no one else. // Theodore Nott

three.

Sadie Myers.

All of the students sat at their tables as a group of first years stood at the front of the great hall. One by one, a kid was called up and sorted. Soon enough, the group was gone and the feast had appeared.

I looked at my friends who started to devour the food. We were all pigs and it was nothing new.

Draco and Blaise had their plates piled high with a mixture of dinners and desserts. Pansy, Astoria, and I had chicken and mashed potatoes with some corn and a side of salad, waiting until after we finished to get our desserts. We were smart. Theo on the other, his plate wasn't as full as the boys, a cookie on the side with a small piece of chicken and small portions of corn and mashed potatoes.

"Is that all you're going to eat mate?" Blaise asked as he shoved more food into his mouth.

"Had a big breakfast" Theo replied, setting his fork down and rubbing his wrist again "Not hungry."

"Well when you do get hungry, one of us can walk you back to the kitchens when we get settled in" Astoria smiled, a bite of salad going into her mouth.

We were all very close. We all loved each other. Some more than others, but what really mattered was that we cared.

Draco and Astoria were together. They have been since last year. Blaise and Pansy hook up now and then, she has feelings for him but will never admit it. Theo and I... No. We don't get along.

We have just never had that vibe. The vibe where you're comfortable and automatically click. The connection that you get with a best friend or a future lover... We've never had that. I had it with the others, not him though.

It's not like I didn't try to be his friend because I did. He's just always been so self-centered, his ego raised through the roof, and had the overall Slytherin reputation.

Either way, he's a friend of friends and I have to care. But that's who I am. Even though we don't get along, I'll still take care of you.

I've learned to take care of and tolerate people because of my mother. If I don't like you, it won't stop me from taking you to the infirmary if you run into a door. With the state that my mother is in and with how long I've been caring for her, you get used to caring for anyone no matter what.

The chatter had died down around me, sounding like people leaving. Me still being lost in my thoughts, I didn't realize it.

"Myers" A voice calls and I shake my head, looking up.

His light but dark-colored blue eyes bore into mine, reading me as I came out of zoned out state and back into what was really going on.

I looked around us and noticed that the rest of the group was gone and that students were leaving. The torches in the great hall started to die down and fall to a faint flicker as everyone headed to their houses to settle in.

"Are you coming?" Theo asked, standing from the table "Because if not, then I'll lea-"

"Theo, baby" A sixth year Hufflepuff came walking over to us. "Haven't seen you since last year at the RR party." She pouted.

Ah yes. The RR party. Room of Requirement end of the year party. It's thrown every year. Surprisingly, it's held by the Ravenclaws.

"Rebecca" Theo smiled as the Hufflepuff gave him a dirty look.

"It's Roxy" She tried to smile and then noticed me "Oh, hey Myers. Mind if you give us some space?"

Theo turned and looked at me. His eyes had the begging look to them like he truly needed me to stay there and help him with whatever it was he needed help with. An escape? Who cares.

"Have fun you two" I smiled, standing up from the bench. "I'll see you in the common room, Nott. Have fun"

I chuckled and he groaned as I walked further away from the table and closer to the Dungeons.

I would've stayed and I would've helped him with me being who I am, but I figured he'd get out of it okay. After all, he is the lady's man now.

After a few minutes of walking the corridors and getting closer to the common room, I slow down and think.

How would I even tell everyone? How would I come clean and tell all of my friends that I'm not who I say I am? That I'm really a broke teenager who's taking care of her drug addict mother. How would they react?

"Thanks a lot, Myers" I jump at the sudden talk and person standing next to me.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked looking at Theo.

"I said thanks." He rolled his eyes "I could've used your help back there" He groans.

"And what's so bad about Rebecca? I mean, Roxy" I smirk and look to the ground.

"Wipe that smirk off your face. It's not funny" He says in a stern voice.

I chuckle "What happened anyway?"

"She's obsessed. We hooked up at the party last year and she won't leave me alone. Even sent me letters over the holiday" He brought his fingers up to his temples and started to rub them out of frustration.

"Well maybe" I turn to him as we continue walking "Maybe you should stop sleeping around and actually settle down or focus on school."

"Like that's something I'd do. I've already got a spot at the Ministry with my father. Not like I need to pass this year" he rolls his eyes.

I slap him on the back of the head and stop dead in my tracks. He turns slowly as he's walked a few steps further from me and gives me a deadly stare.

He hit a nerve in me and I wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"Just because your a spoiled little bitch who gets everything handed to them, doesn't mean that you don't graduate. There are others out there who have nothing. So, be grateful for once!" I snapped.

With one motion, his hand is on my shoulder and he's pushed me back into the wall, a look on his face that says he's fed up.

"Talkback to me again. Get on my bad side, Myers. Do it. Fair warning though, it's not pretty" Theo's nostrils flare as anger consumes him, his grip on my shoulder tightening.

My chest is rising as the pain does the same. I wince as it becomes unbearable and I grip Theo's wrist. When I look at it, there's a line of purple and black, mixed with a little bit of blue that wraps around it.

"Your wrist. What happened?" Quickly, he pulls it away and starts to walk off.

"Watch it, Myers." He huffs as he walks down the corridor.

I furrow my brows in confusion, trying to process what in the hell just happened.

Theo has never been this angry, and if he has been, then I've never seen it. Normally, he keeps to himself or he's chasing after another shag. The only people that could know something about him, that triggered this freakout, would be Draco and Blaise.

But what do I care?

Sadly, I do care. And I am worried. Even though we aren't the best of friends, he's still my friend.

Breathing heavily, I make my way to the common room, trying to forget about the stinging sensation on my shoulder.

I'll just unpack and forget about it all. Yeah. That's what I'll do.