "Yeah, that's what I thought. So why don't you shut your face?"

"So is this what a relationship is like, realistically? Tormenting each other to your heart's content?" Ced asks.

"Probably not. Most relationships involve the ability to be in the same room as the other person without starting a fight to gain the person's attention," Rory replies, glaring at me.

"I hate you," I mumble, glaring right back.

"Tell me something I don't know, darling." The way he said that made my stomach drop for a split second, and I guess my face must have shown it, because I can't imagine any other reason for the satisfaction in his eyes. I knew that this little alter-ego of his existed (it even vaguely seemed like me), but he rarely ever let it show.

"If only you were half as frightening as you thought you are," he laughs. "Have fun with your shrivelfigs, I'm going back inside for dinner." He and Ced walk to the door and pull their hats down over their ears.

"Fine. Don't let the door hit you on the way out," I answer, but they're both already gone. I don't even see them walking back along the path because it's gotten so dark out. I can't decide which was more maddening, Rory or growing these stupid shrivelfigs.

Dear Reader,

Heyy! So sorry I haven't updated in a while, but midterms and theatre have unfortunately taken up too much time for me to write much. Once everything calms down I promise I'll be posting on a more regular schedule. I've also tried to start writing a new play (not on Wattpad), and I think it's going pretty okay so far. Thanks for reading and interacting, love you all! Until next time...

XOXO,
Frankie :)