"I'm a Telepath." Zee's eyes widen a little and his cheeks darken slightly. I smile and raise an eyebrow.
"Uhm, have you been listening the whole time?" I chuckle and shake my head.
"Nah, it doesn't work like that." He is obviously relieved. Why, I have no idea.
"How does it work then?"
"It's.. hard to explain. I can't read anyone's mind at any given time. I have to be connected to them first. And that's kind of complicated."
"How so?"
"Well, I have to be thinking the exact same thing as another person to connect with them, at the exact same time."
"Thinking what?" I shrug.
"Anything, whatever. Could be a colour or a word or a picture." Zee grins.
"Do it to me."
"What? Why?"
"I wanna see what it feels like. Do it." I narrow my eyes a little.
"Once I'm in there I can see whatever I want and for as long as I want. The connection doesn't end unless I end it." His grin fades a little.
"Hm, well maybe another time then." I laugh a bit and grab another bread roll. "Do you ever accidentally link with someone?"
"It happens all the time. School was the worst, with everyone in the class thinking the same thing like during a test or something."
"That sounds like it sucked."
"You have no idea." I stand up and stretch. "So, what do you do?"
"I'm a Telekinetic Pyro."
"Whew.. And I thought mine was cool." Zee laughs and leads me to the common room. Will is playing a video game. I flop down on the sofa and look back at Zee, who sits beside me.
"It's not that cool, really. I'm not that good yet, but don't tell anyone. I came here mostly to control it." He blushes. "I got into a little trouble earlier this year."
"I hardly call burning down your house a little trouble." My eyes widen at Will's back and I look back at Zee, who is scowling.
"I didn't do it on purpose, all right, pretty boy? You know that." Will snorts.
"Wait, do you two know eachother?" Zee nods sadly.
"Unfortunately." I turn back to Will.
"So what do you do?" This time Zee snorts.
"Shut it, Golding." Will pauses his game and turns to look at me. There's an expression on his face I can't read. "I can levitate."
"Really, why don't you give us a show." Will closes his eyes and for a few minutes nothing happens. Then, he raises a few inches off the floor and falls back onto his ass. Zee cracks up laughing.
"Some ability you got there, Cedar. You can raise yourself a couple inches, good job!" I give Zee a sideways look.
"I bet he can do more than that, can't you Will." He doesn't say anything, just unpauses his game and ignores us. I roll my eyes and lay back against the couch, setting my feet on Zee's lap. He goes to grab for one and I kick his hand. "I warn you, I am ticklish, and I don't fight fair."
"Relax, I was just gonna massage them for you." I raise an eyebrow but after a few seconds I set my feet back down and he takes one in his hands. "The trick is to make firm movements. Any light touches will tickle the person because they aren't expecting it." I think he's crazy, but he successfully gets through an entire foot massage, both feet, without tickling me once.
"Amazing. No one's been able to do that, ever."
"I could tell. You carry a lot of tension in your feet and your shoulders."
"My shoulders?"
"Yep. I can tell just by looking at them." He moves to position me so I'm sitting in front of him, but I stand up and back away before he can. He gives me a questioning look and I shrug.
"I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna go up to my room. I'll see you tomorrow." I turn and exit the common room, heading up the stairs and straight into my room. I close the door behind me and try to lock it, finding out there's no lock. Great. I sit on the bed and lay back against the pillow. I suddenly have a terrible sense of homesickness. I reach into my bag for my cellphone and wait for it to load, only to find that there's no service out here. Just great.
I stuff it back in my bag and sigh. I'm also suddenly really tired, even though it's only 8 PM, and would only be 5 back home. I undress and find a big t-shirt in my bag, pull it on and get under the blanket. The pillow is squishy and the blanket is itchy and I almost miss my own bed in my own room.
No, Gemma, it's not your room anymore, remember? This is your room now. This is your house and your life now. I do something I haven't done since I was 8. I cry myself to sleep.
