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Her phone buzzed with an intense urgency, a notification causing a ripple of vibrations through the device. This morning, a message from James had arrived, blunt and explicit in its content:
I hate you so much, you little traitor. I cannot BELIEVE you skipped my party last night. Don't call me, text me, don't even LOOK at me.
She had assumed it was one of James' dramatic moments, perhaps triggered by an argument with Sirius or an annoying encounter with Severus Snape. Surely, he couldn't genuinely be upset about her missing his party... right?
Two hours later, after leaving him on read, a new notification illuminated her screen:
wtf who do u think u are fkn text me back rn I miss u so much I love u I'm sorry babe.
The abrupt shift in tone lacked James' usual grammar, and it contradicted his earlier message completely. The rollercoaster of emotions in his message left her wondering what had transpired in those two hours to prompt such a dramatic change.
She texted him back with a simple;
No.
Before turning her phone off and continued to do her potions work. It wasn't often when this would happen between the two, but with exams around the corner, she didn't have the energy for his games.
The moment her phone screen went dark, he was at her dorm room door. Despite knowing this would be a bad idea, he decided to show up anyways. He couldn't handle the lack of reply, could not be denied when he wanted something or someone. He knocked on her door with a light tap, his expression soft and apologetic, knowing that his visit would be unwelcome. It was just a matter of whether or not she would open it.
"I'm busy!" She called out from her spot at her desk. The table was full and messy of books, parchment, and ink. Her eyes stayed focused, despite the interruption, as she wrote quickly.
James' foot made a light thump across the floor, the subtle gesture of impatience despite his sweet expression. "Busy my ass." He said, his voice muffled as his lips pressed against the door. "You know I know you're doing homework." He continued. "Open the damn door."
"Yeah, busy." She called out again as she finished the last few touches to her work. A second later, she used her wand to open up the door, not even bothering to look his way.
The moment the door opened, he entered the room, shutting the door behind him. The sight of her working so diligently was, in many ways, cute. But in other ways, he was envious. Her ability to focus during a heated argument with him. It drove him mad. He closed the distance between the two of them, the height difference striking as she stood over her desk. "Let me see what you are working on." He spoke, his tone as demanding as his eyes were soft.
She simply refused. "I thought I was a traitor. Don't call me, text me, or look at me. Isn't that what you said?" She asked him carelessly as she flipped through her book.
When she mentioned his words back to him in such a causal way, his features darkened with frustration. "That was two hours ago. I've changed my mind." He said, not bothered that his words came out more irritated than smooth. "Give me your book."
She gave a small shrug. "It could've been a month ago, the effects are still the same." She handed him her book, but shortly after took her attention to her parchment to double check her work. She still refused to look his way.
James hated that about her. That she couldn't ever stay mad at him. That she always brushed off his words, no matter how harsh he made them. But then again, that's what he liked most about her. His fingers curled around the book, his eyes quickly skimming over the cover. "Let me see your parchment." He instructed, his demand becoming more forceful.
She lifted her parchment up for him to take as her eyes gazed at the wall above her desk where pictures were scattered. It was full of happy memories with her family, friends, and... James. She smiled when her eyes found a certain picture, the one taken during their first date.
The moment his eyes met the picture on her wall, he couldn't help but smirk. There were dozens of others, yet she seemed to hold onto that one the most. He glanced at her, noting how her eyes didn't look at him but instead, on the wall. "You miss me." He said softly, taking her parchment and scanning it with his eyes.
"Don't feel too special." She spoke. "Just remembering how sweet you used to be."
The remark was like a knife to his heart. For a moment, his face flashed with anger, as his grip on her parchment tightened. But after taking a deep breath, he let go, his anger quickly dissolving and fading away. "Baby." He began. "I've always been sweet with you. You know that. What is going on? Why are you so cold with me right now?"
She leaned her head back before finally looking over at him with her big brown eyes. "Your words hurt, it doesn't matter if you meant them or not."
He took a step forward, close enough to touch her. His fingers curled around her waist, and he pulled her close, her back pressed against his chest. "I'm sorry, baby." He said. The way she had dismissed him earlier had filled him with irrational rage, but his anger faded away with the sight of her. He didn't get mad at her, not really, not anymore. He was too obsessed with her, obsessed with keeping her close.
She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Watch your mouth from now on, will you?"
When she leaned into him, his chest expanded with pride. She was his, his alone. "I'll be nicer now, I promise." He said, his lips pressing against the side of her temple. "You were seriously going to ignore me all night?"
"I was definitely thinking about it." She let out a small content laugh as she lifted her head to look at him. "I was about to test a theory, how long until you started begging."
"You're diabolical." He spoke, his lips curling into a smirk. He didn't mind entertaining her games, finding them more cute than irritating, as most would have. "I would have given it ten minutes by the way." He pressed his lips against her. "I do not beg, you know that."
