𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 • 𝐧.𝐬

011 | ivory and gold

BETTY HAD SETTLED DOWN WRLL IN Newt's London apartment. She had been living there for about 6 months after quitting her job and she couldn't have asked for a better job where she felt fulfilled and happy.

But every day she had her feeling for Newt hanging over her head because she knew she could never make a move.

He walked down into her room - which was adjacent to his - and saw her staring vacantly out of the window at the rain, mesmerised by the Potter patter sound on the window.

"Hey Betts," he said and she snapped her head towards him.

She smiled at him as he stood in the door, "God, how tall are you now Puff?" Betty asked and he laughed to himself silently.

"6'2. You could have at least said hello," he said and she laughed, standing up and walking towards him, the book that was resting on her lap now resting in her arm.

"Hello," she said in a purposefully sarcastic tone.

"What are you reading?" Newt asked, grabbing her book and walking off, staring at the book as he did so.

"Hey!" Betty exclaimed as she chased after him, accidentally knocking him to the floor in the process.

He fell to the floor, Betty tumbling down with him before they stopped, lying next to each other silently. They were both staring at the ceiling before they looked back at one another, blue eyes meeting before they burst out in laughter.

They lay on the floor, both staring at each other until they were crying from laughing so hard for no apparent reason.

They didn't hear when Bunty - Newt's new intern to look after the animals when he was gone - ran upstairs when she heard the commotion, thinking that the duo were in some kind of trouble.

She stared at the situation of the two lying on the floor laughing so hard that you could see the tears in their eyes.

"Mr Scamander," Bunty said in a timid voice and Betty and Newt both sat up, looking at her as she stood nervously in the doorframe.

"Yes Bunty," Newt said, wiping his eyes and not noticing the huge smile plastered on his face.

"It's just. I heard a large bang. I thought you and Miss Prewett might be in danger," Bunty stuttered and Newt smiled at her, standing up and walking towards his nervous intern.

"It's okay Bunty, why don't you take a break, my treat," Newt said and she nodded her head, thanking him quickly before walking out the door. Newt turned back and saw Betty smiling at him.

"What?" He asked, curious as to why she appeared to be so happy.

"Nothing. Its just nice the way that you treat Bunty, she doesn't appear to have many friends," Betty said and Newt walked over to her, standing awfully close.

"Well I guess its just me still being a hufflepuff," he said and Betty hit his chest, looking up at him with a chuckle.

"What, and my bravery and general awesomeness is me being a Gryffindor?" She asked as she looked up at him and he smirked, a sudden boost of confidence rushing through him.

"I thought it was just your sarcasm," he said and Betty hit his shoulder in annoyance before walking to pick up her book.

"Picture of Dorian Gray," he said and she turned back to look at him, holding the book against her chest.

Betty looked at him confused and he leaned against the armchair as he stared at Betty.

"Nothing. I just remember meeting you on the train, I was reading Picture of Dorian Gray," he said and Betty smiled at him, remembering that day.

He knew that she was special the second that he saw her but now he realised how special she was. He stared at her for a second and took her in. Dark red hair tucked into a bun that was falling apart at the seams and a causal red shirt and black trousers on.

"Take a picture Puff, it might last longer," she said and Newt snapped out of his daze, blush creeping up his neck as he looked at Betty.

"You wish Betty," Newt said as he walked towards the kitchen, pouring himself some water before sitting down at the dining table.

"I'm going to read, tell Bunty I said goodnight if she comes back," she said and she started to walk past him. He grabbed her arm before she could stop and Betty let out a deep sigh as his hands delicately wrapped around her wrist.

She turned back to look at him, clutching her book with one hand, the other being held by Newt.

"Night Bett's," he said and she smiled at him, his hand travelling down to hold hers and he smiled at her as they stared at each other with a comfortable silence.

"Night Newt," Betty said and he kissed her hand gently, a blush on her cheeks as she did so. He let go of her hand softly and she retracted it, using it to hold her book to her chest.

She bit her lip to refrain herself from talking before going to her room, sitting on the chair in the corner.

At about midnight Newt was about to go to sleep when he saw that Betty's light was still on.

He walked past and saw her asleep on the chair in an uncomfortable position. He chuckled to himself, picking up the book that had fallen to the floor and looked at the top of the page.

"The world is changed because you are made of ivory and gold. The curves of your lips rewrite history." He read to himself before shaking his head, placing it on the table before picking Betty up bridal style.

She unknowingly snuggled into his chest, resting her head on his chest. He placed her gently on the bed, pulling a blanket over her as she snuggled into the blanket. Newt smiled at her before walking out, turning the light off.

"Night, love you Bett's," he said as he turned the lights off, an incoherent sentence escaping Betty's lips, one thay Newt sadly didn't hear as he walked out towards his adjacent room.

He turned the lights off after getting changed as he lay in bed. He stared at the ceiling as he thought, imagining what his life would be like if he would just be a man and admit his feeling towards Betty. He fell asleep with the thoughts racing through his mind.

1102 words