She Said What?

Chapter 50: I Watch Strife Get the Best of Us

A/N: This is like the "official" resolution of last chapter's drama, but next chapter is some L/J-ness (discussing their relationship in light of the present drama) and the chapter after is what I like to call "the final straw." But that's all I'll say at the moment.

And remember last chapter, when I told you that you had to be objective and understanding and think about the psyche of the character to get what the hell is going on? Yeah. Well, this is the chapter where you actually have to do that. I'm quite nervous to see how you'll take it.

'Kay. I'm done now. You can read. Hope you like it...

Great mood music (for the latter half): The Other Side of the Door, by Taylor Swift; Broken Strings, by James Morrison and Nelly Furtado; What If, by Coldplay.

And epic thanks to Niki for her advice and enthusiasm whenever I request it. I love youuuu.

March 9

9:00 AM
Status: Worried/anxious

For the first time in a long time, I woke up at six thirty this morning, got dressed, and waited for Alice and Livvy to come to my dormitory to talk. Alice and I had planned this last night, agreeing to bring Livvy down for a pep-talk today since she was so distraught yesterday, and I had promised her I'd be awake. And I was.

The girls came in promptly at seven, dressed and somber. There was noticeable physical distance between them when they arrived, making it clear that though Alice had not openly said so, she (like the entirety of our house) had not yet forgiven Livvy for her antics at the match. I knew at once that this wasn't going to be easy.

Wordlessly, I gestured for Alice and Livvy to please take a seat on my bed and wordlessly, they did. They looked to me to lead this discussion and I nervously obliged.

"So...erm...yeah," I said lamely, my courage failing me. "We all know why we're here – we have to figure out what you're going to tell James during lunch today, Livvy."

"There's nothing to tell him," Livvy said, her tone hard. "He can't do this to us. He can't tell me who to date. If anyone on the team had made a mistake yesterday, he wouldn't be throwing this big of a hissy-fit."

"Livvy, you kissed Russell in the middle of a game," Alice reminded her in a steely voice. "I'm with James on this one. What the hell were you thinking? You can't wreck the game like that!"

"Kissing Russell had nothing to do with what happened!" Livvy argued heatedly. "The Bludger was coming after the two of us and he pushed me out of the way. He saved my life and that's why he couldn't get to the Bludger. It wasn't our kiss!"

"Let's go over the scenario without you snogging your boyfriend, shall we?" Alice fired up. "If you hadn't kissed him – if you had just gone up there, hit the Bludger, and went away – you would've been long gone by the time the other Bludger came to you. You would've dodged it or smacked it at some other bugger and been fine. Russell would've seen the Snitch earlier and put up a better fight to catch it. Hence, I am forced to conclude that your idiocy was directly responsible for our loss!"

"You're all looking for a scapegoat," Livvy retorted. "You guys never really liked me and Russell together anyway. This is the perfect opportunity to tell us we shouldn't be together and you're jumping on it."

"Livs, you're talking through your hat," I said impatiently. "Of course we want you to be happy. And the only reason I ever complained was because you wouldn't tell James about it for the longest time. So will you please stop pretending the world is out to get you?"

"Well, you are," sobbed Livvy, tears welling up in her eyes. "You both agree with James and I can tell. You think it's my fault and I should either break up with my boyfriend or leave the Quidditch team."