Back in Town || Terry & Melanie
Terry felt Mel’s arms tighten and he realized that being alone, keeping to himself, having no one to talk to, was all getting old. He hadn’t had a hug in so long, and maybe that’s why he accepted it so quickly. Or maybe it was because after being by himself for those long months away, he hadn’t realized how much he needed a friend like Mel. He mumbled a “Sorry,” as Mel began wiping away his tears. Frankly, he was a grown man and having a girl brush away his tears for him while they both stood in the middle of a restaurant seemed rather embarrassing, so he nodded and they sat back down. “Thanks, Mel,” he said, with another little smile. “Sophia sounds wonderful, by the way.” He had no idea how she was being so hospitable to him, but he wasn’t going to complain. “Did I mention that I missed you?” he asked with a sigh before returning to his previous activity of pushing his salad around on his plate. |
I Hurt Too | Pansy and Terry
Terry continued to stare at the ground as he heard Pansy’s voice turn to sobs. He knew if he looked up it would be nearly impossible not to comfort her. But that wasn’t why he was here. He was here to explain and be done with her and move on like she seemingly had months ago. “Yes, you’re right, maybe I should have written,” he would give her that much, “But forgive me for being so busy coping with a broken heart. Not only had I lost my best friend, but when I need you the most, when I needed so desperately to be able to come home to familiarity and something good, I learned that I’d lost you too.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to believe, Pansy, because the truth is… we barely know each other.” And that was painstakingly true. So why did he love her the way he did? He swallowed hard and clenched his jaw while he listened to her scold him. He was no longer crying. Instead he was starting to feel numb, but every ‘fuck you’ that Pansy spat at him made him flinch. He knew that she would never understand. Pansy Parkinson had always been the Queen of Hogwarts, per se. She had been with many guys, or at least had many guys fawning over her. But Terry? Terry Boot was the quiet and reserved boy who spent all of his time with books rather than people. He rarely let people in and had never really liked a girl to such an extent, let alone loved one. It was entirely new territory, and he took a chance to be happy in a way he’d never been before. But taking chances always ended up in situations like this, and that’s why he wanted to keep to himself. As he listened to her talk he picked up on all of the ‘were’s and ‘did’s, all being said in the past tense, and it was made clear to him that she didn’t love him anymore. And if he was being honest, he didn’t expect her to. ”That’s what you don’t get. I didn’t need you to try to be something I wanted or someone I deserved. Pansy, you were everything I wanted.” His voice was softer and slower now, and he finally looked up to see her face streaked with tears. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “You never had to try to be someone else because I loved you, Pansy. Despite not knowing you as well as I could have, despite you being selfish and self-centered sometimes - your words, not mine - you were the first girl I let myself love, and when it ends up like this, I can’t figure out why I even tried in the first place.” He took another step back from her. “So… I’m sorry, Pansy Primrose Parkinson. I’m sorry that I didn’t try to be a different person for you. I’m sorry that I thought we deserved each other because according to you I was mistaken. I’m sorry I didn’t write. And I’m sorry I left without telling you. I’ve explained myself, and that’s what I came here to do.” He began to back up slowly and said, “You were my world, too, y’know. I hope you find someone you deserve someday. He’ll be a lucky guy,” before turning and starting to walk away. (Source: terryb00t) |
I Hurt Too | Pansy and Terry
The moment Pansy reached for his hand he wanted to pull her close to him like he used to and never let her go. But instead he pulled his hand away from her. It wasn’t forceful, it wasn’t quick or sudden. It was subtle, but the fact he didn’t return the gesture was noticeable. And if he hadn’t pulled his hand away then, he would have after her next words. Seamus? “I don’t know. I honestly didn’t want to hear details. Just hearing you had moved on so quickly…” He shook his head, trying to block out the memories of when his heart fell to pieces inside of him; shards and remains of any last chance of happiness he had. “I don’t know who it was you were, maybe even still are, fooling around with, and I don’t want to know. But don’t you dare stand there and tell me lies. And you say I’m the one who lacks respect..” His voice trailed off and he looked down at the pavement. He was a bit calmer now, emotionally drained would be a bit more accurate. He wasn’t expecting to come here and blow up in the face of the girl he loved, but here it was happening right before his eyes and maybe that’s why he couldn’t return her gesture of taking his hand. His eyes now moved to study his shoes when he saw Pansy’s feet awkwardly shuffle a bit closer. She whispered that she had missed him and those shards in his chest felt as if they were digging deeper, causing more pain. Because it hurt to hear her say that. For what reason, Terry wasn’t sure. Maybe it was because he knew it was a lie. If she had really missed him, why did she bother with other people? That just showed a lack of care on her part. Or maybe it was because