𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐊𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄 chapter five; The Sincerity Of Femininity " Sometimes, all you need is a gut feeling. "
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SALEM HAD JUST met her father. Okay, sure, met was a strong word— she'd seen him and run away the second he spoke, but it was him. Once again, there wasn't hard proof so being sure wasn't really the right thing to call it, but something instinctual told the girl Roman was her father.
In short, the entire situation was not only impulsive, but there was little to no true facts to go on here. But, as known by everyone over the age of 25, this explained most (if not all) things teenagers did, and so what effect did these realities have on Salem Gerard? Nothing. They didn't soften the blow or suddenly grant her the ability to reel in all emotions, no.
Salem was still locked in her dorm room, borderline hyperventilating, and swearing to God or Merlin that if her tears didn't stay in her fucking eyes, she'd lose it.
"Sal?" A gentle knocking rapped on the door behind Salem, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Evans, just got really fucking cold outside," Salem lied poorly, hitting her head against the wood at this.
Lily frowned, leaning against the door and sliding down it.
"You're still there, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"We're not friends, you don't have to pretend like you care."
"We may not talk but we're Gryffindors," Lily said, eyebrows knitting tightly, "We're sort of bound to interact."
"Not like this."
"Well, what's got you so upset?"
"That's private."
Lily frowned deeper, and pulled her knees to her chest. She wasn't sure what to say next, wanting to help but not knowing how to approach it. Caring was in her blood, but Salem was worse than a brick wall. She wasn't only impenetrable, she repelled assistance.
"Sorry," Salem's voice gently slipped into the hall, "I'm being a dickhead."
"That's alright," Lily responded, watching from above as people began filling the common room. "And, for the record, you aren't. I've dealt with my fair share of rude, inconsiderate, dicks, and you're actually really nice, Sal."
Salem Gerard momentarily disregarded that Lily Evans was the ex of her late-night secret chess partner. It didn't matter that Salem had previously been willing to dig to the center of the earth to discover what had broken them up or why Lily had yelled at James so harshly. Because Lily was nice.
Like the kind that held no ulterior motives, pure to the core, a smile beaming through the wooden door, kind of nice that Salem usually couldn't stomach.
