Medicine - T. Nott

thirteen

When Theo and I get up to my bedroom, he closes the door behind us as I go lie down on my bed.

"Merlin, that was exhausting," I mutter.

Theo lays down beside me, staring up at my ceiling. "I think it went well," He says. "Do you think your mum likes me?"

I tilt my head to look over at Theo. "Oh, she loves you," I tell him. "She's never going to shut up about you now."

Theo turns his head and looks at me. "You think so?" He asks.

"I know so."

I look back up at the ceiling but Theo is still looking at me. There's a comfortable silence between us and we both just lay there for a few minutes before I sit up.

"Okay, I need to get ready for bed before I fall asleep," I sigh, getting up from my bed.

Theo sits up as well. "Yeah, me too."

I go over to my dresser and grab my pajamas before I go into my attached bathroom to change and get ready for bed. I take my makeup off and wash my face, and I brush my teeth, but when it comes time for me to change into my pajamas I can't quite reach the zipper of my dress.

My mum had to help me zip it all the way up earlier.

I struggled for a couple minutes to reach the zipper on the back of my dress before coming to the conclusion that I need help.

"Theo," I say, peeking my head out from the bathroom.

He's already in plaid pajama pants and a black t-shirt. Theo looks up from rummaging around his bag. "What's wrong?" He asks.

"Can you unzip my dress?" I ask. "I can't get it."

"Yeah, come here," Theo says.

I step into my bedroom and Theo meets me halfway. I turn my back to him and pull my hair out of the way.

Theo rests one hand on my back, towards the top of my dress. His other hand is reaching for the zipper and I can feel him hesitate before slowly unzipping my dress.

He's standing so close that I can smell his cologne and the faint scent of his eucalyptus shampoo.

Theo finishes unzipping my dress and his hands linger for a second before he pulls them away. I turn back around to face him and my eyes automatically drift to his lips before I meet his gaze.

"Thank you," I say quietly.

"You're welcome," Theo replies, his voice low.

Neither of us are breaking eye contact and I feel like we're subconsciously getting closer until our noses are inches apart.

I clear my throat and look away. "I'm going to change," I say.

Theo steps back and clears his throat as well. "Yeah, okay," He replies.

I go back into the bathroom and attempt to get my heart rate back to normal while I slip out of my dress and into my pajamas.

When I get back into my room, Theo grabs some things from his bag and slips past me into the bathroom.

I turn off the lights and get into bed, pulling the duvet up around me.

I can hear the sink running in the bathroom momentarily, and a few minutes later Theo is crawling into bed beside me. My bed is much bigger than the ones at Hogwarts, so there's a lot of space between us.

Theo turns on his side and faces me in the dark.

"I'm glad your mum likes me," He whispers.

"Me too," I say. I turn on my side and look at Theo in the dark. I can make out the shape of his noses, the curve of his jaw, and the singular freckle on his cheek.