warmth - cedric diggory

chapter twelve

cedric diggory was holding on tight to athena rosewood's hand in the hogwarts hallways. they both shared soft giggles and stolen glances as they hid from the students and professors roaming the hall.

cedric eventually led his favorite girl into the astronomy tower. athena had stopped him before they walked in, confused, and scared of getting caught. cedric just smiled largely and hurried in inside. as terrified as she was, she felt so alive and happy with cedric.

after they both caught their breath after walking up stairs upon stairs, they walked to an opening and stared to the night sky.

the night illuminated across the entire sky, each star feeling entirely personable. each star seemed to glow brighter that night, neither of them knew if that was because of the specific night, or being together made them feel so much more alive.

"we take advantage of the night sky." athena said. white light beamed across her happy face. her brown eyes danced to each star in the sky, connecting different constellations with her mind.

"we take advantage of a lot of things that should be more appreciated." cedric responded, his eyes also glued to the painting of the dark. cedric glanced at athena and studied her face closely.

at that moment, as the pure girl admired the night time nature, cedric knew that he was in love with athena rosewood. he knew he had a crush on her but he suddenly realized that she is everything he has ever wanted. he thought it seemed awfully soon but he looked at her and realized he couldn't spend another day without her.

"athena," cedric began to speak. his brain didn't process his words but he knew he needed to say something to her. "i need to tell you something."

her head instantly turned to face him. her brown hair fell slightly off her shoulder and she had starry eyes. a small smile was pressed against her round lips as she looked to him with pure joy.

"tell me." athena replied, fixing her posture from once before leaning. she leaned against the cold concrete opening, crossing her legs and focusing on the nervous boy in front of her.

cedric was silent for ninety-three seconds. athena counted in her head. they both just held a strong glance, exchanging a small smile to one another. cedric was so nervous looking into her eyes so intimately but at the same time, he never felt so at peace.

cedric studied the room for a moment but by that, he studied how the room affected her. she looks so beautiful as the stars in the sky showered her lightly freckled skin. her hair fell perfectly into the right places, and the smile she wore could take anyone's breath away.

"i want to spend every day with you and i think i'm in love with you." the words spilled out of his mouth like honey. he didn't stutter or hesitate to speak because it came directly from his heart. but as soon as the words actually came out, cedric begun to freak himself out.

"oh, i didn't mean to... i didn't mean to just say that. i'm so sorry. that was stupid." cedric placed his hands up to his head in frustration, slightly grabbing his own hair to pull.

he thought about how stupid he sounded and how stupid he felt. did he really go with that sentence? did he have to be such an idiot? a million different things bolted into his mind, knowing he probably just blew everything away.

athena began to giggle softly and look out to the sky again. cedric could see her breathing had changed patterns as he looked at her and she bit her bottom lip, not looking to him. he felt like he was going a bit crazy when she wouldn't speak.

"really? do you really feel like that?" her mary jane shoes were glued to the same spot on the floor. she finally looked to cedric and cedric could feel his heart beating out of his chest. her expression was hard to read, cedric had no idea what she was thinking.

all cedric could do was look back to the night sky and nod his head. he was trying to think of every outcome possible. she was either going to tell him that he was weird and she didn't feel the same and leave. or she would say thank you and probably like shake his hand or something.

his chest rose and rose as he waited for something to happen because he was terrified of losing her. cedric knew he might have been acting dramatic but he couldn't breathe correctly when athena was around, ever.

the last thing cedric expected was the feeling of her athena's cold hands on his red cheeks and the taste of strawberries on his lips. she must have used strawberry chapstick often.

cedric could feel her soft lips against his as she slammed them on his. at this moment, cedric knew he did exactly what was supposed to happen. like when you picture the most perfect outcome possible for no reason, he was living his.

his hands quickly found a space on her waist as she leaned forward into his like it was the most comfortable place in the world. they continued to kiss only for a few more moments until athena pulled away.

her eyes opened slower than usual but she quickly looked at the ground and leaned her head against cedric's shoulders. she let out a loud giggle and vibrated against his covered shoulder. cedric couldn't help but share the giggle also.

they both laughed into the night sky and enjoyed the presence of other another. all the nervousness left cedric's body as she leaned into him. he expected moments like this to be awkward and confusing, but cedric had never felt more at home.

"we need to go back, cedric." athena lifted her head off his shoulder and had a warm smile across her face. her cheeks were flushed from probably the cold but also maybe their interaction as well. cedric smiled down at her, looking at her for just a moment.

"are you scared of getting caught, rosewood?" cedric brushed a small piece of her brown hair off her face. the air from standing up so high was getting colder by the moment and the breeze just continued to pick up. the nights at hogwarts had just started to get a lot colder.

"of course i am, diggory and i know you are as well." she laughed softly while looking up to him, her eyes wrinkled at the sides as she laughed.

"and you are absolutely correct, let's go back." they both shared giggles back and forth once again as they walked down the stairs, hand in hand. they both just felt like these moments were the definition of teenagers in love.