Best to You ✸ Regulus Black

005. Of Life

AUGUST

♱

It was raining, confusingly. For the past 4 days he had been there it had been nothing but warm. More than warm, hot, scorching in fact. Even though the sun had been bothering Regulus quite a bit ( he felt as if he was practically melting ), the rain was far worse because it felt like he was back in dreary England. Cooped back up in his dark room in Grimmauld Place with nothing to do and his mother's endless commands. But that didn't really bother him that much, no, what bothered him more was the fact that the one girl who had kept him from sleeping last night was nowhere to be found.

The kiss. Their kiss. What did it mean? Why did she leave?

Never had he been in a situation like this before, where a girl had left him in the middle of a snog. It had left him in shambles. Kept him up all night only for her not to be anywhere in sight. Did he dream it happened?

No, no, he remembers the touch of her lips, the grip of her hands on his hair, and the smell of her still lingering on his shirt from last night.

Regulus had checked everywhere: the lobby, the reception, by the pool, even the secret room he had shown her. But nothing. He had asked the staff to the best of his abilities and knowledge of French, which admittedly didn't get him as far as he had hoped. He thought that maybe if he wandered into the nearby town, he could catch sight of her only to find every shop shut and every cafe rushing their chairs indoors due to the harsh rain, leaving him with soggy hair and no Inès.

The boy had been left to his own accord, his parents off doing some sort of business, and he hadn't any friends. So, as per usual, he sat on the bed staring at the ceiling, a cigarette in hand as the droplets of rain remaining on the roof dropped onto his balcony. It almost was peaceful if his mind weren't elsewhere.

A splash. He jumped up, racing to his balcony and peering over the edge, hoping to catch a glance of her tan skin.

Regulus frowned. Instead of seeing her dark hair emerging from the pool, it was a bald head connected to the body of an older Italian man.

This was eating him alive. He huffed in frustration. Needed to find her, to ask her, to touch her. When did he start sounding so soppy? Like a lovesick fool. Before he could pick up another cigarette, the sound of footsteps was coming down the corridor, not just any footsteps, the sound that came from a heel, one that he was sure could only come from her.

The boy practically stumbled over to the door, nearly tripping over his uncoordinated feet (Thank Merlin for a sport like Quidditch), and looked through the peephole. He couldn't see her yet, but could hear her muttering in Italian (?) to herself.

Reg acted before he could properly think, swinging open the door, grabbing the girl by a gentle grasp on her arm and dragging her into his room, shutting the door behind him. Leaving no time to even see the shock on her face.

"Cosa fai?!" Her exclamation couldn't faze him, his eyebrow rose as she stared at him. Inès' face heated up; this was new, he didn't think she could get more beautiful, but with that soft pink hue dusting her cheeks, he was in awe. It almost made him forget why he was mad at her. Almost.

"Are you avoiding me?"

"Wha- Can you let go of me?" Her eyebrows furrowed together, frustration taking over her softer features.

"I've been looking for you" He wasn't giving up. "I wanted to talk to you."

Regulus could see the panic on her face, still not letting go of her as he took a small step closer. "Well, I don't want to talk to you." She was avoiding eye contact, looking at his shoulder, his hair, her own feet. Anything but his intimidatingly beautiful eyes. He only hummed in response, another step closer.