Bruises ( Ariel Celeste Black)

Chapter 7.2

"Ariel! " Came a voice. Ariel turned around and was instantly tackled into a hug, the force was so strong that it made her fall to the ground.

" Vedika! " Ariel exclaimed hugging the girl back. Ariel let a small smile appears on her face.

" Hey you two? Forgot me? " Leonard said as he also ran over to pick Ariel up and then again tackle her in a hug .But, He tripped and fell right on top of Vedika who was on top of Ariel .

" Ooof! Vedika Sandwich! " Leonard said.

" Hey! " Vedika protested.

" You fuckers! Get off me! " Came Ariel's muffled voice from underneath here friends.

Leonard and Vedika laughed ,stood up and then helped Ariel up. As soon as Ariel was on her feet, Leonard wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a bear hug.

" Let's find a compartment now, shall we? " Leonard said and the girls nodded.

They quickly found a compartment and settled. None of them spoke a word, they just sat in comfortable silence, which was enough for them. Leonard and Vedika didn't ask her about her summer, knowing that it was horrible. They didn't talk about their summer, knowing that it would make Ariel upset. Silence was the key of their group. They knew each other so well that one didn't need to say a word about how the other felt.

Ariel could write a book about both her friends and they could tell her more about her than she herself knew.

Vedika Malhotra, was a muggleborn. She lived with her parents who absolutely never supported her choices and decisions, they didn't even want her to go to Hogwarts until she protested against it and said that she could write to the Headmaster. Now.... They wanted Vedika to be perfectly normal because they had dreams......

In those dreams Vedika would become an ideal daughter - a one who is properly educated, no sports - because according to them they weren't for girls, no boyfriends, Vedika gets a nice proposal for an arranged marriage,Gets married to whoever her parents want and then raise her kids and take care her of her family like a proper daughter-in-law does.

But..... This Wasn't Vedika.She was a rebel. She often told everyone how her 'picture perfect ' family wasn't as perfect. She loved drawing - her sketchbooks were filled with Art. She was clumsy , a bit too much. She loved animals, way too much. She was insecure (thanks to her parents *note the sarcasm *) but never showed it. She played Quidditch, breaking the no sports rule. She had broken her parents' no boyfriend rule way to many times..... Because Ariel was sure that she had kissed more than half of the boys and girls a year below them. And..... She lived her life out of dirty jokes.

Then there was Leonard Rodgers. Another fellow muggleborn. He had a nice family, his mother a nurse and his father an engineer. His parents were more excited than him when he received his Hogwarts letter . Leonard was the smart kid, he loved books - though no one could tell how much of a bookworm he was by looking at his handsome face.

He loved music, he always sat and hummed to himself, whistled or tapped his fingers and legs in a rythm. He loved his hair and would go insane of anyone dared to touch it. He was one of those people who was oblivious as hell..... Like - If you keep food in front of him after he told you that he was hungry, he would ask you first -" Is this for me? " .

He loved the colour blue, he was obsessed with it. Oh - And did I mention that he had a crush on Vedika but he didn't know it himself ? .....Well now that you mention it.... They would look cute together.

And then there was Ariel. Who was just......... Ariel - with a mess she called life . That is what Ariel thought about herself.But, if you ask her friends, you will get entirely different answers.

To her friends, Ariel was a beautiful and strong girl. She was an activist and a fighter.....She fought, not only for herself but for others as well . She could make people smile with one look..... And everyone would be lying of they said that they had not even once had a tiny crush on her. She had grey eyes.... Divine ones.... That looked so bright, yet so dull at the same time. Her eyes had this mysterious Aura around them..... And that aura was the only thing seperating the broken Ariel from the perfect looking Ariel.

Everyone at Hogwarts thought that she had a nice life - I mean - She was a Black and a Fawley..... Both families being hella rich... She had friends, nice ones, teachers favoured her.....

And anyways , what other thing do you think people would assume for the girl who runs freely around, a bright and charming smile plastered on her face. But..... What many people didn't know was that - The people with the brightest smiles are the people who never truly saw happiness...... They are just trying to keep others happy so that they won't have to suffer as much as them .

People forget that the person who has the brightest eyes are the same eyes that have cried the most. The people with a bright Aura are the people who live in darkness. And the people who live life freely..... Are the people who are dying from the inside... Not living.

Ariel had never wanted to drag Leonard and Vedika into this mess she called Her life .

But, Leonard and Vedika always stuck with her since day one , never leaving her side - understanding her better than anyone else did. Whenever Ariel asked them that why they aren't leaving her - they would say - Because we are friends .

And when Ariel told them about her problems, fearing that a broken mess like her won't be accepted with angels like them... All they said was - The door is right there.... And we have had many chances to walk out right away... But we are still here, aren't we?

With these two people did Ariel feel home. She always feared that no one would like her - She had trust issues. I mean - how wouldn't one have trust issues when their father didn't accept them. But with these two Ariel Felt as if she was finally accepted . As if she was finally wanted.

Whenever Ariel tried to push them away they wouldn't go. Just like oxygen finds its way to a person's lungs.... The two of them always found their way to Ariel .

And just like Oxygen was needed by a person to survive, and a person would die if they didn't get oxygen - In the same way Ariel realized how much she had needed the two in her lives - And when she finally got them, she knows that now she wouldn't be able to survive without them.

They were her oxygen. They were her home. They were her family. They were her friends. They were her everything.

And this is what Friendship is.......