I'll Take My Chances

I raced after Cedric, but I knew there was no way I could catch up to him now. He had taken a head start (also known as cheating) and was a way ahead of me. I dragged myself up the sloping hill that led to the Shrieking Shack, my legs pumping as fast as possible, yet each step was becoming considerably harder and harder. My legs were burning and felt a little like jello. By the time I had made it to the top, I was nearly gasping for breath and dropped to the ground. Cedric was standing over me, arms crossed over his broad chest and wearing a triumphant grin. I stuck my tongue out at him playfully, before falling backwards onto the soft grass.

" What took you so long, Lex?" He teased, his grey eyes twinkling mischievously.

I rolled my eyes, letting out a laugh. " Shut it, Diggory. I so would have beat you, but then you decided to cheat." I shot back, a hint of teasing in my own tone as I gave him a grin.

Cedric pretended to look shocked, letting out a gasp. " How dare you accuse me of something like that!" His voice layered in mock outrage, a tiny smile playing at the corner's of his lips. " I would never cheat!"

I snorted with laughter. " Liar! Now you're a cheater AND a liar!" I grinned, pulling myself back to a sitting position. I stretched my legs out in front of me and leaned back on my hands. I clucked my tongue loudly. " I would never have guessed, Mr. Diggory. You always seemed like such a nice boy." I teased. Cedric had proven me wrong about himself and I had sort of forgotten why I disliked him so much in the first place. He wasn’t that bad and was much more modest and down-to-earth than I had expected. The only thing really bothering me now was that same twisting feeling in my stomach I had been experiencing on and off for the past few weeks. It felt less like gymnastics now, and I realized it was more like there was a pack of butterflies swarming inside of me. Every time he smiled that crooked grin in my direction, every time he laughed, or when his hand accidentally brushed against mind, it felt like an electric current shooting down my spine, giving me a wave of chills. I knew there was another explanation for the strange way I was feeling, besides the rare virus theory I had been going with. I refused to admit it to myself, and I wouldn’t even think about ever considering it out loud. It was too farfetched, too impossible.

Cedric let out a heavy sigh of defeat. " Alright fine...So maybe I cheated a little." He admitted, giving me a sheepish grin that once more sent the swarm of butterflies in my stomach into an uproar. I mentally shouted at them to calm down. " How about a re-match?" He challenged, his eyes narrowing competitively.

I pretended to ponder the idea of another race. " Alright, fine! And this time I'll beat you fair and square!" I grinned devilishly.

" We'll see about that! Come on!" Cedric reached out a hand, and I took it as he pulled me to my feet. I ignored the sparks that traveled throughout my body by just a simple touch of his hand.

I straightened up, brushing off stray blades of grass on my faded jeans. I quickly blew a strand of brown hair out of my eyes, glancing back at Cedric, a sly look in my eyes. " Race you to the school gate!!" I told him, pointing towards the iron gate clearly visible from the steep hill we were both standing on.

Cedric nodded, giving me a grin. " To the gate it is! And this time, I'll count down. On your marks, get set-" He began, planting his feet into the ground for a good start.

I was gone by the time he said ‘set‘, racing down the hill and laughing wickedly as I went. I could hear Cedric’s shouts of protest behind me and I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder and see for myself the expression of surprise etched onto his face. I sprinted through the cobbled streets of Hogsmeade, dodging unsuspecting shoppers and students, knocking a few over in the process. I turned and yelled a quick sorry each time, putting on a burst of sped as I noticed how close Cedric was to catching me.

I grinned broadly upon reaching the rusted gate first, and leaned against the iron, trying to make it seem as though I had been waiting there for an eternity. I knew it wasn‘t very convincing, though, from the way I was out of breath and my breathing was a little ragged. Not to mention he arrived only seconds after I did.

I gave him a smirk, pushing myself away from the gate I had been leaning against. " Geeze, Cedric. What too you so long? I've been waiting here forever!" I told him with a sly grin, mocking his own words when he had cheated his way to the Shrieking Shack.

