I wish that I could turn this car around

But she's got a boyfriend now

@truly - Outfit: Gryffindor Robes
Location: Potions Classroom
Date: March 16th, 2017

Potions was never Jesse's strong suit. Maybe it was the measurements, or maybe the order of ingredients, or maybe that he couldn't take his eyes off of the girl sitting a few seats away. It was probably a combination but today she was totally to blame. Truly was a beauty, no doubt about that. Jesse had always thought so, from the day they placed the sorting hat on her head and every day after. There had been days walking into the Potions classroom that she took his breath away. The dungeons were gloomy, dim, but she always shined. It was like she didn't belong there at all, she was so bright and lovely.

Today was no different, and he could feel his stomach and heart fluttering. What was it about her that got him feeling so crazy? Jesse wasn't one to hide his feelings. He would literally flirt with every girl he saw, no doubt he had shot her a wink or two across the classrooms but he'd never told her how he felt. Had she blushed? He furrowed his brow trying to recall. Had there ever been a sign that she felt anything toward him before? Or now? He gazed at her now, watching her from a few seats away, hoping she would look at him. 

The loud sound of the professor clearing their throat made him jump in his seat, he turned back to see them standing just over his shoulder. Jesse's fingers gripped the edge of the table as he offered a smile and a nod to the professor in an attempt to feign the fact that he hadn't been paying attention. Quite the lost cause that was, the professor gave his head a gentle shove, silently telling him to pay attention to his classwork. He decided then to write a note to pass to Truly.

What are you doing after class?

Jesse scribbled quickly, he tapped the student in front of him in the back before handing off the note. He waited for it to reach her, tapping his desk with his quill impatiently.

There was only a handful of people that Truly really liked and counted on. They varied in age and background, but they were still people that she could count on. Callidora, Walker, Blue. They all meant something to her at one time or another, and she counted them among her few friends. As a prefect she tried to limit the amount of people that she kept close, but there was of course one person that she would never push away from her, and that was her friend Jesse. They had been close since first year, and it meant a lot to him that he was always there for her. He always knew how to make her feel better and the flirting never went awry.

He was handsome, but even though she liked him, he never seemed to speak out to her. He never expressed any sort of affection towards her, other than friendship. It was why she had agreed to go on the date with Luke. It was why she had kissed him like she had. She was single, and she had nothing more going on other than being a prefect and the internship. She had a lot on her plate usually, but she was smart and she knew that she could handle it. She had looked over her shoulder in time to see him getting into trouble with their professor and she bit her lip to keep from laughing at him, her head shaking, making her short hair move with her head.

She got a note and she opened it, already knowing the handwriting and grinned before writing back. Nothing until dinner. No internship today, just homework and patrols. She passed it back to him and looked over her shoulder at him and smirked.

I wish that I could press rewind somehow

'cause she's got a boyfriend now

Over the years he and Truly had become great friends, he loved spending time with her, but it carried the sting of knowing that they could maybe be something more. That is, if he would pull his head out of his ass and say something! There had been a couple times over the course of the years where he would gain the courage, but then he would see her talking to another boy in the halls, or he would find himself close with another girl. He had a few girlfriends, nothing ever serious, nothing that lasted long. That was one of his flaws, he would fall hard and fast and the breakup always seemed to come harder and faster. Deep down he was a hopeless romantic, but he was also very distrusting and it drove them away in the end.

Maybe if he had actually gotten to know the girls first instead of just seeking out a pretty face he could have had that trust. Like the trust he had in Truly. She was always there for him, and he her. That's why they were good friends, and he was scared to ruin that. But he was also scared to go on with life never knowing. They were coming up on their seventh year. Their LAST year, he had to make his move. And last he had checked she was single, he was single. It was his time.

Jesse smiled to himself as she read the note, he could see her grin to herself, and it made the butterflies in his stomach swarm around again. How was he going to do this? The note made it's way back and he saw her smirk at him over her shoulder. God, she was like an angel. He flashed a grin at her and read the note quickly before scribbling something more and passing it back. Class was nearly finished and he hoped she would get it before it ended.