16 September 2011
12 September 2011
Someone Else's Happy Ending, Chapter 8
Friday October 31st [24 w 4 d]
I swear, if she makes me try on one more dress I will kill her.. Leona and I are in a Maternity store in Hogsmeade and she's made me try on 10 dresses in the course of two hours. It's been very hard lately to try and hide my belly and apparently she thinks tonight is "the night to tell everyone." Right now I'd rather stick a spork in my eye and pop out my eyeballs. "Bell, that looks awesome on you!" I suppress another eye roll.
"You've said that about every single dress I've tried on. And count them, there's ten of them. I'm done, pick whatever dress you want, I just don't care anymore." She looks a little disheartened and I instantly feel horrible. "God, Leona, I'm sorry. I'm hot and sweaty and that sales lady is really getting on my nerves."
"No, Bell, don't worry. I've kinda taken this a little overboard, haven't I?" She holds up the first dress I tried on and the third one. "It's gotta be one of these." I survey the options.
"The first one. Wish I had known I was gonna pick this one nine dresses ago." She gives me a smile and goes to flag down the sales lady while I dress back into my regular clothes. Before the dresses I'd tried on a bunch of maternity clothes. I've now got lots of clothes to last me until the end of my pregnancy. That word still feels weird to me and I'm more than half way through.
"Okay Bell, we're finally done! The dress is a gift from me, so you don't have to worry about it. Now we can go up to the school and get ready for later."
"You're too good to me." She waves my comment off as she helps me with the bags. All 5 of them.
**
"Hold still, I'm not done." My patience is getting shorter and shorter as she redoes my hair and makeup. I don't really want to do either of them, but Leona's so excited that I couldn't say no.
"Just hurry up. If you thought this afternoon was bad, then you're in for a surprise."
"Done! Go look." I waddle over to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror, and despite my best efforts, my eyes travel directly to my growing stomach. I place my hands on my tummy, wondering what the hell I'm getting myself in to. I guess it's too late to wonder that now, though. "What do you think, Bell?" I barely glance at my face as I exit the bathroom.
"It looks great. I can't wait for this day to be over. I got November's worth of moving done in one day, lucky me." She goes through the bags until she finds the dress she bought for me. I groan as I slip it on. It doesn't hide my huge stomach at all.
"You look fabulous! Just give me a few minutes and I'll be right down." I slip on my shoes and make my way down to the common room, sliding down on to one of the couches. There's a few people left in the common room sitting at the tables. Probably cracking down on this weekend's work.
As I'm waiting for Leona I place both my hands on my stomach, trying to see if I can feel something. All the books have said I was supposed to feel movement by the time I was at least 24 weeks and I haven't felt anything at all. I'm beginning to get worried.
I decide Leona's taking too long and make my way down to the great hall on my own. I get lots of stares and a few people even point at me. I ignore them all, holding my head high. Phoebe would be proud of me. I spot Draco standing near the entrance and walk up to him. He looks me over and gives me a warm smile. "Bell, you look wonderful." I blush deeply.
"Leona made such a fuss over me. We spent 4 hours in this store, I tried on about 100 articles of clothing." He laughs as he takes my arm, guiding my into the great hall. "It's not funny, Draco. The sales woman was an airy old woman and she got on my nerves by just looking at her. I was going crazy by the time we left. I spent 50 galleons and came home with 5 bags!" He leads me to a silver table with 4 chairs. "I can't sit here, this is a Slytherin table."
"Oh please. Sit down and I'll get you a drink. What do you want?"
"Punch is fine. Make sure it's not spiked, huh?" He walks off in the direction of the drinks table. I sit down and try to make myself comfortable on the little wooden chair. Not so easy going considering my ass is too big for the damn chair. I sigh and give up. Draco walks back with two cups in hand. He sets one in front of me and I take a sip. "These chairs are ridiculous! How is anyone supposed to sit on them." He chuckles and I throw a sugar cube at him.
"So how have you been feeling Bella? We haven't had much time to talk lately." I nod, taking another sip.
