𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 (OC x OC)

[004] Chapter 14 - that way

"friends don't look at friends that way."

Louis

I sit right next to Makayla on the couch as everyone in the Slytherin common room is celebrating her victory and survival. I hear her sigh and then find myself looking at her.

Her cheeks are decked out with foundation and blush. Her eyelashes are perfectly hidden under bleak mascara. Her blonde hair falls perfectly below her shoulders and her greenish blue eyes dart around the room at the commotion.

She avoids eye contact with me as if I'm invisible. I wish I could give her a reason to look at me without saying I love her. Some would tell me to say I'm joking, but I'm not joking when it comes to her.

She finally looks at me. It's only for a second before she looks away. That second means everything to me.

"So," I clear my throat as I clear away the blanket of silence, "do you know what the next task is?"

She taps her fingers on the large golden egg that rests in her lap before shaking her head gently and saying, "No."

Before I can say anything else, Chase breaks through the crowd. Chase is Makayla's sister. Makayla's family is large.

The oldest three are the triplets, Kai, Makayla, and Preston. Then the twins, Kirsten and Chase, were born and Draco was born the next year. The youngest is Nora, who was born when Makayla and I were six years old. Right now, she's nine, and is the miniest mini Makayla you'll ever meet.

Chase quickly pulls Makayla into her arms, murmuring, "Next time you almost die, ask permission..."

This causes Makayla to laugh, "I didn't almost die."

"Liar!" Chase says as she pulls away. "That dragon looked like it was going to eat you!"

"Chase, I'm fine, you've got nothing to worry about!"

"Not true! I have everything to worry about! You passed out when you got the egg because you broke your ankle! And now, Cedric has been boasting about how he already figured out what the next task is. It's getting quite annoying, if I'm totally hone—"

"What?" Makayla interrupts her. "How did he find out already?"

"He spoke to Moaning Myrtle," she shrugs.

Makayla groans, standing up with the egg under her arm. I stare at them blankly, not entirely knowing what to do with myself until Makayla says, "Louis, would you like to help me?"

I stand up without hesitation, saying, "Sure."

She smiles. "Great! You're holding this, though," she says as she sets the egg in my hands.

Surprised by the weight, I nearly drop it. This causes her to laugh. I would roll my eyes, but I can't find the courage to.

We walk to every bathroom in the school until we find the one that Moaning Myrtle is lurking in.

"Of course it's a boy's bathroom," Makayla groans as we walk in, obviously annoyed.

"Oh, well if it isn't Makayla Malfoy and Louis Lupin," Moaning Myrtle echoes through the bathroom unexpectedly, which causes Makayla to jump and latch onto my arm. Thanks, Myrtle!

"Myrtle, we need to talk," I shout into the bathroom, trying to ignore the fact that Makayla's arm is still latched onto mine.

"Well," Moaning Myrtle says in her usual high-pitched voice, "what is it?"

Makayla realizes she's still holding onto my arm and clears her throat as she pulls away. "Cedric was here earlier... He came with an egg like the one Louis is holding and something told him what the next task in the Tri-Wizard Tournament will be. I was wondering if—"

"I'd help you?" Moaning Myrtle laughs as Makayla's expression falters. "I don't help Malfoys at all. Or cheaters!"

"I didn't cheat!" She defends herself.

"That's what a cheater would say."

"Myrtle," I say, sighing, "what'd Cedric do to get information on the next task?"

Moaning Myrtle reveals herself and gets in my face, smiling slightly. "He simply took his clothes off," she says as her transparent hands ghost my shoulder, causing me to inevitably back away as I shiver, "and he put the egg in the tub."

"Did he have to take his clothes off?" Makayla asks groggily.

"Well, yes! He got in the bath, too, and listened to the screams underwater."

Great.

"There has to be a better way to do it—"

"There isn't!" Myrtle exclaims, cutting her off. "Perhaps... Mr. Lupin could do the honors?"

Oh hell no.

"Makayla, please—"

Just as I start to plead, she groans and starts loosening her tie. "Fine, then," she sighs, pulling the green striped tie from the crook of her white button-up shirt. "This is so embarrassing—"

She's cut off by her frustration with her shirt as she starts to unbutton it. I quickly turn around before she notices me, then turn back around when I hear the water in the tub splash.

"Do you want me to help with anything?" I ask after clearing my throat.

"Uh," she stammers. "I need the egg."

That's when I realize that I'm still holding the egg. How embarrassing.

I walk over to her and hand her the egg. Before I know what's happening, I'm pulled into the pool and met with Makayla's laugh when I come back to the surface.

"Are you kidding me?" I try to keep myself from laughing, but I fail.

My laugh only makes her laugh more. Merlin, I love her so much.

When the laughter dies down, we stare at each other, my eyes darting from her eyes, to her lips, and back to her eyes. I notice she does the same. Before I know it, we're leaning in closer and then...

"Are you guys going to work with the egg or not?" Moaning Myrtle interrupts, causing Makayla to move away from me. The excited breath I was holding is silently released.

"Right," Makayla says, clearing her throat.

It takes a moment for me to register that...

I almost kissed Makayla Malfoy.