Love At First Fight {Regulus Black}

12. WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS

| CHAPTER TWELVE |

WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS.

INSTEAD OF STEERING CLEAR OF Regulus Black, Ivy Evans did everything she could to steer clear of Noah Wood.

The seventh year Quidditch Captain definitely wasn't happy with the lose against Slytherins. Of course, no one else blames Ivy for her injury or the match scores but Noah did say a few too many comments about it.

"He'll forget about it soon," Donna dismissed her best friend's worries. Her baby blue eyes were scanning the pages of her Transfiguration book as the trio sat besides the Black Lake.

Jasper looked at her in disbelief, "Don't be ridiculous, Donna," He scoffed sarcastically. Jasper then turned his attention to Ivy, "He'll forget about it in a year's time."

Ivy rolled her eyes, "Well, we're suppose to be practising this weekend," She explained, crossing her arms over her chest as she leant against a large oak tree.

Donna finally glanced up from her book, "Didn't Madam Pomfrey tell you to rest your arm for three weeks minimum?"

"I mean, yeah, but I can't miss practice," Ivy tried reasoning with the brunette, "I need the practise."

"You can miss it, Ivy," Donna reassured the red head.

"Yeah, what's the worst that could happen?" Jasper added.

"He could kick me off the team," Ivy huffed, looking between her two best friends.

"Well, then you could have a break from Quidditch and try again next year," Donna shrugged her shoulders as she smiled proudly for coming up with that idea.

"I don't want to wait until next year though," Ivy pouted, sounding almost like a kid that was trying to get their mum to allow them to buy some chocolate.

Donna rolled her eyes at her best friend and opened her mouth to speak, but before she did the sound of leaves and twigs cracking close by caught their attention. Ivy turned away from her friend, her eyes spotting a tall figure approaching the three and she let out an annoyed groan and quickly turned back to Donna and Jasper; acting as if she hadn't noticed him.

Donna and Jasper shared awkward looks, not knowing what to say or do so instead Jasper casually stood up from his spot on the grass, pretending to yawn and stretch out his arms before - without a word - he dashed off in the direction of the castle.

"Seriously?" Ivy muttered, shaking her head at her friend's behaviour before her eyes met Donna's and she tried pleading her silently not to leave.

"I have to return a book to the library," The blue eyed girl announced, she avoided eye contact with both Ivy and Regulus. Without even bothering to pack her books into her bag, she held them close to her chest as she followed Jasper's earlier actions.

Ivy watched her other friend practically sprint towards the school. She rolled her eyes at their behaviour as she awkwardly played with the hem of her black sweater.

"Hey," Regulus greeted softly, coming closer to the tree the red head was leaning against.

"Hi," Ivy muttered under her breath, still not letting her jade coloured eyes wander over to the black haired boy with the great jawline.

"Are you going to run away like Donna and Jasper?" He questioned, a light tone to his voice.

"I was here first," Ivy replied in monotone, "I shouldn't be the one having to leave."

Regulus nodded but the redhead didn't notice. He placed his hands into his pockets as he rocked on the heels of his feet awkwardly. He didn't know what to say. Deep down, he knew what he should say but he had never said it to anyone before. An unfamiliar feeling of guilt washed over him every time he saw the redhead girl as he deeply regretted letting his friends do that to her. But he also knew that the last thing he ever needed was his Pureblood mother finding out about him talking to a Muggleborn witch and if he defended her back at the Quidditch stands, word would definitely spread around Hogwarts about it which would definitely get back to his family.

"Are you here for something or are you just going to stand there behind me?" Ivy suddenly asked causing Regulus to snap out of his thoughts.

"I'm here to apologise."

Ivy would be lying if she said she wasn't shocked at the words that left Regulus' mouth. She slowly turned her head up to face the boy and noticed his awkward posture. Her wide eyes looked right at his as she tried to read him before she quickly looked behind him, "Are the others around?" She asked quietly.

"Others?" Regulus asked with genuine confusion as he looked between Ivy and the empty space behind himself.

"Mulciber, Crouch, Rosier," The Gryffindor listed off.

"Why would they be here?"

Ivy shrugged, "I was just checking if this is some sort of set up," She admitted and couldn't help but notice the flash of hurt in Regulus' eyes.

"It isn't," He told her sincerely, keeping their eye contact, "I wouldn't ever do that, Ivy, I promise you that."

She stared at him but didn't say a word. Truthfully, she didn't know what to say. Regulus noticed her stiff posture and cleared his throat. His icy blue eyes glanced down at the grass beneath his feet for a moment before he looked back to the jade coloured eyes that seemed to appear regularly in his thoughts.

"I'm sorry," He apologised, "I'm sorry about what I said. I'm sorry about what they did, but most importantly, I'm sorry that I didn't do anything to stop them."

Ivy watched the Slytherin boy carefully. She hadn't known him for long but she felt like she could read him incredibly clearly, and from the looks of it, it didn't seem like he was lying, "I forgive you," She finally spoke up, sending him a small smile which caused him to grin widely, "Sorry about Sirius turning your hair pink."

He quickly dismissed her, "I deserved it. But you forgive me? Like, genuinely?"

Ivy nodded her head. Her red locks fell in front of her face and Regulus got a strange feeling of wanting to brush them behind her ear, but as quick as the thoughts came, he shook them off, "How's your arm?" He quickly asked.

"It's healed, but Madam Pomfrey is trying to get me to give Quidditch as rest for a few weeks," Ivy explained, glancing down at her right arm and visibly squirming as if she was remembering the pain from when the Bludger smashed into it.

An awkward silence filled the air around the two fifth years. Ivy picked at a lose thread on her sweater as Regulus began rocking on his feet once again, his eyes wandering around the greenery around them.

"You wanna go--"

"We can't be friends."

"What?" Regulus asked, his eyes scanning Ivy's face as he looked at her with a hurt expression.

She glanced down at her hands, the expression on his face making her feel guilty, "You're a Pureblood, Regulus. If your parents find out that we're friends they'll disown you," She stood up from her spot by the tree. Wiping away at the mud on her jeans, she moved towards him, "I forgive you, I really do, but I don't want you getting in shit with your family for me," She smiled sadly at him, softly touching his arm before she moved around him and walked away. Wrapping her arms around herself as she ran up the grass slope whilst Regulus watched her go with a frown on his face.