Intertwined ~ Credence Barebone

03: Unfamiliar Sensations

"Are you out of your mind?" I whispered yelled at the blonde in front of me.
"What? It was true" Queenie shrugged carelessly.
"Of course it is true but a no-maj doesn't need to know that! Do you want Aurors around here hounding us!? Cause I do not!" I exclaimed.
"You just don't want Thesus to know where you are now" she mused
"Do you enjoy this? I am not in the right mental state to be receiving any visits from him or anyone else!" I brought my hand up to my face to pinch the bridge of my nose.
"What about Credence hun? You seem to be in the right mental state to take visits from him" she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
My mouth fell open at the thought of what she was insinuating.
"I fell on him and hurt him. The least I could do was bring him back here and help tend to his injury" I scoffed defending myself before glancing around the corner of the storage room we were in, only to see Credence stand up from where he was sitting and anxiously make his way to the door.
"Is that what you are doing? Don't forget I can read your mind sweet pea" Queenie teased.
"Be quiet!" I sent her one last narrowed look before rushing back into the main floor of the shop.
"Credence wait"
He turned around but avoided my eyes, looking everywhere except me.
"I-I have to go-go" he rushed, become increasingly anxious.
It took me a moment to understand why but one glance out the shop window and I realized it was getting dark.
"Credence I apologize if that wretched woman punishes you for being out this late. I would never intentionally have you hurt. If you ever need anything or somewhere to go, there will always be a place for you here" I grabbed my hands in his, this time my soft suede gloves covered my hand.
I ignored my minds instinct to remove my gloves so that I could feel his skin on my own one last time before he left. It would only raise Queenie's suspicion.
He furrowed his eyebrows and sent me a strange look.
"What's wrong?" I tilted my head, confused, unable to understand the emotion in his eyes.
"W-Why are you doing this for me? No- No one has ever done this for me. Don't y-you think I'm some sort of f-freak?"
My eyes widened and I looked at him shocked.
"Uhm I-I... I guess I honestly do not know. I care about your safety and... I think I would really like to have you as a friend..." I struggled to even understand why I cared about him to myself.
"Well thank you...Cynthea"
When he said my name my heart skipped slightly and I had to hold my breath to prevent myself from gasping at the sound of my name rolling off his tongue.
He turned around and had taken a step out of the door when I quickly pulled out of my mind.
"Thea!" I called out.
He turned and sent a confused glance.
"Oh uh. You can just call me Thea" I explained, my cheeks becoming flushed.
"Oh.. t-thank you Thea"
Again. My heart skipped. So confused by the sensation I placed my hand over my chest as I watched him leave the shop.
From behind me I heard Queenie's heels coming our from the storage room.
I turned around slowly and made eye contact with her.
"Queenie, you can read my mind. What the hell is going on?!" I lifted my hands from my chest and moved them up into my hair, grabbing at the roots as I became overwhelmed with frustration and confusion.
"Oh hun. You are in love" she cooed pulling my hands down to my side and leading me to a bench beside the orchids and petunias.
I scoffed.
"Queenie I am not in love. I know what that feels like! This just isn't it! Besides I just met Credence a week ago, I hardly know him!"
She looked at my sympathetically.
"Honey not all love feels the same! But just think about it. I've known you since we were fifteen years old and you have only let me hug you once, and I've never been able to touch your bare skin for more than 30 seconds before you get uncomfortable and begin to panic. You met him 8 days ago and you yearn for the touch of his skin! The only other person you let touch you was Thesus and even then you only did when he asked" She explained.
My eyes widened and I laid my back against the wall in shock as I realized she was right.
Then suddenly I remembered who he was.
"Queenie. No. I can't be in love with him. He is a no-maj. It's against the rules for him to even know about me. No I can't. I have to stay away from him!" I exclaimed quickly standing up.
"No Thea-"
"Queenie. If anyone finds out I am associated romantically with a no-maj I will be harrassed and brought before the order, and who know what they would do to him. They'd probably obliviate him all together and he'd never remember me. I'd much rather be able to keep him safe from the side and be his friend than have him not know who I am. I can't pursue him. I have to just be his friend. That's all I can be"
Queenie sighed at me.
"If that is what you choose to do then I respect that but I do not think it will be that easy for you. I've heard your thoughts Thea. You're feeling towards him are really strong" Queenie explained.
"I know. But whatever we do we can not tell Tina. She'll totally loose it"
Queenie agreed and we ended the conversation.
After closing up the shopping and saying goodnight to Queenie I made my way up the back staircase.
I came up to a dark mahogany door.
Placing my hand on the door knob, I reached underneath the knob with my index finger, I flipped the dial from the left, where it said no-maj storage, past the next words that said witch storage, all the way to the right where it said home.
Then pushed the handle in like it was a button. The border of the door gave off a gold glow for a moment and there was a distant whoosh before the door opened to reveal my apartment.