Butterflies | Teddy Lupin

Chapter Fifteen

"Teddy?" Charlotte's voice wavered, falling into the air. She called out his name, asking him, telling him, the singular word doing more than a million ever could.

He turned, the moon from the window lighting up his face. A sliver of a smile grew, making Charlotte feel warm inside. Even when they were in a fight, he still had a smile at the sight of her.

"Lotte?" he whispered, standing up from the window seat. "Why are you here?"

Charlotte's heart felt like it was beating out of her chest, like it would burst right through her body with the force of it. She wondered if he could hear it, if he was listening to the impact that he had on her. It felt like the whole world could hear her heartbeat, like the whole world could see the flush growing steadily on her cheeks as she thought about what she was going to say to him.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened at breakfast this morning," she said tentatively, walking over to the window seat that he had just recently vacated. The world outside the castle had plunged into darkness, a beautiful landscape lit up by torches. She lifted one hand to rest on the wall of the window, leaning against it.

From behind her, she heard a rush of breath from Teddy, the sweet release of air from lungs struggling to breathe. It sounded like he had been holding the breath for a while, waiting on bated breath to speak.

"I was being stupid," he said. "Like really, really stupid. I was really out of line. I had no right or reason to be upset that you were talking to Everett. I'm really sorry."

Charlotte glanced at him over her shoulder, watching him run a hand through his hair, a sincere look of apology on his face. When you grow up with someone, you come to know almost everything about them. You come to know the little things that make them them. You come to know their emotions through their little movements. Charlotte and Teddy were like that, and she could see and hear the apology on his face and in his voice.

"I know, Teddy, I know," she said, cutting him off before he started to ramble. "And I forgive you for it. But I think that we have some things to talk about."

Teddy nodded, a piece of turquoise hair flopping into his eyes. He pushed it back, and Charlotte blushed, turning away from him so he didn't see her reddened cheeks. How did such a simple action make her so flustered? She took a few deep breaths before finally turning to face him, grabbing his hand to pull him into sitting on the window seat.

Charlotte remembered past nights nestled into the soft cushions, their bodies pressed together as they worked on essays or stared out at the night sky. Now they sat as far apart as they could, energy stretching and crackling between them. The space was small enough still that their knees clacked together when they moved, electricity jolting at every small touch as they got comfortable.

"Teddy," she began, repeating his name over and over in her head. A constant loop, filling her thoughts and her mind. She wondered if he thought about her like that. If she consumed his every thought, if he wondered what she was thinking about at any given moment. "Why?"

He didn't have to ask her what she meant, what the question entailed. They both knew. Why was he jealous? Why did green tendrils creep their way into him? He didn't have all of the answers but the root, the root of the vines that twisted their way around his heart were the same.

"Lotte, you know that you're my best friend, right?" Teddy said, scooting closer to her on the bench ever so slightly. When he saw her nod, albeit, with confusion in her eyes, he continued. "If what I say today goes wrong I don't want anything to change between us."

Charlotte shook her head. "Wait wait, Teddy? What are you talking about?" she questioned him, frowning at the boy. "You will always be my best friend, no matter what."

He took a deep breath, wishing that he could inhale courage like oxygen. He had dropped the cocky demeanor that he normally had many minutes ago, instead being open and honest with Charlotte. He liked that, the feeling of shedding popular boy Teddy Lupin and being just Teddy.

"The reason that I was acting so weird today was because I was jealous. And I picked a horrible way to show it but I was jealous. And I know that I had no reason to be because we're only best friends and nothing more but I was so, so jealous. I've been in love with you for ages Lotte. And I know that you don't feel the same way and that my feelings are probably going to ruin our friendship, but I can't stay silent on them anymore." Teddy said all of these in one breath, a rush of words washing over Charlotte. His hair slowly turned bright pink.

She blinked at him, taking in the meaning of what he said as it sunk into her brain and her heart. A smile split over her face, wide and happy and warm. Her heart felt like it was going to pop because it was so full of the love that she felt for the boy sitting in front of her. "Oh, Teddy," she said, scooting as close as she could to him. Their knees hit each other, a result of the small space that they were squeezing into, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

He looked at her, eyes wide in the doe-eyed way that only he could pull off. He looked at her, innocent and full of love. That was the emotion that she hadn't been able to place, that was what she hadn't been able to see. It was love, the love of a best friend and the love of something more. Love, plain and simple.

"I think that our friendship will change," Charlotte began, pausing when she saw the panicked expression that started to form in Teddy's eyes. "But in a good way."

"How?" he whispered, hopefully still.

"Because, Teddy, because I'm in love with you and that will never ever change. I don't want to be just friends anymore. I don't think that we can be just friends anymore," she said, her words the same volume as Teddy's earlier ones. They were soft, a comforter wrapping around both of them.

Teddy leaned in, making their faces just a hairs-breath away from each other. They could feel each other's breath, the gentle fluttering of in and out, in and out. Charlotte looked into his eyes from under her eyelashes and she wanted to fall deep into them.

"Can I kiss you?" She asked, her voice whisper quiet. It was a question, a hesitant branch that she wanted him to grasp and pull her in with.

"Yes." The word Teddy said floated in the air between them, a ready yes, so so ready.

For all of the waiting that they had done, the years and years of skirting around their true feelings, they figured they could wait a few more minutes. They were the only two people in the world, the universe built solely for them. The stars shone just for them, just to light up their vision. Teddy's hand crept up to gently cup Charlotte's jaw, cradling her lips towards his.

As she leaned in, the world moved in slow motion. The fluttering of Teddy's eyelashes on his cheeks. The warmth rushing to hers. And finally, finally finally finally, their lips connected.

The world faded away as they kissed, the only thing Charlotte seeing was the boy sitting in front of her. He was her sun, her moon, the stars in the sky, and she was his. They were each other's everything and they were finally admitting it. The kiss was white noise, easy breaths. It was a chocolate taste from his lips, sweet sugar that could last forever. It was heavenly, a breath of fresh air.

In each second that they remained in the bubble, they got closer and closer, their bodies pressed flush together. When they pulled away, gasping for air, their cheeks flushed red, it was the best that Charlotte had felt in ages. She drank in the sight of Teddy, in a post-kiss bliss, and she smiled as wide as physically possible.

The air was different, just like them. It was no longer a drag down, no longer pulling both of them down. It was lifting them up, the love that they felt. They could never go back to the way that they were before, never go back to just friends. They were different now, best friends and something more. Best friends who also happened to be in love, and they finally knew it.

Author's Note

I tried with the kissing scene y'all, I'm sorry if it's not great! I've never been kissed so it was difficult. Remember that consent is important and is able to be retracted at any time. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!

- Nicole