𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 - 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒.

𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐕

Bucky looked at Lani, and smiled for the first time with his eyes, a genuine smile.

"Why'd you talk to me last week?" Bucky asked quietly after a moment. The hum of the bugs in the nearby bushes and the slow flow of water was the only other noise around them.

"Well, if I'm being completely honest, Remus offered me a galleon to do it, so I went to do it at dinner, but chickened out. Then I saw you in the Common Room and decided to make you feel a little less alone by saying hi." Lani answered, staring at the lake as she did so.

"Thank God you did, I was trying my best to come across as nonchalant as possible, but I was really scared." Bucky replied. "Steve has been my only friend since I was born, so I'm not used to having to make friends I suppose."

"Oi, Barnes, Bones, you coming or are you not done snogging yet?" James taunted the pair. Their faces went red and they stood up abruptly, trying not to create any attention. They walked briskly up the small hill to meet the group who were still laughing and talking in their now husky voices after straining their vocal cords for hours.

"Were you too actually snogging? Mary asked as Lani joined the group again and Bucky went to talk to Remus.

"God no! We were just chatting, you are all perverted " Lani said embarrassed. "What about you and black huh?" She issued it to Kasie in an attempt to divert the attention away from her.

"What? You all saw it, nothing else happened." She said while looking over to Marlene subtly, who had gone silent.

The group walked quietly through the empty hallways back to the Gryffindor Common room, where, luckily, no Professor was waiting to scold them for leaving the Common Room after hours. They all awkwardly hugged goodnight, except for Lily and James, and Lani and Bucky. They split and went to their dorm rooms, and after half-heartedly taking off her makeup, Lani jumped into bed. She once again replayed their conversation over and over, recalling how comfortable they were with each other.

"Were you two actually snogging?" She recalled from what Mary had asked her earlier. Lani was extremely attracted to him, like, extremely. That being said, she didn't want to push him, they'd only known each other a week. She valued their new friendship too much to ruin it over a one-sided crush.

"Hey Lani." Kasie whispered over to her. Lani turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I chat with you for a minute...like can I get into your bed for a moment?" Lani nodded in response, which prompted Kasie to jump over into Lani's bed.

"Is Marlene awake?" Lani asked, whispering as quietly as she could.

"No she's sleeping, that's why I'm here."

"Ok, what's the matter?"

"You know how I snogged Sirius?" Lani nodded as a response. "Well, Marlene has been really distanced from me all night since. I know we have flirty banter a lot, but we aren't anything more than that? Right?" Kasie asked, in the quietest voice she could to ensure she wouldn't wake Marlene up.

"She likes you, it's normal. I know a part of you likes her too." Lani said.

"But, I really like Sirius too."

"I know. You don't need to figure it out, just talk to Marlene tomorrow and I'm sure you'll get something sorted out." Lani assured.

The two girls had an instant connection when they first met, and have never in their life had an argument. They were truly two peas in a pod, as cheesy as it seems. They confided in each other about anything and everything, and had gone through so much together it felt.

"Love you, Lani." Kasie said softly before squeezing her hand and jumping back into her own bed, where she continued to toss and turn. Lani closed her eyes and continued the conversation with Bucky in her head until she fell asleep.

(675 words)