Whispers

Work sucked. Work, in Trystan’s eyes, was an excuse to suffer the verbal abuse of her snotty manager, and to sit and think about life. Trystan loved her life, but there were elements of her life that were giving her a bit of a headache, especially the elements that involved a particular blue-eyed twat.

Standing at the hostess stand, Trystan erased a table that had just left. Her job wasn’t hard, but it wasn’t fun either. At Rae’s suggesting, Trys had started taking basic classes at the nearby university for communications. Though she was sarcastic and had dry humor often. Trystan was good with people. It was one of the few reasons she still had her job here.

Classical music played throughout the high-end restaurant. Mixed in with the smell of food, she could smell expensive perfume, leather and other things that rich people adorned on their every day wear. Trystan on the other hand, smelled like detergent from her freshly washed white shirt.

Blowing a strand of blonde hair from her face, she glanced up, feeling the chill of the night air hitting her in face as people walked in. She gripped the edges of her wood podium, trying not to let her eyes bulge from her head as Louis and his parents, as well as a girl she didn’t know walked in.

Louis was looking anywhere but at her, his stiff posture all she needed to know that he was uncomfortable. He had made absolutely no mention that he was coming here tonight. In fact, she hadn’t even talked to him before work, which was off. But now he was in front of her, trying not to look at her.

Trystan wasn’t stupid. She rather considered herself smart, so it wasn’t hard for her eyes to dart to every single individual. She had never seen Louis’ parents in person, but in photographs. She knew his mother and father on sight. But she didn’t know the pretty girl who her mother was gushing over. But she had an idea that she wasn’t family.

“A table for four, please,” his father informed, hardly sparring her a glance as he checked his watch. Louis had been dragged into conversation with the two women, though Trystan kept glancing at him. “Miss?”

She shook her head, looking up at him, shaken from her daze. “O-of course,” she informed him, grabbing four menus and marking down where she was taking them. “Right this way, sir.”

With a bland expression, she led them to a window, handing them their menus. When she gave Louis his, he looked up at her, begging in his eyes. But she didn’t understand what he was begging her to see here. She had no idea what in the bloody hell was going on. But she did know she was mad.

Trystan went over the specials and asked them if there was anything else that they needed, pointedly looking at Louis. He looked down at his menu, avoiding her gaze. She just wanted him to look at her. “No, thanks.” Trystan blinked, realizing that it was the second time his mother had spoken. “We’re fine.”

The girl gave a cut nod, excusing herself. At her hostess stand, she did her best not to destroy something. Of course she and Louis were not dating. They had shagged a few times, but neither one of them were the sort to date.

Trystan learned a long time ago that dating just didn’t work. Not for girls like her. She just did not like being tied down, and she certainly didn’t enjoy being able to go out and do what she wanted. So she was happy that Louis seemed to be interested in some other girl. It got him out of her hair. Right?

Practicing this mantra over and over, she did her job. What she didn’t expect, was Louis to find her in the middle of her job, popping up in front of her hostess stand without warning, making her snarl at him in distaste before she could contain it.

He saw it.

“What do you need?” she asked as cordially as possible. From the look on his face, she knew that her polite and business like attitude scared him more than her snarl had. “Is your waiter giving you trouble?”

“What?” he shook his head, adjusting his blazer. “No. Trystan, I-“

“Then what is it? I don’t want to get fired from the only bloody place that will hire me.” He went very quiet. Louis had been the subject of her annoyance and anger before, but never her cold anger, one that was real. “Well spit it out, Tomlinson.”

“I just, the dinner? It’s not what it looks like.”

She grit her teeth, swallowing a vile comment. She felt so angry, and knowing that it was because of him only made it worse. “It looks like you’re out at dinner,” she responded, no emotion in her voice. “I don’t really understand what you mean.”

“Trystan…”

“Am I supposed to be upset by you going to dinner, Louis? I don’t really see what the problem is.”

“You’re mad.”

“And what does that have to do with you? What could you have done, to assume my anger is towards you?” He didn’t say anything. They both knew that it was because he had another girl with him and his parents, but they didn’t want to admit why she was mad and why he was panicking. People like them didn’t date. So what the hell were they discussing? “Can you please go enjoy your dinner? I really need to finish rolling silverware.”

Louis bit his lip before nodding once, dropping his eyes and walking away. Trystan refused to watch his retreating figure, because she was not one of those girls. She was not the girl to want a relationship out of something that was understood to be purely physical. She would not and should not.

“Bugger,” she muttered to herself, glaring at the stand.

*

Sitting in Harry’s lap on the couch, Rae watched as he read his book to himself, the pages yellowed with oxidation and pen marks in the corners. One of Harry’s favorite things to do was to write his reactions to thinks in the margins of books, or circle his favorite lines.

Currently he was re-reading A Tale of Two cities, and Rae was watching with interest as he pulled a pen from the table, which was difficult to do with her sitting in his lap and leaning against his chest, and underline a quote. She leaned forward, reading the line.

