Going Soft | JAMES SIRIUS POTTER HP NEXT GENERATION

xvi || i'm an idiot

James rocked back and forth on his feet nervously, waiting outside the Ravenclaw common room. He wanted to find Annabella, but the door asked him a riddle, and he had no bloody clue what the answer was. So he decided he would wait until someone else showed up to answer it for him. And, someone did. The only problem was that it was Tommy.

"Hey, Tommy!" James exclaimed. "We're mates, right?"

Tommy simply stared at him. "No."

"Right, well I was thinking you could help me get in? I don't understand the riddle." James admitted, asking for help.

Tommy shook his head. "Why the bloody hell would I help you? You've pushed Bella away from me! And this whole time I've been telling myself, 'at least he seems to be good for her, at least there's that. He makes her happy, so it's okay.' Except you're nothing but a bloody prick to her! Yelling at her for something that wasn't even her fault. So sorry, but no. You hurt Bella because you couldn't be okay with your own feelings. Why the hell would I help you in, when you did something like that?" He spat out, clearly angered, with an underlying tone of hurt to his voice.

Before James even got a chance to respond to Tommy's unexpected outburst, the door was opened from the inside, and a girl with curly hair was regarding both of them with a very severe gaze.

"Both of you, get in." She barked. "Now."

Both of the boys' eyes opened uncharacteristically wide, and they stepped inside while Natalie quietly closed the door behind them.

"First things first, this is very out of character for me. Normally Via would be the one to scold the lot of you, but she's still feeling under the weather, so this job was left to me. And second, you're both bloody idiots!" She exclaimed, and Tommy blinked in surprise.

"Me, an idiot? How!" He questioned, and Natalie glared at him.

"Because it's not up to you to act like some macho man and fight Bella's battles for her! James here wanted to apologize. If Bella allows him, he gets to. That is not your choice. It's hers. And if she accepts it, that's her choice too! Sorry Tommy, but you don't get a say just because you bloody fancy her! Tell me, if she found it James had come to apologize, but you sent him away as if you had a say in it, do you think she'd be very happy with you?" She questioned.

Tommy looked down at his feet and shook his head, and James snickered, which caused Natalie to direct her gaze on him.

"Oh don't think I'm on your side Mr. Potter. While you didn't physically hurt her, you sure did emotionally. All she was doing was making sure you were okay. But poor Jamsie couldn't handle his feelings and yelled at her, as if it was her fault you have the worst friends in history, besides Grant of course. Lord I don't know how or why my brother befriended you. But it has to mean you're a good guy deep down, because Grant does not put up with bullshit." Natalie shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Now, Annabella actually isn't here right now, she's out by the lake working on homework by herself. If you want to go apologize, that's where you'll find her." Natalie informed him.

James nodded gratefully. "Thank you, thank you so much. I'll make it up to her." He said and quickly rushed out of the Ravenclaw common room. He always thought Natalie seemed like a sweet, quiet girl, but she rather scared him back there.

James rushed past the Great Hall and out of the castle, towards the lake where Annabella was supposedly at. He just hoped she wasn't furious with him.

Nearing the lake, he saw her sitting under the shade of a tree, books and parchment sprawled out all around her.

He took a deep breath and stepped towards her. "Bella?" He said softly, and the girl sighed, as if she knew he was coming. She stood up and turned to face him with her arms crossed against her body, almost as if she was guarding herself.

"James," she responded, meeting his gaze.

"Listen, I'm an idiot." He began, but she interrupted him.

"Oh trust me, I know." She replied, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, but then fell slightly when she remembered what James was apologizing for.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm so sorry," James stressed.

"Well you did hurt me," she said. "You said spending your time with me was pathetic, and made it seem like you didn't really want to be doing it. How was I supposed to take that?"

"I didn't mean it."

"Then how did you mean it?" She questioned. "Tell me how you meant it then."

James shuffled from foot to foot awkwardly. "I just—Noah and Charlie are quite the bullies. They like to tell me that it's unlike myself to devote nearly all my time to one girl, and tease me for it. And I—I was just sick of it. Not that spending time with you should make me feel pathetic, it doesn't. But when my supposed friends constantly nag me for doing it, their teasing makes me feel so. I stormed out of the Great Hall after they were saying that to me and I was just fuming. But I had nothing to take it out on, so I took it out on you. Which was not right, and I'm sorry. I'm not trying to excuse what I did, but that's at least the reasoning behind it." He explained, his cheeks reddening slightly as he kept his eyes on the ground.

Annabella nodded, taking a moment to absorb everything he said. "Well, they're kind of right." She began.

"What?" He questioned, bewildered.

"Spending your time with one girl, even as just a friend, isn't like you, or at least your reputation. But that doesn't mean it can't be you, and that doesn't mean it's pathetic. People change, you know. It's not the end of the word if maybe you and your values are. It's natural." She told him.

James contemplated what she said. "I don't like my reputation."

"Then change it. If you don't like what the people make of you, or say about you, then prove them wrong." She said. "But anyways, I accept your apology. While you were clearly in the wrong, I can see how that would get to you. I don't think you were actually angry with me, I think I just happened to be the nearest person, unfortunately. If Grant made it out there before me, I don't doubt you would've yelled at him instead."

James looked up at her and smiled, stepping forward to pull her into a hug. "Merlin, thank you," he whispered, elated that Bella forgave him as easily as she did.

Annabella froze for a moment and said nothing, before she hesitantly wrapped her arms around James. And they stood like that for a while, both of their hearts beating quickly against the other's, both of them not acknowledging it.

~~~
I swear I'm thanking you guys for a new milestone every chapter. This time I'm thanking you for 8k !! Not 6k, not 7k, but 8k! Wow !! You guys have NO idea how much I appreciate that, especially since I'm slow with the updates.

Do you think James deserved to be forgiven? And do you think the drama between them is over, or is their friendship not completely smoothed over yet?

How do you guys like the new cover?