“You’re still staring,” I pointed out.

“I know, just give me a moment,” the grin danced on his lips, his eyes didn't move.

“Oh lord,” I rolled my eyes.

And did a mental happy dance.

“What?” I almost laughed at her accusation, still plotting the easiest way to knock her out. Luckily she seemed to be thick. It might help cushion her fall after I pushed her out the window for looking at me like that. Some people just had no manners these days.

“Has the bludger really hit you that hard, or have you always been so slow?” She scowled at me.

The blond bimbo was calling me dense?

“Stop freaking her out, Jen.” She chuckled. “You don’t say stuff like that to Gwen or James. They panic and act weird. Look at her!”
 
“I wasn’t meaning to. I was just curious.” Jen’s brow furrowed.
 
That’s right!
 
Wait; what?
 
I spun my head towards Vic, the confusion practically shining from my face. She sighed and started to explain.

The room was quickly filled with mutterings and conversations on napkins, but the atmosphere between James and me was still awkward. He was still standing in the same spot, looking rather puzzled, a light pink colour still visible on his cheeks. I wanted to say something, but didn’t know how I could work on fixing it.
 
Oh Godric, this won’t end well.
 
He’ll bring up the subject later; I know it.
 
Because things weren’t damned well hard enough for me already…

His voice gave me courage and finally I managed to open my eyes all the way, only to see…
 
White?
 
I blinked, but everything still stayed white. I lost count how many times I blinked during the next moments, but eventually the other colours started to show up too.

I glared at the hideous things on my lap. There was no way I was going to use them! Never in a million years.
 
“You can support your weight with those and be able to walk. You can go home if it works.”
 
Actually I think there’s a muggle saying or something that you should try everything once, so maybe I was too harsh to judge the pieces of metal…

“Hi,” I said with a small smile after opening the door and getting the first glimpse of the handsome man.
 
“You look beautiful,” he said, a huge smile lighting his face. I prayed that my knees weren’t making too much noise for him to notice as they knocked together at the sight of his smile.
 
Honestly, it should be illegal to make one feel this way with just a grin.

But it wasn’t fine. It most definitely wasn’t even anything close. It was the most horrible thing ever, but for completely different reasons that I had expected.
 
The horde of reporters attacked us the moment the door opened. There were a lot more of them that I had anticipated, at least ten times more. I thought it was a bit odd as the cameras flashed in front of our faces. Sure, they hadn’t really seen us for a while, but I still didn’t think there would’ve been so many of them.

He was laughing as he let go of me and his eyes were twinkling joyfully. That, combined with how good he was looking today, had my thoughts wandering down the wrong track again – I don’t think there had ever been a moment when I had wanted to kiss him more. But luckily there was a cough coming from the doorway, interrupting us. My euphoria was so strong at that moment, who knows what I would’ve done.

James stared back, the traces of his amusement still visible on his lips. “Oh come on. Don’t I get a hug?” he questioned, his left hand running through his messy, dark hair.

Merlin, I had missed that sight.

“I don’t know,” I replied stubbornly, shaking the thoughts out of my head and crossing my arms to keep myself firm. 

I rolled my eyes. He was just being paranoid. The press didn’t have access anywhere near our locker room. “What do you want to talk about then?” I asked as I kneeled down to secure the knee pad on my injured leg.
 
The straps were all tightly fastened, but I still touched every one of them, just to…
 
“About how smoking you look in your Quidditch gear,” James’s reply interrupted me and I yanked the strap harder than I intended.

“Oh, alright,” I heard James comment, nodding as he turned his eyes away from me and pressed the elevator button.

Seriously, how could I face Joshua now after the broom closet incident? How would he react if I told him? Should I tell him? Would I ever be able to act normal if I didn’t?

 “It’s fine,” he said curtly, still talking to his book.

“No, it really isn’t. I just…” I started, but closed my mouth eventually when the words just wouldn’t come out.
The silence was stifling. He kept flipping through his book and I kept staring at the floor, trying to figure out how to continue this failure of an apology.