Rae smiled, reading out loud, “There is prodigious strength in sorrow and despair.” Harry nodded without saying anything, setting down the pen and pressing his lips to her shoulder, keeping them their as he green eyes tracked the words from over her shoulder. “Do you find strength, when you despair?”

He set it down, thinking about it. “I found you, didn’t I?”

“I meant strength.”

He looked at her right in the eyes, into the window of her being. “I know.”

She smiled at him softly. She could never feel so loved in her entire life. She knew that. “Just a few months ago you thought I was a weakness.”

“Sometimes I think people confuse the two, don’t you? Like steroids. They make you strong physically, but can make you weak mentally. I think it’s all about perspective, maybe.”

“Everything is about perspective.”

“Maybe.”

Their conversation came to an end when Trystan came storming into the house, throwing her keys on the table and walking into the kitchen, rattling through the fridge. The sound of glass hitting glass could be heard. She walked out of the kitchen, carrying a bottle of vodka in one hand.

Rae gave her a questioning glance and Trystan held out her hand in a ‘stop’ motion, as to stop Rae from saying anything. Her blonde hair was tied on her head and her white shirt was untucked from her black pants. Frustration was written all over her face.

It was then Rae noticed there were two shot glasses in her hands as she gestured to Harry with her finger. “You need to go home. I need Rae for a night.”

“Serious-“

“I will literally shove my foot so far up your ass, Harry, that you will be able to taste my freshly painted toes. The color is called Lemon Lime, so I’m sure it tastes absolutely splendid.

Sighing, Harry patted Rae and she crawled from his lap, the boy standing. He knew when it was time to leave, and since he mostly spent all of his time with Rae, he was okay with giving her up to Trystan. He kissed Rae quickly and grabbed his things, walking by her. He paused then and looked at Trystan who eyed him. “If you want me to kick his ass, I will.”

She feigned stupid. “Who?”

Harry grinned. “You know where to find me.”

The door closed behind Harry and Trystan transfixed her eyes on Rae, who crossed her legs and patted on the spot next to her on the couch. Trystan walked to her immediately, slamming the shot glasses on the table and sitting, unscrewing the cap to the bottle.

Without a word she poured them shots and they took it wordlessly, sloshing back the vile, burning liquid. Rae made a face of distaste, smacking her lips as if that would help rid her mouth of the taste. It didn’t.

After the third shot, Rae knew she had to say something; otherwise Trystan would go all night. Trystan was like Rae in that she didn’t like to talk about feelings. But the only way that she would talk about her feelings is if she was drinking, then she could blame the emotional fountain on the alcohol.

“I don’t date.”

Rae stared at her best friend, waiting for more to come out of her lips. Instead, Trystan poured another shot, focusing on that. “That’s really an amazing fact,” Rae said sarcastically when she couldn’t stand the silence anymore. Trystan glanced at her. “They should put that on jeopardy, under the category ‘Obvious.’ It would-“

“I really fucking fancy him, okay?” Rae shut up instantly. The blonde’s tone was distressed and it sounded strained, which is something that didn’t happen often. Rae leaned forward and touched her on the arm, making Trys look at her. “Louis? I like him, alright? And it bothers me, because that’s not what was supposed to happen. It was just hookups, and now there are these stupid things-“

“Feelings.”

“Feelings, and I don’t enjoy them. Especially when he comes waltzing into my place of work with his parents and some other flimsy, preppy rich little – okay sorry, rich doesn’t mean rude- snot of a prat, and there I stood, totally oblivious and feeling stupid.”

“Well did he say anything?”

“When he snuck away from the bloody table like a child!” She made a hand like a claw, growling in frustration before knocking back the shot again, squeezing her eyes with the taste. “God, I’m so stupid. I know we have nothing, so why do I feel so mad?”

“I think you have a right too,” Rae insisted, rubbing her friends shoulder comfortingly. She didn’t like to see Trystan upset. It hurt her heart. Trystan deserved the world. “I don’t think you’re just hookups anymore, love. Hookups don’t hang around after sex, and they certainly don’t speak the way you guys do.”

“What am I doing?” Trystan whispered, looking down at the ground. “Making something out of nothing, as per usual.”

Rae smiled fondly. “Have you met me? I’m an absolute psycho, Trystan. Harry and I are a walking travesty with a little bit of sunshine every now and then, and you think you’re crazy. You are so normal, and it’s okay to stress these things. My advice? Just ask him. It may be terrifying, but ask.”

“Can you just stop sounding wise, Gandalf?”

“Only if you don’t do it to me, Dumbledore.”

Trystan smiled a real smile at her, leaning over and hugging Rae quickly. The two of them were lucky to have one another. There was nothing in the world like the bond of friendship between girls. The pure types. Friendship between girls was eternal, infinite in love and understanding. Trystan was a reflection of the pieces that were not in Rae, the pieces she needed.

Pouring another shot, Trystan handed it to Rae, smiling. “To the best fucking wizards known to mankind.”

And they took them