Don't Tell Anyone About This | Regulus Black

Chapter Twelve

Edgar Bones was experiencing an unusual feeling. One he wasn't sure he'd ever felt before. He felt quite rejected. No... That wasn't quite the right word for it.
He wasn't rejected, because he'd never asked for anything. He wasn't lonely because he still had so many friends. He wasn't annoyed because nothing had really occurred.
But Nerezza Stark seemed to be avoiding him.

It wasn't as if there'd been any sort of fight, and he was pretty sure he hadn't done anything bad. That only made the matter more perplexing though.

Over the past four or five days, he'd certainly noticed Nera avoiding him. That much was obvious. He just couldn't pinpoint why. So that was his plan for the day, to find Nera and ask what the hell was going on.
If she just didn't like his company, that was fine, but he felt he deserved a reason for the sudden cutting off. An answer, at least.

Just as he was trying to come up with what exactly it was he'd say to the girl, he rounded a corner and almost walked right into her.
"Oh, sorry!" Edgar apologised as he stumbled back and checked himself. Then, he lifted his head and saw Nera, who was rather pale, staring right back at him.

"It's-it's alright." She stammered quickly as she hugged her book to her chest.

Finally, he had his chance.
"Hey, Nera..." Edgar slowly began.
Oh, no, Nera thought, is it insane if I just run away?

"It... It might be nothing." He spoke tentatively, "But I've kind of felt like you've been avoiding me. I was, I suppose, just wondering if I've done something to upset or annoy you?"

Suddenly, Nera found herself feeling bad for Edgar. Could he really be as cruel as she'd thought? Nera wasn't so sure now. It was one thing to hear a rumour about someone, but another to consider it when faced with that person.

"I-I, er, I don't know." She stammered.
Edgar frowned in confusion, "You don't know?"

Nera sighed, her shoulders dropped, and she confessed, "Parkinson came and talked to me about you... Only... I don't know what to think. I don't want to believe it. I don't know."
"Parkinson?" He frowned more, then it dawned on him, "Oh, Delilah? What-why were you talking to her?"

"Well, it wasn't my choice. She approached me." Nera's grip tightened on her book so her knuckles turned white.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so accusatory." He apologised, "I just don't understand."

She shook her head, "It's-it's okay. Um, Delilah told me..."
"Yeah..."
"Told me that you were befriending me as some sort of prank. Apparently there's a bet to embarrass me." Nera looked down at the floor.

Surprisingly, Edgar then started to laugh. He chuckled, "Do you really believe someone would do that?"
She shrugged, "I wouldn't put it past some people."
In a flash, his expression washed over with seriousness as he asked, "Would you put it past me?"

"So it really isn't true?"
"Of course not."
"Sorry."
Edgar let out another laugh, "Whatever for?"
"I don't..." She shrugged again, "For thinking it could be true, I suppose."

He revealed a warm smile, "Don't worry about it. I just... Can I maybe explain why... I don't want to say don't believe Dels, but maybe I can explain why she might not have been super honest?"
"Oh, I-er-well-er-Okay, yeah." Nera stammered, almost letting her book slip out of her grasp.

"So, you probably know that we used to go out. For about seven or eight months, if I remember correctly. Over summer we broke up... Well... That's not really fair. I did kind of dump her out of the blue and... Understandably, it didn't go down well. According to what I've heard, she's quite bitter about it and... I wonder if perhaps she's jealous that I've now befriended you."