he wanted to believe so badly it was true, and that made him regret staying away for so long. Was this the real reason he came back? To see if everything he heard was true? To see Pansy again? If it was, he certainly hadn’t wanted it to go like this. And when she moved closer to him, he responded by taking a small step backward. He wanted to scream at her and tell her that she was a liar and that he never wanted to see her again. But he knew that wasn’t true. He still loved her. That was true. So when he opened his mouth to tell her to stop, his tongue betrayed him and what came out instead was, “I missed you, too”. It was quiet, but not inaudible. He now looked up to meet Pansy’s eyes. They were the eyes that he had spent so many moments looking into, so many times seeing them close right before a kiss, and those weren’t things he wanted to think about at the moment. Thinking about those things made him want to hold her and tell her how sorry he was and that he missed her so incredibly much and that he wanted her back. But… but what? “But you’ve moved on… haven’t you?” What other explanation was there. “And that’s okay. The beautiful Pansy Parkinson deserves someone who won’t leave without warning.” His anger had now turned to self hatred and hopelessness. “Well anyway,” he said after clearing his throat and wiping the wet areas under his eyes, “You wanted an explanation. There you have it. I hope you got what you wanted.” (Source: terryb00t) |
Back in Town || Terry & Melanie
“Baking? Well, I haven’t had decent baked goods in a while and my flat is lacking good food, so maybe you could throw some stuff together for me?” He joked, but followed up with a wave of his hand to let her know he wasn’t actually serious. “Well I’m not completely new to that kind of thing, but I’d definitely need some pointers.” He pushed his food around his plate with a fork. “What’s she like? I bet she’ll grow up to be ambitious and brilliant like her mother,” he said with a bit of a bigger smile this time. “Does she have your hair?” Terry finally took his first bite before replying with “Spattergroit,” to Mel’s question. After swallowing, though, he found he had less of an appetite than he initially thought, so he pushed the plate away from him. As Mel repeated what he told her in her quietly shocked voice all he could do was nod. What was he supposed to say? He clenched his jaw tight trying not to show any hint of being broken. He was Terry Boot. He used to be the head of the Quidditch team. He was a fully grown man by now. He was an official Hogwarts graduate. He wasn’t supposed to cry. That meant weakness, didn’t it? Yet despite his best efforts, the minute Mel wrapped her arms around him, he lost it. After a moment of figuring out what was happening, he stood up and wrapped his arms around her in return. “I miss her so much,” he whispered into her hair as the first tear began rolling down his cheek. So much for not showing weakness. |
I Hurt Too | Pansy and Terry
He stared after her, his own blood boiling. Was she really so incapable of understanding? “Not everything is about you!” He called after her but she didn’t stop. “Merlin’s beard..” he muttered to himself before running after her and grabbing her wrist to spin her around. “Respect?” he demanded, glaring at her. He hoped that things wouldn’t take this turn, but they had and there was no way Terry would sit idly by. “Tell me, Pansy Parkinson, if someone so close to you died, someone closer than your dearest relatives, what would you do? Please, enlighten me. Because if your parents showed up in the middle of the night demanding you come see your best friend who is on her death bed, would you go? I sure as hell would. And I did. That’s why I left, you self-centered piece of-” He cut himself off, “And you know what? By the time I got there, she was gone. SHE DIED, PANSY!” Those were his first words of shouting, and there would undoubtedly be more to follow. He was trying to make her understand, trying to let her see what had happened to him. But his vision was becoming blurry with the tears that now formed. He blinked them back and continued. “She was the only friend I had ever known, aside from my books and my marks at school. She was the only one. Until the year back after the war, and something inside me wanted to meet new people. And somehow, wanting to see her before she died isn’t respectful?!” He realized now that he still hadn’t let go of her wrist, and did so before he caused her any physical pain from the emotional agony spilling out of him. “How dare you criticize the way I treat the people I love, and question whether I love them at all? Do you want to know who I loved?! I loved you, Pansy.” His voice dropped to a softer tone now, “And after I lost Zella, I wanted to run back to Hogwarts. I wanted to run back to the picnic we had that night, or those mornings we spent in my dorm, or the walks down the hallways holding hands. I wanted to run back to you and make sure that the people I loved knew that I loved them, because god, did I love you.” He couldn’t blink back the tears anymore and one began to roll past his eyelashes. Not only that, but his voice began to break. He hated for her to see him like this, but it was the only way she’d understand. “I knew that you wouldn’t be happy with me for leaving without notice but I expected you to still be waiting. But oh, how wrong I was. I was packing to come back to Hogwarts for graduation when - surprise! - I heard that you had been fooling around with other guys. And I realized that maybe I didn’t mean as much to you as I thought I did. From what I heard, you had moved on already. Tell me, Pansy, how I’m the one not being respectful? So I stayed away for as long as I could. Because really, who missed Terry Boot?” He let out a rather large sigh, finishing his rant. “No one.” (Source: terryb00t) |
