Those Days [Newtina]

Chapter 29: Petrificus Totalus

Tina's day at work felt 50 years long.

By late afternoon, she'd attended numerous meetings, brushed off Foxton hounding her about Newt twice, downed three cups of coffee and completed a pile of paperwork so tall that she had to adjust the height of her swivel chair to peek over the top.

Around early evening, Tina came to the conclusion that if she had to fill out one more sheet of paperwork, she was going to scream, so she packed up her belongings and left her office, avoiding anyone who'd ask her whether the reports were done yet.

She ducked into a secluded alleyway and apparated back to their apartment.

"Hey, you're home!" Jacob strode across the living room and enveloped Tina into a hug after she hooked her coat on the rack. "I was about to make dinner," he continued, then paused. He looked thoughtful for a moment, scrunched up his eyes, then-

"Oh yes. Um... Newt knows."

Tina froze.

"Queenie told him what he said," he continued. "She told me too." Jacob grinned.

"I think he's in his suitcase now," he added, as if she were wondering.

Which she was not.

Tina only hesitated a second before thanking him and dashing to her room, flinging her work bag onto the bed and kicking her shoes off.

Newt knows?

This is going to be embarrassing...

It was Queenie's fault, really. If she hadn't decided to tell Newt everything that happened that night, without her consent, then she wouldn't have to face talking to him in this position.

Then she remembered what she had told him this morning.

"Maybe you should ask Queenie."

Mercy Lewis, why did she say that! Now she felt stupid. Not only had she asked Newt to find out, she'd told him to ask Queenie. Now she would think that Tina wanted him to find out, she'd think that she liked him, she'd think-

Tina wanted to curl up under the blankets and hide, but she forced herself out of the room and into the kitchen, trying not to look as embarrassed as she felt.

Speak of the devil, the first person she happened to see in the kitchen, sliding a tray of pie into the oven, was Queenie. She pulled off her mittens and pushed the oven door closed as Tina walked into the kitchen.

"Teen, you're home! How did the meetings go?"

Tina breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for a topic of conversation that didn't end with her mumbling and trying not to turn red.

"Good. They went fine. How are you?"

"Good. Well, excellent, actually. I- Oh! I forgot to tell you! This morning, just after you left, Newt asked me about last night!"

Tina sighed.

Mercy Lewis...

"Yes, yes... ok," she tried to turn the conversation around, but no avail.

"I think he wants to talk to you?"

Queenie stopped herself at her older sister's glare.

"Jacob told you?"

Tina calmed herself. She didn't have anyone but herself to blame for the situation she was in.

"Yeah. I should... probably go talk to him..."