Taste of Youth

Chase was waiting at the front doors with his arms crossed, eyebrows furrowed, and a deep frown on his face. Sirius paused next to me when I stopped in front of Chase, I waved him on and he walked by glowering at Chase and being glared at in return. I leaned against the wall next to my boyfriend and waited. Chase twitched his feet back and forth frowning at his shoes.

“If you don’t have anything to say, I’m heading to the dorms. I’m kind of tired over here.”

“What’s going on with you and Black?”

I snapped my head toward him, “I beg your pardon?”

“Is there something that happened with you and Black?”

“No.” My voice sounded shrill even in my ears, “Why would you ask me something like that?”

“Because you just answered to his beck and call.”

“I did not answer to his beck and call.” I shoved up from the wall and sent him a look, “Sirius and I are friends, just like I’m friends with James, Remus, Peter, and Frank. Do you have a problem with that?”

“You’re calling him by his first name.” He accused me pushing up off the wall as well his arms crossed.

“I’m American! I call everyone by their first name!”

“Yeah but-!”

“But nothing!” I held up my hand and took a deep breath, “I am going to my dorm now.”

“It looked like you were kissing him out there.” Chase said to my turned back.

I turned around my eyes narrowed into slits, “Is that what you want to think? That I’d go and cheat on you? What am I a floozy? A slut?”

“I never said-”

“You didn’t have to!” My voice exploded in the hallway and the small amount of chatter that had been around was gone.

I turned on my heal and stalked off toward the stairs. Several people stared at me murmuring under their breaths as I went by and I snarled under my breath. Sirius was standing just at the top of the stairs and his eyes were wide when I stormed past. Lily and Alice were in the common room along with the rest of the crew, they stopped laughing then I slammed the portrait of the Fat Lady behind me. Lily got up and started to say something but I was already sprinting up with stairs.

I slammed my dorm room and leaned against it for a moment trying to regain my breath. Irritation was boiling in my blood and making it hard for me to breathe. My hands were shaking and I pushed off the door pressing them against my face. The door opened and closed but no one said anything.

“Sirius came in after you.”

Lily’s voice filled my head and I nodded a bit taking a shaky breath and letting my hands drop to my sides.

“He said you got into a fight with Chase.”

“He wanted to know what was going on between me and Sirius.”

“Is there-?”

“No! Why does having a friend who’s a guy always lead to being with him!”

“I was just asking, Luce. Breathe.” Lily came around to stand in front of me, “Are you okay?”

“I’m just a little irritated, sorry.”

“It’s okay, I don’t care. Chase?”

I shook my head, “Don’t even mention his name right now, please. Can we talk about something else?”

“What happened to your arm?”

I groaned, “One subject after another I don’t want to talk about huh. Protocol, remember? I took off the charm to show it to Sirius because he wouldn’t stop bugging me. Another subject?”