"I suggest you leave, before I lose complete control of my hormones and perhaps lose my mind over you."
"And what if I don't leave, Tom?" she said, with a smirk forming at the corner of her lips.
"Then I'll rather do something, that will make you...
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Twenty minutes passed by, and Gerald was nowhere to be found. Julia sighed, leaning her back against the painting. She heard a thud, feeling the painting she was leaning on push her forward. It opened, revealing an unbothered Gerald.
His eyes slightly widened. "Julia?"
"That's me." she awkwardly waved.
"How long have you been here?" Gerald asked, still in slight shock.
"I believe around ten to twenty minutes. But it doesn't matter. It really doesn't." she said, not wanting to make Gerald feel bad.
"Oh. . .Sorry."
"It's alright, Gerald. How about we head to the library? You wanted me to tutor you anyway."
The boy nodded, grabbing Julia's hand and dragging her with him to the library, with a wide smile on his face.
They arrived, sitting down at one of the tables, facing one of the many big bookshelves. Julia turned to face Longbottom.
"Do you want to study or...?" she broke the silence that was radiating the boring atmosphere.
"I didn't ask you to hang out with me just to study." he shrugged. "I thought of this gathering as a-.. as a date."
"A date?" Julia felt her heart drop. "Gerald, I don't mean to be rude, but I.. I don't think I understood what you were trying to say."
Gerald sighed, looking down in mere embarrassment. "I like you, Julia."
"I don't know what to say. I-" she stuttered. "I really don't want to hurt you. I never thought of you as more than just friends. I'm sorry."
Gerald's cheeks started to heat up, showing a bright red color on his face. "Is this about Tom?" he asked, his voice cracking.
Julia didn't know if she should nod or not. She tried to convince herself for the past few weeks to forget about Tom, that she didn't fancy him. Still, she slowly nodded, making Gerald's eye twitch.
"I knew it." he scoffed. "You're just like the other girls; head over heels to someone that doesn't deserve your love."
"I-"
"He doesn't know what love is, Julia. Have you not noticed?! He doesn't know." he sat up, the blood boiling in his veins. "You should've gave up on the jerk long time ago."
"I'm not a quitter." she muttered, defending Tom without noticing.
"You should learn when to quit and when not to." he spat with venom. "If there were a fire, who would you save? Me or him?"