Back in Town || Terry & Melanie
“Something else? Like what?” He couldn’t see Mel doing anything other than the work she did now. It had always been her main focus. “And children, well… I’ve had a little bit of experience. But no, not much.” He let out a few raggedy breaths that almost sounded like a laugh. “There’s only one way to learn, though. Right?” He paused a moment for a comical effect. “I’m joking, Mel. Sorry, I was just offering to help in any way I can. You haven’t had it easy.” He came close to making a comment about having dealt with Mel’s moods, making Sophia’s seem like a breeze, but he kept his mouth shut on that one. She had a point. People generally looked for people who were older, because most people believe that experience comes with age. “But that’s ridiculous. Anyone who met you would know that you’re ten times better than some older bloke who probably had to take his test three times to pass.” He sighed, “Well if anyone asks, I’ll tell them that Melanie Crowe is the person to see. There you go, free advertising.” But his jokes stopped when he saw her eyebrows furrow. “No, no. You deserve to know… It’s just… not easy to explain. Lost in many senses of the word.” He swallowed hard and continued, “The reason I initially had to leave Hogwarts was - well, you remember Zella, don’t you? Zella Lillith? My best friend for seven years, co-captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, really loud and energetic, was sent to St. Mungos… that girl. You probably do, you two talked a few times I think. Well her condition got worse, so my parents took me out of school to go see her at the hospital. I was only supposed to be out for a week tops, and it was really sudden so I didn’t have a chance to tell anyone what was going on. But… well anyways, she uh.. she, er, passed away about an hour before I got there. So that turned into a huge ordeal and my parents wouldn’t let me come back for another couple months.” |
Thanks, Alice. I’ll keep that in mind. A novel? Am I allowed to know what it’s about? (Source: terryb00t) |
I Hurt Too | Pansy and Terry
He thought that the ice cream was worth a shot, but he didn’t expect Pansy to actually go for it. He looked at her blankly, a bit surprised with how quickly she accepted the ice cream and then began eating it. He would have bet that she was going to show up and give him a hard, cold glare until he told her everything. He expected the ice cream to end up in the trash or on the ground, not in her mouth. But he wasn’t about to complain. All this meant was that it was going a lot more smoothly than he’d anticipated. Terry cleared his throat after realizing that gawking at her as he was currently doing was probably rude. He decided to follow her lead and began poking at his ice cream with his own spoon. He watched her eat her walnuts and the old Terry probably would have laughed. But he couldn’t laugh at the moment. Not with such a pressing issue on their hands. But he did glance down before extending his arm across the table towards Pansy, “Do you want mine?” he asked, referring to the walnuts. But she was right. She did deserve an explanation. He just wasn’t sure how to give it to her properly. He wanted to roll his eyes at her ‘fat arse’ comment but refrained. He’d let it pass. “Yes, you do,” said Terry after a long pause. “But once you hear it you’ll probably just storm off and not listen to the rest.” He knew that even saying that was probably crossing the line. “It’s really only possible to understand if you were me, but you aren’t, so…” He let himself trail off before he began rambling. (Source: terryb00t) |
|
|
|
2 months ago I Hurt Too | Pansy & TerryThis was something Terry had wanted to avoid at all costs. But that was before Pansy attacked him for disappearing. And he wasn’t just going to let her walk away with the assumptions she was spitting at him. She didn’t know why he’d left, so in her defense she had the right to jump to conclusions. But she also acted as though Terry didn’t deserve a second thought anymore, so why was she suddenly so interested in his whereabouts? He turned a corner on Diagon Alley and headed for Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour. He had told Pansy to meet him there for two reasons. It was neutral ground, a much better situation than being at her flat or his. And hopefully being in the middle of Diagon Alley would lower the risk of a full out fit of them screaming at one another. Terry didn’t do well in those situations. But then again this was Pansy Parkinson he was dealing with. Her reactions weren’t exactly… predictable. With hands shoved in his pockets to keep from fidgeting and a bit of uneasy breathing he finally came to the Parlour. Knowing all too well that he wouldn’t be allowed to sit unless he ordered something, he bought two ice cream sundae’s with extra whipped cream and walnuts. They were Pansy’s favorite. Or used to be, at least. That could have changed by now. But all the same, he figured a friendly gesture couldn’t hurt. After paying for the ice cream, he took one sundae in each hand and turned to see Pansy walking towards him. “Hi,” he said a bit awkwardly once she got close enough. He glanced around and then took a seat at one of the tables before holding a sundae out to her. “Ice cream?” |