Wait up after class, I've got a question only you can answer

Truly was still shocked that she had met Luke like she had, and that they had kissed. It wasn’t like the cold girl to let people in like that. She didn’t really usually trust anyone, or anything; but something about the handsome young man had caught her eye. She hadn’t had a boyfriend before, or even been on a date, but she was excited to see where things went with him. She didn’t want to worry about things like that, so she was doing her best to just be happy and focus on things like her school work. Her sixth year would be up soon and she had to keep her eyes on the prize. Internship, and prefect duties after home work. She wanted to be Head Girl. She had since she was a young girl. It was everything that she had worked towards. She would be able to help keep her house in line (maybe for a good change) and it would look great for when she finished school.

The one thing she hated more than anything was the flack that kids like Jesse got for being Muggleborn. Yes, she leaned more towards what her Father followed, but she didn’t hate muggleborns. She never had, really. She had her reasons for feeling that way, but after finding out the truth of her mother and her father, Truly had found that it was harder and harder to hide that she didn’t agree. Maybe that was why she liked Luke, he wasn’t someone that her father would have approved of. He wasn’t anyone that she would have typically gone out with, so maybe this was her trying to be wild or something.

She looked at the professor as the note was handed back towards Jesse. As a prefect she knew that passing notes in class was against the rules. She had been trying to find a spell that would link notebooks or something for her and Jesse to talk, even when they had classes that weren’t together but to this point it had been a bust. She took notes diligently, knowing she would probably need to make a copy for Jesse and the thought brought a smile to her face. She loved that he so often relied on her for things like that. It made her feel special, and like a good friend. Merlin knew that she had so few of those. The note came back to her as the professor was dismissing class and she opened the note before putting it in her text book she smiled and looked at him over her shoulder. Before stuffing her things in her bag and walking out of the room.

She leaned on one of the cold stone walls and waited for him so they could walk together. She couldn’t help but smile as she waited for him. It seemed like life was turning up for once, even with Markus gone, and Blue being busy all the time. She always had Dora and Jesse.

I WISH THAT I COULD TURN THIS CAR AROUND

BUT SHE'S GOT A BOYFRIEND NOW

Holy shit was he really going to do this? Jesse watched as Truly read the note just as the professor had dismissed the class. His heart thumped in his chest and his head felt cloudy and confused. It was so unlike him to be so nervous to talk to a girl, especially Truly. Out of all the girls he knew she was the easiest to talk to, which was one of the reasons they had become such good friends. Friends, the word stabbed Jesse in his overzealous heart as he collected his quill and parchment. His heart pounded fiercely, as if to prove that his friendship with Truly was the reason it beat so hard in the first place. If he didn't play this right he could lose her, and lose their friendship in the process. Neither of those things sounded good to him.

Truly leaned against the wall in waiting and his heart seemed to slow to a manageable speed. Seeing her sent a wave of calm through his body and he could feel his blood pressure return to normal. It was almost as if he body had no clue what his mind was up to, just the sight of her released the tension in his body. Seeing her was like being home, something Jesse had never had, but he imagined this is what it would have felt like. Sweet relief, the worries of the world melting away, he could tell her anything and he hoped she felt the same. And although she came from a family that would likely spit at the sight of him, he never felt that hatred from her. Nothing even close.

He knew that she wasn't like her parents, not as prejudiced as they were. For a moment, as he shoved his parchment into his bag, he wondered if she would shoot him down simply because of them. It wasn't too far fetched, no one would want to face that kind of wrath from their parents. If that would be the verdict he would understand. At least if that were the case their friendship would be more likely to continue. Jesse ran through scenarios in his head as he slumped his bag over his shoulder.

As he walked toward Truly he smiled simply by seeing her smile, a flirtatious and devious gleam in his eye. "Um, miss, you shouldn't be passing notes in class," his deep voice joked. He always loved to give her a little shit, what with her being a prefect and all, when she went along with his mischievous ways. "I'll have to take 10 points from Slytherin unless you can-" he winked, biting his lower lip, "-change my mind."

It was hard for her to let people in, it was hard for Truly to accept that there were people who cared about her because they could. It was hard for her to acknowledge that she wasn’t the trash that the man who had raised her said that she was, she was after all. It was her job now to make sure that those who were in her house knew their worth. That they stayed in line and had any help that they needed. She never wanted anyone to feel the way that she had. She never wanted anyone to feel like they weren’t worth the trouble, because they were. She never wanted to feel that way again, and if there was trouble on the horizon, she never wanted Jesse to feel that way.

She couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face when he came out towards her and she couldn’t ignore the heat that rose to her cheeks as he got closer. Linking her arm into his she bumped him in true Truly fashion. ”Well you see, I have this friend, he’s kind of needy. “ She teased a little with a smile and then tapped her chin and then kissed his cheek.

”Will that serve to change your mind, good sir?” She asked him, batting her large brown eyes at him, the smile splitting her face and mischief lighting up her eyes, leaning into him as they walking wherever he was steering them.

I WISH THAT I COULD TURN THIS CAR AROUND

BUT SHE'S GOT A BOYFRIEND NOW

Jesse scoffed, linking his arm with hers, as she joked about her needy friend. "Sounds like you need new friends-" he joked back. "-sounds like he's a bad influence on you." Jesse's eyes flickered playfully, but his joke harnessed a bit of truth. He wasn't exactly a good boy all the time, and even though his friend was a prefect she still got roped in on his shenanigans from time to time. There had been times, probably more than he'd like to admit, that she had saved his ass but there had been times when he had taken the fall on his own to spare her. If she was going to play along with him, he would at least make sure she wouldn't be the one getting into trouble from it. 

It had never bothered him, getting into trouble that is. But if he ever got her into any he'd probably feel terrible. He cared about her, even when she thought that no one should. And she cared about him, which was something foreign to him, growing up with no family to love or care for him. It was almost as though they found each other, two lost souls in the world, and found that they could be there for one another when no one else wanted to be there for them. That was why he found it so easy to be her friend, and that's what made him nervous about what he wanted to do.

Truly kissed his cheek and he smiled, nodding in satisfaction. "Ok, I'll accept it. But next time you won't get off so easily." Jesse lead them out of the classroom and down the hall. He had done it enough times that he absentmindedly started toward her next class, though he didn't recall making the decision to do so. Jesse smiled lightly to himself as they strolled, she was a bit shorter than him but he kept a steady pace with her by his side. "Let's play a game," he insisted with a playful grin. "Called 'What Would You Do'."

Over the years Truly had been cautioned about keeping company with a muggleborn. There were those among her friends, and among her classmates who thought ill of her because of it. She didn’t care though. Jesse was a better friend than half the others that pretended and she liked him. She had always wanted to be around him, and it had taken her way too long to make sense of this, but she was with Luke now, and there was no going back from that. She wasn’t the kind of girl who cheated. She wasn’t the kind of girl who broke a promise to anyone. No matter how miserable she was. Perhaps this was admirable, or perhaps Tuly had lost her mind, either way, she wasn’t sure.

Jesse had been there for her for years, always a thorn in her side when he got into trouble and there had been more than once that she had been forced to bail him out of it by doing other prefects favors, but she was enjoying it immensely. They always had fun together, so it was only natural that she wanted to be around him all the time. It was just, complicated. It couldn’t get much more so honestly. She wanted to not think about his blood status, but with the way that things were going, it was only going to get worse and worse.

As they walked she rested her head on his shoulder and yawned. She had been up late studying, and her internship was rather draining as well. She knew that she would be calling it an early night that night and she might even catch a small nap before leaving for her internship. ”That’s what you always say, Jess.” She said with a light laugh and poked his ribs. She loved the difference in their accents. In how they both were so different but they went so well together. He kept her grounded, even when she sounded like a snob. ”Oh, I get this feeling this isn’t going to go well. It never does. You know I hate this game.” She whined a little and pouted.

I WISH THAT I COULD TURN THIS CAR AROUND

BUT SHE'S GOT A BOYFRIEND NOW

He didn't know why things were so different with her. Time and time again he told himself that it was to do with their friendship, as though he didn't have other friends. If she hadn't wanted to be his friend any more it shouldn't be more than a blip on his radar. He had lost friends. Lost many, many friends. Sometimes due to his fiery attitude getting the best of him, other times for reasons just like he was about to get into. Jesse could always say exactly what was on his mind. It was almost a curse, really. He never cared about the repercussions. So what if they didn't want to be his friend? So what if he hurt their feelings? So what if that girl didn't want him? It wasn't anything new. He had been unwanted his entire life, by literally everyone in it. So why was it hard to accept the same from Truly if she so decided it to be that way? 

