Roses All The Way Down【Sirius Black】

ⅩⅩⅩⅠⅤ. 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞

Ophelia had snuck out two hours ago to get drunk with her friends from school. Virginia was laying on her back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and trying to imagine herself dating Alaric.

He was nice. He was adorable. He was so sweet. Virginia's nose twitched. So why didn't she really like him? She wanted to kiss him but the only scenarios that came to her brain were from games. Spin the bottle or truth and dare or seven minutes in heaven - the only ways she could see them making out. She squirmed under her blankets. But kissing Sirius? It had been so natural. She wanted to do it again and again.

Commitment issues. Clearly.

She rolled over in bed and tried to think about something else, anything else. The bed creaked loudly when she shifted and she felt herself cringe. There was a soft knock at the door and she leapt up in the air. She clutched a hand to her heart and called out, "come on in." The door swung in and clicked closed. She expected her parents to come and scold her. She sent a silent and quick prayer that they wouldn't notice that Ophelia was missing. She peered from beneath her nearly threadbare blanket. Her eyes widened when she saw who it actually was, Sirius Black. She sat up instantly, smoothing down her hair. She leaned towards her side table and dragged her hair into a bun.

Sirius smirked a bit before plopping down next to her on the bed, "no sister?"

She shook her head a bit longer than necessary, "she went to a party." She felt silly in her dark blue cotton nightgown. Now that she'd broken free from Marlene and Dorcas (and Ophelia by extension) forcing her into silly outfits, she could finally return to her typical outfits. So why did she feel so dumb?

Sirius nodded. They sat in awkward silence until Sirius broke it with an even more awkward statement.

"You shouldn't date Alaric," he said stiffly, not looking at her.

"Good thing, I don't give two-"

"fucks," he supplied.

"about your opinion. Although I probably won't since you ruined it," she sighed, also averting his eyes. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have but it wasn't like she had started it.

"I ruined it?" he echoed incredulously, whipping his head around to look at her.

"Well," she snapped back bitterly, annoyed he didn't know what she was talking about, "with the protectiveness, with the overbearing everything, the-the stalking!" Her voice rose with every word although she was self-aware enough that she still only whisper-shouted, "not to mention the sweetheart, sweetheart, sweetheart," she mimicked, "he thinks I'm in love with you since you can't stop yourself from flirting with anything that walks."

"Is that actually what you think of me?" Sirius asked, pushing himself to his feet, glaring down at her harshly, "and it's not my fault you make your big Goo Goo eyes back at me. If you think you don't flirt back, Waters, then you're deeply mistaken." The use of her last name hit her harder than she would have expected it to.

She stood up as well, clenching her fists, "excuse me? How else am I supposed to act? Am I supposed to look uncomfortable? I do my best not to give you the bloody satisfaction. I don't like you!" She paced as she spoke, finally stopping and leaning the back of her head against the wall in frustration.

His eyes flashed with fury, "Let me tell you about my feelings. Let me hug you," he was saying in a high pitched voice trying to imitate her, "Let me leave the boy who wanted to kiss me to chase you," he slammed his hands on the wall next to her head, "so you don't like me? Well you do a bloody good job of acting like you do!"

"Well," she threw her hands up in the air, "if I did like you, it would be your fault. You're the one who does your hair like that and looks at me all the time with your too intense gray eyes, and is funny and smart and nice and- and," she stopped speaking when she noticed Sirius's face. The anger had left it completely and he was staring at her, looking completely dumbfounded. His shock only lasted a few seconds until it was replaced with a quirked up eyebrow and a smirk.

"Ginny," he said, his tone inquisitive and low. He leaned down towards her. Virginia felt his lips brush hers, felt her heart racing in her chest. She became acutely aware of the way his palms were fastened to the wall on either side of her, acutely aware of how trapped she had become underneath him.

"Stand back," she said, although every inch of her wanted him closer, "this-this is not sanctioned by God, believe me..."

"Sweetheart," he dragged his mouth over to her ear and whispered, the heat of his breath hitting her neck, "I am God."

Reason left her body. She couldn't have told anyone what the two of them had just been arguing about if her life depended on it. This didn't feel like a commitment issue or denial of her feelings for Alaric. This just felt like she wanted him to kiss her. Wanted his lips and hands all over her. Which was dumb. So so so dumb.

Somewhere in the house a toilet flushed. Virginia leapt and Sirius chuckled, pulling back with an almost embarrassed look on his face. He shook his head as if to clear it, "sorry Gin," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm going to go back to my room now." He shot finger guns at her with his hands, "see you around my best bud mate."

He backed out of the room before clicking the door closed behind him. Virginia ran her fingers into her hair, pulling her hands into fists and pulling mercilessly. What the hell had just happened? She dragged the hair elastic out of her hair and threw it onto the ground. She collapsed into her bed.

She picked up her pillow and buried her face into it. Maybe Alaric had been right. Or, more likely, she'd been so angry and everything had happened so fast. What was it that everyone always said? There was a thin line between love and hate. In other words, she had had a lapse of judgment due to emotions running incredibly high. She fell asleep with that thought as her only comfort.

A/N - before anyone comes at me saying they're too young to do this I do want to mention two things -

1. Sirius left his home at 11 and has grown up by himself at Hogwarts, therefore maturing quite quickly. All of them except for Virginia have done so.

2. Virginia has been treated like an adult since she popped out of the womb. In the way that she has the responsibilities of an adult but the privileges of a toddler.