slide away {l.b.}

18. say you'll be there

"You touch me and suddenly I feel a little less war torn. I'm not sure what peace is supposed to feel like but I think it may feel a lot like you"
- anatomy-of-rains

~~~~~~

Cassie Avery

My eyes snapped open suddenly, struggling to adjust to the light streaming in through the dorm window. I rolled onto my side, squinting at the alarm clock. 6:32 in the fucking morning. Why am I awake?

I heard a light tapping at the door. That will be why. I glanced over at Onyx's bed, but it was empty. She'd probably got herself locked out. I sighed as I reluctantly peeled myself away from the warmth of my bed, shuffling towards the door.

"Enzo?", I rubbed my eyes groggily. He stood in front of me, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his grey joggers. I raised an eyebrow, rather confused why he was here so early, especially since he hadn't gone to bed until late. It was after 2am when I finally woke up from his lap.

"Hey Cassie," he greeted, though he sounded uneasy, striding past me into the room.

"What are you doing here?", I questioned.

Enzo sat himself down on my bed. "What do you mean? I come to see you every morning", he responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah to do your tie. It's Saturday".

He ran his hand through his hair. "Right. Yeah. I was joking", he answered quickly, his eyes darting around my room, not meeting mine. "I, uh, just wanted to come check on you."

Even though his response was believable, I knew Enzo, and I knew that there was something else that he wasn't telling me. I sighed and sat back on my bed, crossing my arms. I gave him a concerned look, silently willing him to tell me the truth.

Finally, he allowed his eyes to meet mine. He sighed as he stretched back on my bed. "Fine. I'm freaking out about this game today. I don't think I can do it".

I felt helpless as I observed the boy in front of me, his eyes filled with worry as he chewed on his fingernails. "I'm probably the wrong person to speak to about this, Enzo. I don't really know much about quidditch".

"No", he shook his head. "You're exactly the right person to speak to. You always make me feel better".

"Well...", I collapsed back on the bed next to him, looking up towards the ceiling. "Whats the worst that could happen?".

"We lose and it's all my fault and no one speaks to me ever again".

I raised my eyebrows at him. "That sounds just a wee bit dramatic".

Enzo sighed, "You know what I mean. The team have worked hard for this and I don't want to let them all down".

"You won't let anyone down. You know everything about your team, you've spent weeks training up your new seeker. You're exactly who the team needs as captain. You've got this", I reassured, rolling onto my side to face him.

Enzo nodded, taking in what I said as he stared up at the ceiling, still biting at his fingernails.

"I'll be proud of you either way", I grabbed his hand away from his mouth. "But if it does all go tits up, I promise I'll still speak to you. In private at least", I grinned at him.

Enzo turned to face me, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I'm sorry for coming round so early. It's stupid", he whispered, his hand still on mine.

I smiled back at him. "It's not stupid if it's important to you".

Enzo's eyes lingered on mine for a moment as he brought his hand up to my face, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear, before resting it on my cheek.

"See", he whispered. "Exactly the right person".

Then, out of nowhere, he softly ran his thumb along my bottom lip.

I froze, completely shocked by his sudden touch. Before I had time to react, he sprang up from the bed, clearly just as startled by his actions as I was. He mumbled something about going for breakfast as he swung the door open, stumbling over his own feet on the way out. I didn't bother reminding him that breakfast didn't start for almost two hours.

I sunk my head even further into the pillow, trying to process what on earth had just happened. And yet, despite that, I couldn't stop the slightest of smiles creeping onto my face.

~~~~~~

"Chang catches the snitch! I've never seen anything like it! After an 140 point lead, Slytherin have been pipped by 10 points", Zachariah Smith, the most insufferable Hufflepuff in the history of wizardkind, boomed around the stands. "If you listen closely, you can hear Berkshire cryi-"

He was swiftly cut off by Enzo snatching Blaise's bat from him, sending a bludger hurling towards the commentator box, which just so happened to be in the teacher's stand. We stood open mouthed as it skimmed in between Snape and McGonagall, missing them by inches.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle furiously at Enzo, signalling for him to land his broom. Once the crowd was satisfied that the spectacle was over, they slowly started to trickle out of the stands.

"They'll be gutted. They deserved the win. Enzo especially", Theo shook his head, before taking a gulp of firewhiskey. His eyes wandered towards Draco. "Bet you feel like an arsehole now".

Draco sighed in response, his hands stuffed firmly in his pocket as we made our way down the steps. Theo offered me the bottle but I decided against it.

We lingered outside the changing room, waiting for Enzo, Onyx and Blaise. I picked at the skin around my nails nervously, not really sure what to expect when they came out. My heart sunk for Enzo, especially after our conversation this morning. I knew he would be blaming himself.

Finally, Onyx and Blaise emerged through the door. I pulled Onyx into a hug. "You were so good!", I beamed at her. "I'm sorry about the score".

Onyx shrugged. "We'll be fine. Not sure about Enzo though".

"Where is he anyway?", I questioned.

"Is the party in our common room still on? Could use a drink more than ever now", Blaise interrupted, to which Theo nodded.

"Where's Enzo?", I repeated.

"Still in there", Onyx offered. "He hasn't said a word since the game. Even when McGonagall was giving him a bollocking for his stunt with the bludger".

"He's in a foul mood", Blaise agreed.

Theo swung his arm around me and Onyx. "We're best just giving him space when he's like that. Let's go drown our sorrows. He'll join us when he's ready".

But I didn't want to leave him.

I ducked out from under Theo's arm and turned back towards the changing room. "I'll catch up with you all later".

"He's not going to listen to anyone, Cassie", Theo warned me. "It's useless when he's in that mood. Trust me, I've tried before".

Onyx laughed. "You're not Cassie though, are you? He always listens to her".