The short and the long of it was that thing were different with her. And just because he didn't know the reason didn't make it less true. She had befriended him first year and made a point of sticking around. It was different. And she had helped him in so many ways over the years. She had kept him tame at times when he wouldn't have been, and he had gotten her to be wild a time or two. It was different. The girls he normally sought out took him as he was and quickly turned and ran when he became too intense. Truly simply laughed at him and set him straight. He did the same for her. It was a friendship, a relationship, like nothing he had ever had before. And the label friendship wasn't good enough for him. It would never be enough.

Still, he didn't want to lose that label. If he couldn't call her his own and he couldn't call her his friend, then that meant he would lose this. Whatever this was. He didn't think he could handle that. But he couldn't handle not knowing either. It was eating him alive, though he acted oblivious to it. His friends would joke when she wasn't around about how they should just "fuck and get it over with" and he would act stupid, like he didn't feel that electric current running through his veins when she looked at him. It wasn't simply physical attraction, though it was part of it. It was more so an attraction to her. The essence of her... Something his friends couldn't possibly understand. Something he couldn't tell them, for fear of being ridiculed to no end. He didn't want them to embarrass himself, or her. He didn't want them oohing whenever they walked down the halls or when they passed notes in class. She was old fashioned and private. If something like that started up it would ruin their friendship much quicker than he possibly could. 

If anyone was going to ruin their friendship it was going to be him, right here and right now. Lord have mercy on the poor lad. The shorter girl learned her head lazily on him with a yawn and he hoped like hell she couldn't hear his hear beginning to thump in his chest. It sounded terribly loud in his ears. He bit at the corner of his lip as he rest his head against hers momentarily, only to lift it as he chuckled at her comment. "I always say it because it always is. Even if it's only fun for me." Typically the game was more ridiculous than he was about to make it. More hypothetical and insane. Sometimes embarrassing, and sometimes enough to make you blush. It was a fun game to play, especially with her. He never knew what the hell she was going to come up with, which was precisely why he enjoyed playing so much. 

"What would you do..." he started biting at his lip again. How was he going to say this? The two had walked a ways down the hall and he was happy to see his next classroom coming up shortly. At least if it went bad he had a quick out. "What would you do if I told you I know someone who's really into you?" He stopped them both in the hall, and swung himself in front of her. He felt like he was on fire, every nerve is his body screaming all at once. It was miraculous that he was able to keep a straight face at all, let alone the flirty little sly smirk he concocted as he continued. "What would you do if it was me?"

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OOC: 804 words, suck it Trebek!

When they were younger, she would tease him for how thin he was, for how much muscle that he had and yet how he was still so soft. How she loved to cuddle with him. Despite their differences in houses all she needed was a nice fire to curl up with along with him, and she would drift away. He made her feel safe, and he always had. Not even Blue knew the things that she faced at home. The way that her ‘father’ had been towards her. The way that he knew just what to say to get to her and make her blush, make her squirm in her seat and yet he had never told her he liked her, and she had never said anything towards him. She had wanted to, but after what happened with Markus she didn't want to loose another friend. It had been an Intense year to say the least and it was only going to get worse as they hit their seventh year.

It seemed like she hadn't even been on a date yet and things with Luke were complicating things. She wanted to owl him and tell Luke no, that she couldn't go, but she wanted to see how things went with him, see if it was just all in her head or if these feelings for Jesse were real. She liked him, but she worried that ideas only because he was there for her. That he was so much a part of her, that she was putting feelings onto him that she didn't mean, that she didn't feel. She just wanted a nap, but she still had so much to do, she always did but spending time with Jesse always felt like the priority.

He stopped and was standing before her and she blinked up at him with her large eyes, trying to focus on his eyes and not his lips. It was something she had struggled with for months, thoughts swirling her mind as he spoke and her brow furrowed before she sighed. He liked her ? Shit. Why couldn't he have said this days ago. Before Luke, before things had changed and now he wasn't too late but… she was torn. She had made a promise and she wasn’t going to change that, she wasn't the kind of person who went back on her word. She refused to. ”I would ask you to find a time turner, and go back to the other night before I got a date… “ She wanted to hug him, but she didn't. ”I like you too Jesse, but… I met someone, and I told him we would go out on a date… “ She didn't want to hurt him, or upset him. She did like him. She did want to see how things would work, but her promise she first.