slide away {lorenzo berkshire}

55. nothing's gonna hurt you baby

TW - smut

"Tell me every terrible thing you ever did, and let me love you anyway."
- Edgar Allan Poe

~~~~~~

Lorenzo Berkshire

Onyx had absolutely outdone herself.

Strings of floating carved pumpkins swayed lazily overhead, their grins casting warm orange light over every corner. Music thrummed through the air, bass vibrating in my ribs. There was even a low fog curling around the floor, reacting to every movement like it was alive. People were laughing, drinks were spilling, and for once Hogwarts felt like it wasn't crumbling under the weight of everything waiting for us outside these walls.

I sat slouched on one of the conjured couches with Theo, Draco, Onyx, and Blaise. The music was good, the drinks strong, everyone was happy, and yet I couldn't relax - not with the conversation I'd had with Cassie still gnawing at me.

Theo was dressed... well, "dressed" was generous. He'd literally thrown a bedsheet over his head, cut two holes, and called it a day. The kicker? He'd enchanted it to float an inch off the ground, which meant he looked less like a ghost and more like a deranged flying marshmallow.

Onyx, on the other hand, well, it was as if her whole life had led up to this moment. She'd gone all out. She was in full shining knight's armor and wielded a glittering sword that sparked every time she swung it. Next to her, Blaise stood stiffly in a frilly pink princess dress, because, in Onyx's words, 'equality'. His tiara was slightly crooked and he had glitter enchanted to stick to his skin no matter how much he tried to rub it off.

"Come on, admit it," Theo, who had only just stopped pissing himself not two seconds ago, grinned. Well, I could only assume that was what he was doing under his sheet. "You love it."

"I look ridiculous," Blaise muttered, though he didn't move away when Onyx kissed him on the cheek, all smug and satisfied.

Then there was Draco, sitting stiffly at the edge of the bench, looking murderous. He had outright refused to participate. And Onyx outright refused to accept that. She'd shoved a pair of twitching cat ears on his head and painted whiskers on his face. Every time someone said "meow," the ears flicked on their own. "I told you I didn't want to dress up", he grumbled.

"And I told you it was mandatory", she retorted. "This was the best I could do so last minute".

I'd shoved some fake fangs in my mouth and smeared a trickle of fake blood down my chin and decided to leave it at that. I didn't even bother with a cloak. I looked less like a vampire and more like someone who'd had a rough dinner.

I laughed at the right times, but my head wasn't in it. Every second I found my gaze flicking to the door.

Since our talk in her dorm, Cassie had been... not better, exactly, but I'd seen something in her eyes that day - like maybe she hadn't completely given up on herself yet. I knew it was unlikely but I'd thought maybe tonight would be different. Maybe she'd walk in without him, smiling, laugh at everyone's costumes, and make everything feel normal again.

So where was she?

"Mate," Theo said suddenly, kicking my foot under the table, "stop glaring at the door like it owes you money."

"I'm not-", I started, but then the doors opened.

And everything in me stilled.

Cassie walked in.

She looked unbelievable, obviously. A black dress that fit her far too well, fishnets, winged eyeliner sharp enough to cut, and those black feathered wings trailing behind her. She looked... breathtaking.