Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| Seventy Eight |*|

|*| did somebody order more drama? |*|

Cedric tried everything he could to get Aquila to apologize to Ethan, but she refused. "There is nothing I need to apologize for, Cedric," she said. "I'm not the one who walked away."

"You certainly didn't try to stop him," Cedric reminded her. "He's going through a tough time right now. You can't just push him away."

Aquila was sick of hearing about Ethan's "tough time." If he was going through something as bad as he made it out to be, someone should've told her about it. If he wanted to keep her in the dark, she would do the same to him. She didn't understand why no one was telling her what was going on, but she would find out. She'd get Cedric to tell her what he knew one way or the other.

"I'm not the one who did the pushing!" Aquila exclaimed. "He said mean things about a girl he doesn't even know. I know I don't know her either, but you can't just say those types of things without consequences!"

"You don't know what he's going through," Cedric told her. "He has the right to be upset."

"He can be upset all he wants," she said. "But he can't say whatever he wants. I'm not going to excuse him because he's upset. Mean is mean; I don't care what the reasons are."

"You are so stubborn sometimes!" Cedric yelled. "Just say you're sorry! He needs our help right now, and you pushing him away isn't helpful."

Aquila crossed her arms at her boyfriend. "If he needs our help so badly, he'll come get it. I refuse to speak to him until he apologizes to me."

"To you?" he asked. "Why would Ethan need to apologize to you?"

"For walking away!" Aquila exclaimed. "You can't just walk away from someone, Ced!"

"You pushed him away!"

"Did not!"

"Yes you did!"

"He walked away!"

"Because of what you said! If you only knew what he was going through-"

"Well, I don't, and I don't care!"

"But you should care! He's your friend!"

"If he was my friend, he would've told me what was bothering him!"

"You can't blame him for not telling you! His parents got a divorce, and you expect him to just tell you?"

Both students fell silent. Aquila realized how serious Ethan's problem was. Cedric was right when he said she had no idea what he was going though. She couldn't imagine her parents splitting up. She knew their marriage was arranged and they weren't each other's soul mate or anything, but she still couldn't fathom living without them.

Cedric's eyes widened after realizing what he said, and he shook his head. He had promised Ethan he wouldn't tell her. Ethan wanted to tell Aquila on his own when he was ready. He knew Aquila would blow it out of proportion and start to pity him, and Ethan didn't want her pity. Cedric hung his head and spoke quickly. "No, no. Forget I said anything!"

While she knew the situation was serious, Aquila still smirked in triumph. She said, "I knew you'd tell me."

Cedric pointed a finger at her, "You little snake! I hate you for this!"

"It would've happened eventually," she said.

"You can't tell him I told you," he told her. "He won't trust me, and he needs me right now. He needs all of us."

"You're right," she said. Then, Aquila turned around and walked down the corridor, away from Cedric.

"Where are you going?" he called to her as he walked after the green haired girl.

"I'm going to find Ethan!" Aquila told him. "I'm going to... apologize!"

"Are you for real?" he asked. "I thought you said-"

"I say a lot of things," she said. "But that's before I knew. Now I know, and I'm sorry."

|*|*|*|

"I knew you'd come back," she said to Ethan, embracing him in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry I ever doubted you," he told her, returning the hug. "You're such a good friend."

She let him go and looked him in the eye. "It isn't your fault."

He shook his head, "But it is. I shouldn't have listened to them. They told me lies about you."

"I'm aware of what they said. But you don't have to listen to them anymore. I'll always be here for you, Ethan," she promised, holding his hand tightly and smiling warmly at him.

"That means a lot to me," he said. "Thanks, Cassiopeia."

The Ravenclaw girl looked up at him and said, "Call me Cass."

|*|*|*|

On her search for Ethan, Aquila found him standing next to Cassiopeia Carrow just outside the kitchens. Being the curious girl she was, she hid around the corner and listened to what they were saying. When their conversation ended, Aquila was fuming. How could he accept her back? She was evil! She put Aquila through hell!

Maybe that was what he wanted. Maybe Ethan wanted Aquila to suffer. The thought of that sent the green haired girl into a fit of rage so violent that she had to run away. She ran away from Ethan and back to the Slytherin common room. She sat down on a sliver couch by the window and didn't move. She didn't make a sound.

Aquila sat on that couch for an hour, doing only three things: breathing, blinking, and plotting Ethan's death.

Carlos found her there and sat down next to her, but she didn't even move. She didn't acknowledge his presence at all. Eventually, he began poking her shoulder until she snapped.

"What do you want, Carlos?" she asked. "Can't you see I'm plotting deaths here?"

"Yes, I can see that," he said. "If you need to talk about it-"

"No!" she yelled, standing up. "I don't need to talk! But what I do need is a sharp object so I can cut out both of their throats and live a peaceful, happy, drama-free life alone! I hate people stabbing me in the back! I was going to apologize to him, when he should be apologizing to me! I don't give a damn what he's going through right now; I'm going to kill him!"

Carlos had absolutely no idea who she was talking about, but he could tell she needed help. "Then, don't talk," he said. "Sit down and... just sit."

"All he does is cause drama in my life," she ranted as she sat back down on the couch.

"Let's do something else," Carlos suggested. "Want to watch for the squid?"

Aquila nodded, "Yeah. Yeah... I'll watch for the squid..." She knew he was trying to help her, to distract her, and she was happy for it. She rested her head on the back of the couch and said, "Thanks, Carly."

And they both fell asleep, staring out at the window.

|*| Ethan needs to get a grip |*|