𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙎𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 ―𝐣𝐬𝐩

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 - 𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞

James

I walk into the Gryffindor common room with Nate, Luke, and Freddie. It's been two days since that kiss in the library, which was a 10/10 by the way cause her lips tasted like cherry and cherry is my favorite fruit. Anyways, it's been okay between me and Aurum, we have been chill honestly, still acting like a couple and people are buying it, obviously.

The place is buzzing with chatter, mostly groups of girls gossiping about Merlin knows what. It doesn't take long to spot Martha. She's sitting with Dom, Roxy, and Ronny, looking like a queen holding court. She's laughing about something, her smile wide and genuine—well, until she sees me. Then it falters just a bit, and I know the fake dating act is about to kick in.

Luke beelines straight for Roxy, pulling her into his lap, and Freddie slides next to Ronny, grinning like the clown he is. Nate surprises me by tugging on my sleeve and whispering, "Please hand me a cigarette."

I glance at him, a little caught off guard. Nate usually sticks to weed, only smoking cigarettes when something's really bugging him. I dig into my pocket and pull one out, lighting it and handing it over. His sister's going to lose her shit when she sees this. I light one for myself, knowing Martha is going to give me hell about it too.

Sure enough, Nate leans in close again, his voice low. "Your cousin and I had a fight last night."

I nearly choke on the smoke. "You fought with Dom?"

He sighs, taking a long drag of his cigarette before nodding. "Yeah, sex stuff. She wanted me to do some freaky role-playin'—"

"Mate, stop," I groan, cutting him off before he can scar me for life with the details. "I really don't need to know."

Nate shrugs, clearly still annoyed, and we move toward the girls. I spot Martha glancing our way, and before I can even think about it, I lean down and press a quick kiss to her lips—a casual peck, but enough to make it look natural. She tenses for a moment, then relaxes, smiling up at me. I can tell it's fake, though. The real smile is reserved for Nate, who sits beside her.

"I missed you, Tanny," she says, leaning into her twin. The difference in how she talks to him compared to me is night and day. Soft, affectionate, sweet. It's weird.

"Missed you too, Em," Nate replies, wrapping an arm around her. "You did see me yesterday, though."

"Yeah, but I have separation anxiety," Martha says with a playful pout.

Nate groans. "Okay, fine. But what's with the interrogation face? What do you wanna ask?"

Martha doesn't skip a beat. "What the fuck did you do to Dommy?"

Nate glares at his sister. "Not cool, being all sweet and 'Emmy pouty eyes' for me to wanna cuddle you when you're about to go full interrogative mode later."

Martha narrows her eyes. "You hurt Dom, Nate. She's my best friend. You wanna fuck her, fine, just don't break her heart."

"I know—break her bed, not her heart," Nate mutters with a smirk, taking a drag from his cigarette.

Martha rolls her eyes. "See, you know it."

I watch them bicker, amused by the dynamic. Then, just as expected, Martha's eyes zero in on the cigarette dangling from Nate's lips, and her expression shifts into full-on crazy sister mode. She glances at me, noticing I'm smoking too, and now it's girlfriend mode—though I know it's just part of the act. There is no way she really gives a fuck about my health, just if I'm healthy enough to play good quidditch so we win the House Cup. I swear she has an unhealthy obsession with quidditch, that girl.

"Are you serious?" she snaps, glaring at both of us. "Nate, you know I hate it when you smoke. And you—" she turns her fury toward me, "—you're supposed to be a good influence! You're Quidditch captain, for Merlin's sake!"

I take a slow drag from my cigarette, blowing the smoke out casually. "Relax, Martha. It's just one cigarette."

Her eyes narrow, her lips pressed into a thin line. "One cigarette? James, I swear—"

"Babe," I cut in, giving her a teasing smile, "you don't have to worry about me. I'm a big boy. I can handle a little nicotine."

She glares at me, clearly trying to stay in character as the concerned girlfriend. "You're going to give yourself lung cancer, you idiot. And Nate—"

"I don't smoke all the time," Nate cuts in, clearly enjoying how worked up his sister is getting. "Just when I need to calm down. Like after Dom decided she wanted me to be a bloody pirate—"

"Stop," Martha groans, cutting him off with a hand in the air. "I don't want to hear any more about your sex life, thanks."

"You and me both," I mutter, flicking my ash into a conjured ashtray.

Martha's attention snaps back to me, her frustration clear as day. "And you—why are you smoking now? What, do you need a cigarette after every kiss too?"

I smirk, leaning closer, my voice dropping so only she can hear. "That kiss got me a little worked up, Aurum. Can't blame me for needing to take the edge off."

Her cheeks flush—finally, a crack in the perfect, polished exterior. "You're such a prat," she hisses, glancing around the room to make sure no one's listening.

But I don't miss the way her eyes flick down to my lips, still glossy from where she kissed me earlier.

Nate leans back, clearly enjoying the show. "Y'know, Martha, you should really just let him be. James is a big boy, right?" He mimics my words from earlier, smirking as he takes another drag of his cigarette.

Martha shoots him a death glare, clearly torn between yelling at her twin or continuing to berate me for being a bad influence. "Nate, you're supposed to be the responsible one. If Mum finds out—"

"Mum's not here, Em. And I'm pretty sure she wouldn't care as much as you do." Nate smirks, blowing out a lazy stream of smoke. Oh but Holly Aurum would care, she'd hex him into oblivion, but we both know Martha would never snitch.

Martha crosses her arms, her eyes narrowing again. "I don't care. I'm telling Mum. And don't think I won't." Like I said she is all bark no bite.

I chuckle, leaning back on the couch. "Tattling on your brother, are we? Very mature, Aurum."

Her glare snaps to me. "Shut up, Potter. Just because we're fake dating doesn't mean I won't hex you."

I raise an eyebrow, taking another drag. "Is that a promise or a threat, love?"

She clenches her jaw, clearly holding back from saying something she might regret. "Just stop smoking, alright? I hate it."

I tilt my head, studying her. There's something in the way she says it—like she actually means it, like it's more than just playing the role of concerned girlfriend. For a moment, I almost feel bad. Almost.

"Fine," I say, stubbing out the cigarette. "For you."

Her eyes widen slightly, like she didn't expect me to actually listen. "Uh... good."

Nate snorts from beside her. "Bloody hell, Potter. Didn't think you'd cave that easily."

I shoot him a look. "Shut it, Aurum."

Martha rolls her eyes. "Don't think I'm letting you off the hook that easily. We're having a long conversation about this later."

I grin, leaning back into the couch. "Looking forward to it, love."

She mutters something under her breath, but the tension in the room has eased. Nate finishes his cigarette, giving his sister a half-apologetic, half-mischievous grin.

"Alright, sis. I'll lay off the cigs. But I'm still not gonna talk about what happened with Dom, so don't even try."

Martha narrows her eyes at him. "You better make things right with her, Nate. Or I'll be having words with you too."

Nate just laughs, ruffling her hair like she's still the five-year-old Martha with a missing front tooth and blonde pigtails. "Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Em."