Somewhere Only We Know - Part 2 - Sirius Black x OC

Chapter 25: Before I Cry

The following morning, Gemma rolled over in bed and pulled her duvet over her head. She wasn't ready for a new day. Her heart still hurt with the realisation that she was falling in love with Sirius, and she was at a complete loss over what to do.

She'd had an insane thought during the night – as she had tossed and turned in bed – that she should just tell him. That maybe he could feel the same way about her. That maybe he'd wait for her while she went off to Auror training, like Alice had waited for Frank, and then they could be together.

She shook her head, just as she had in the night. None of that would happen. If she told him how she felt, he'd just pull away from her. He'd reject her. Sirius didn't want a relationship. He'd made that clear on so many occasions. Merlin, he didn't even believe in love.

Closing her eyes to fight the tears that threatened to spill, Gemma scolded herself. How had she let this happen? How had she let her heart get involved when she'd promised herself it never would?

"Gemma, are you awake?" Alice's whispered question broke through her haze of emotion. She contemplated pretending to still be asleep, but she'd have to face her friends eventually.

She turned slightly and pulled the cover off her face. Only Alice was in the room; the other two must have gone down to breakfast already. "I'm awake. Morning."

"Morning. Are you ok?"

The look of concern on Alice's face almost unravelled her. But she composed herself. "I'm fine. Tired."

"I heard you moving a lot in the night. Did you not sleep well?"

"No. Sorry if I kept you up."

Alice shook her head. "You didn't. What time did you get into bed? You were asleep when I came up at ten."

Gemma gave Alice a small smile. "About nine." As soon as she'd run from Sirius after healing him, Gemma had crawled into bed, needing to hide from the world. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to hide from her damn mind.

"That's early. Were you feeling ok?"

Gemma sat up and debated whether she should admit the truth. Alice already knew Gemma's feelings were confused. And she'd know soon enough that things between her and Sirius were well and truly over. Because there was no way Gemma could continue having sex with Sirius; not when it would always mean so much more to her than it would to him. She respected herself too much to do that to herself.

She shook her head and fought back tears. "No. I wasn't ok."

"Oh, Gemma. What happened?" Alice came over to her bed and sat on the edge. "Is it... is it Sirius?"

Gemma nodded. "I've been feeling so confused, but then last night, he came back to the common room injured after being attacked by Smethyck and Garth." Alice's eyes widened but she didn't say anything. Gemma continued. "I don't really know what happened. He didn't say much, but I think he fought back and Smethyck and Garth both ended up in the hospital wing."

"Woah."

"Yeah. When he came in, there was so much blood and he had a horrid bruise on his cheek and his clothes were torn. I felt sick. It was awful seeing him like that. I healed him up and... and I just realised..." She paused and took a steadying breath. Somehow, admitting the truth took more courage than she had expected. "I realised that I'm... I'm falling for him." She sighed. "In fact, I think I've already fallen."

Alice didn't say anything, but she did wrap her arm around Gemma and pull her in for a hug. Gemma leaned into the embrace, closing her eyes, wishing she didn't feel so helpless.