Purposefully Hating Cedric

10

You're too Mean. I Don't Like You.
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Cedric releases my wrists instantly, the both of us then scrambling to our feet.

"Cho-"

"This isn't what it looks like," I cut Cedric off. "I swear. We got in a fight, and Cedric was just trying to stop me from hexing him."

Cedric nods, and Cho looks between us. There isn't suspicion on her face, or anger, or anything that would be expected when someone catches their boyfriend in this situation. Instead, she just wears the same usual expression that overtakes her face every time she sees us together. A bit of sadness, and a bit of something else. Longing, maybe? But that wouldn't make sense.

"I know," Cho says. "You both have known each other since you were young children, and you've almost always been enemies. It's understandable you'll find yourselves quarreling with more than just words, and I just happened to walk in at the wrong moment." A wave of relief washes over me at her words. I don't think I've ever met anyone as trusting as Cho. Because though she's right, there truly was nothing sexual going on, I doubt many girls would trust the word of the girl they walked in on their boyfriend pinning to the ground. "I trust you both," she says.

Those words cause a title wave of guilt to wash over me, and I almost drown. Cho trusts me. Though I haven't done anything with Cedric, or even truly tried to pursue him for that matter, it doesn't mean that the intentions weren't there deep down. Cho is my friend, and she trusts me. I need to stay away from Cedric, and he needs to stay away from me. The flirting needs to stop.

"Just," continues Cho, her voice breaking slightly, which also causes my heart to break slightly, "tell me that it won't happen again. Please. I trust you both, I do, but you also have so much more history with each other than I do," she says. "Just promise me that you'll keep the fights to words, and your hands won't be on each other again."

It's a reasonable request, and one that I'm happy to oblige with. "Of course, Cho. It won't happen again-"

"I promise that I won't put my hands on her," says Cedric, "but I can't help it if she comes onto me like she always seems to want to do."

My jaw drops in disbelief as I turn to him. "Come onto you?" I'm absolutely baffled. How he derives so much amusement from embarrassing me, I wish I could say I didn't understand. But I do. Because I derive the same pleasure from embarrassing him. "Contrary to your belief, not every girl in this school is head over heels in love with you, Diggory," I sneer. The next words come spilling out of my mouth like liquid tar. There's no stopping them, and they stick to the person their directed at with malice. Cedric's face instantly drops as the words leave my mouth.

"Why would I be throwing myself onto you of all people when I have a fucking boyfriend?"

Cedric's face flushes with embarrassment, but something else enters his eyes too. Please, as if he has a right to feel any sort of way about this.

But it doesn't matter, because I'm the one who should be blushing with embarrassment right now. It's going to be absolutely mortifying when the truth comes out. How on earth could I be so stupid? I'm usually fairly good at holding my tongue, but it felt as if I wasn't in control when the words bursted through my lips. I think I'll die of embarrassment when Cedric finds out that I made this up.

So he can't.

I have to somehow find a way to make this real. Or, at least seem real. I could find someone to play my fake boyfriend for a bit, and then stage a breakup with whoever that is. But who's a good option? Draco would be my first pick, but he has a thing going on with Kira and I don't want to cause any tension between them. I'd rather die than be known as someone who was dating Crabbe or Goyle. Blaise may agree to it, but not without making fun of me relentlessly first. And I don't want to cause any tension in either Ron or Harry's relationships with Ginny and Hermione.