The Other Me

9. The Stuff that Couples do

And with that, he leaves me alone on the bed. I mumble incomprehensible complaints, but get up afterwards. I like idling. It's my birthday. Mine. I should be able to do whatever the hell I want. And, well, I'm not eager to meet all those guys that Ginny doesn't like and I've been having sex with. This evening has embarrassment written all over it.

"Do I have to go?", I whine as I follow him outside. He rolls his eyes at me.

"Yes. I know you're a bit nervous, but I don't get why it's such a problem."

"Well, you don't like them", I admit with a shrug. He frowns at me, obviously trying to figure out what I'm talking about. "You know, Leo and his friends. I don't remember sleeping with them, so I guess I can just overlook that, but you..."

He smiles at me. Don't. It's such a sad smile, it makes my heart ache. Don't look at me with those eyes. He brushes a strand of hair away from my forehead tenderly. I can't handle it. So many unspoken words hide behind his gaze, so many things he has yet to tell me. His thumb trails along my lower lip before he bends down to place a soft kiss onto my mouth.

"I'm glad to have you back. I really am", he whispers softly, then moves past me to go downstairs. I follow him slowly, thinking maybe a bit too hard about it. It's like I was a completely different person that year. I shiver, remembering mirror me grinning at me and lifting a hand in what looked like a greeting. No, that's stupid. That's just my mind trying to come up with an explanation.

"So, you guys finally finished, huh?", mom asks, looking at me pointedly. Oh. My ears start burning and I try to look anywhere but at her. Ginny laughs and puts an arm around my shoulder.

"Don't tease him. He's not used to it yet."

"Ginny, mind what you're saying", she scolds him, though a smile graces her lips as she shakes her head with a sigh. "Okay, now let's get you guys to that party. You've already missed your last birthday, so you shouldn't skip this one."

"Agreed", Ginny grins and pushes me out the door. Half an hour later, mom drops us off at Leo's place, having thoroughly educated us on drugs abuse, including alcohol, and effects of smoking, elaborating on how that might influence our sex life in the future. While I had wished to disappear to a place far far away, Ginny had enjoyed the talk, probably because it had made me feel miserable. Jerk.

Before we even reach the door, someone throws it open.

"Happy Birthday, Ju!"

I narrow my eyes at him, not liking the fact that someone besides Ginny uses that nickname. He approaches slowly, looking a bit taken aback by my glare. Good. Fear me.

"Oh, didn't Ginny screw you properly?", he grins, flashing me a big smile. Wow. So you're handsome. Big deal. "Well, no reason to look sour, we'll have enough time tonight for me to make up for that."

Woah. Is he seriously saying that? In front of my boyfriend? Like, what the heck? I'm ready to beat the shit out of him. Ginny chuckles beside me, probably picking up some stray thoughts. So, I guess that's Leo. A bit taller than Ginny, a bit more muscular, with brown hair and brown eyes. Nothing special. I'll show him.

"Just let me go after we've said hi and everything's fine", I reply with a shrug, not having to fake annoyance. Take that, dick. "I'm just pissed we had to stop in the middle because you made me promise to be on time."

Ginny snorts, putting a hand to his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. Leo's looking a bit confused, to be honest. Oh, poor him. Yeah, take that. I won't let you push me around.

"Come on, Julian, don't be like that. We can still continue later on. This is your party, you should enjoy it", Ginny says, obviously amused. Leo glares at him. How dare he? Noone's coming between me and my best friend, ever. Especially not now that he's my boyfriend as well. If that means it's us against the world, I'm ready to see the world burn. Or just Leo. Yeah, Leo can just burn to crisps.