It was Cedric's turn to roll his eyes as he moved past me and pushed open the gate, standing aside to allow me to pass through to the Hogwart's Grounds. " You're just as bad as I am, cheater." He taunted, following after me as the gate shut with a clang.

I turned around and gave him a wide innocent grin. " I know! But, hey! Now we're even!" I exclaimed, shrugging my shoulders slightly.

Cedric let out a laugh, falling into pace with me. I glanced down towards his, noticing the bag of Cockroach Clusters was now completely empty.

I chewed my lower lip a moment, before allowing my eyes to avert back to Cedric's. " So...did you really eat all those, or did you dump them out somewhere along the way?" I asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Cedric gave me a mischievous grin, looking completely guilty. " I‘m not really sure...Maybe they fell out during our race." He answered with a slight shrug of his own shoulders.

I let out a laugh, seriously doubting that since the bag had been knotted shut.

Before I had a chance to reply with another witty comeback, though, a drop of rain had fallen onto the top of my head, making me glance up towards the darkened, grey sky. Cedric followed my gaze, just as the rain began falling harder, at a fast and steady pace.

“Maybe you should get inside before you melt.” He grinned, his eyes dancing with laughter.

I rolled my eyes and playfully shoved his shoulder. “Watch it, Diggory.” I warned him, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

Neither of us moved as the rain continued to fall harder, and finally, I locked my gaze with his. My breath suddenly caught in my throat as he took a step and closed the small space that had been between us. I felt frozen to the spot, incapable of movement. The only sound was the dull thud of rain hitting the paved path, but I found it hard to pay attention to anything else other than the fact Cedric Diggory was standing mere inches from me and the butterflies in my stomach seemed to have multiplied by one million.

We were both completely drenched, his sandy colored hair sticking up in matted tuffs and his grey eyes a near perfect shade to the stormy sky above. “Maybe we should go inside and get out of the rain.” He said quietly, still holding my gaze.

I nodded. “Maybe.” I agreed.

Neither of us made a move towards the castle.

I shuffled forward half a step, closing any last inch that might have remained between us, my pulse rising to an alarming level. He was now so close, I could feel his warm breath against my lips. Cedric leaned forward slightly and I shut my eyes tight, waiting.

A shrill cry suddenly cut through the air, breaking the moment completely. Cedric blinked and instantly moved away, looking somewhat disappointed. My eyes flew open, and it dawned on me what had just come so close to happening. Cedric had almost kissed me. He wanted to kiss me, he leaned in. And I didn’t pull away. Because…I wanted him to kiss me, too. I wasn’t sure how to feel….nervous, pleased, or maybe just terrified. Honestly, the thought of letting Cedric get that close was a little scary. Just this morning I had been dreading spending the day with him.

" Ced!"

The yell came again and after glancing around uncertainly, I noticed a small pack of Cedric's friends hurrying towards him. Cedric let out a sigh, looking back at me and mouthing 'sorry'.

I nodded. " Don’t worry about it. I'll see you around, Diggory." I said softly, giving him a weak smile.

Before he could protest, I had wandered past him, brushing past his friends who were headed towards him and began to climb the stairs to the castle. Perhaps I should have been thankful for the sudden interruption. Who knows what would have happened if I had let him move any closer to me. The last thing I needed was to fall for someone like Cedric Diggory. There were loads of girls who were constantly following him around and swooning over him. Yet I couldn‘t help but wonder just how many of those girls he had actually looked at twice, how many he had tried to lean in and kiss, like the way he had with me. I knew now, after spending the day with him, that Cedric wasn’t the type to flaunt himself. In fact, he seemed obliviously unaware of just how attractive and wanted he really was. So the answer to my previous question was probably not many. This made my pulse soar once again and I took a deep breath to steady it. This wasn’t a good road to be on. I couldn’t fall for Cedric Diggory. I couldn’t let myself.

Yet deep, deep down, I already knew it was too late.