"I've been all right, I guess. Still no movement which is really getting on my nerves. I'm going to see Madame Promfrey tomorrow, make sure all's good."
"How big is she now?"
"I haven't had time to check lately but in week 23 the book said she was supposed to be about one pound and just over 2 inches."
"Have you figured out when you're due yet?" I shrug.
"Naw. I'll ask Madame Promfrey tomorrow."
"Want me to come?" I smile inwardly.
"Sure, if you like."
I spend the rest of the night chatting and catching up with Draco. I get more stares and more people point at me, but it doesn't bother me anymore. I've decided that the baby is going to be a good thing. And no matter what happens, she's gonna have more love than she'll know what to do with.
I swear, if she makes me try on one more dress I will kill her.. Leona and I are in a Maternity store in Hogsmeade and she's made me try on 10 dresses in the course of two hours. It's been very hard lately to try and hide my belly and apparently she thinks tonight is "the night to tell everyone." Right now I'd rather stick a spork in my eye and pop out my eyeballs. "Bell, that looks awesome on you!" I suppress another eye roll.
"You've said that about every single dress I've tried on. And count them, there's ten of them. I'm done, pick whatever dress you want, I just don't care anymore." She looks a little disheartened and I instantly feel horrible. "God, Leona, I'm sorry. I'm hot and sweaty and that sales lady is really getting on my nerves."
"No, Bell, don't worry. I've kinda taken this a little overboard, haven't I?" She holds up the first dress I tried on and the third one. "It's gotta be one of these." I survey the options.
"The first one. Wish I had known I was gonna pick this one nine dresses ago." She gives me a smile and goes to flag down the sales lady while I dress back into my regular clothes. Before the dresses I'd tried on a bunch of maternity clothes. I've now got lots of clothes to last me until the end of my pregnancy. That word still feels weird to me and I'm more than half way through.
"Okay Bell, we're finally done! The dress is a gift from me, so you don't have to worry about it. Now we can go up to the school and get ready for later."
"You're too good to me." She waves my comment off as she helps me with the bags. All 5 of them.
**
"Hold still, I'm not done." My patience is getting shorter and shorter as she redoes my hair and makeup. I don't really want to do either of them, but Leona's so excited that I couldn't say no.
"Just hurry up. If you thought this afternoon was bad, then you're in for a surprise."
"Done! Go look." I waddle over to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror, and despite my best efforts, my eyes travel directly to my growing stomach. I place my hands on my tummy, wondering what the hell I'm getting myself in to. I guess it's too late to wonder that now, though. "What do you think, Bell?" I barely glance at my face as I exit the bathroom.
"It looks great. I can't wait for this day to be over. I got November's worth of moving done in one day, lucky me." She goes through the bags until she finds the dress she bought for me. I groan as I slip it on. It doesn't hide my huge stomach at all.
"You look fabulous! Just give me a few minutes and I'll be right down." I slip on my shoes and make my way down to the common room, sliding down on to one of the couches. There's a few people left in the common room sitting at the tables. Probably cracking down on this weekend's work.
As I'm waiting for Leona I place both my hands on my stomach, trying to see if I can feel something. All the books have said I was supposed to feel movement by the time I was at least 24 weeks and I haven't felt anything at all. I'm beginning to get worried.
I decide Leona's taking too long and make my way down to the great hall on my own. I get lots of stares and a few people even point at me. I ignore them all, holding my head high. Phoebe would be proud of me. I spot Draco standing near the entrance and walk up to him. He looks me over and gives me a warm smile. "Bell, you look wonderful." I blush deeply.
"Leona made such a fuss over me. We spent 4 hours in this store, I tried on about 100 articles of clothing." He laughs as he takes my arm, guiding my into the great hall. "It's not funny, Draco. The sales woman was an airy old woman and she got on my nerves by just looking at her. I was going crazy by the time we left. I spent 50 galleons and came home with 5 bags!" He leads me to a silver table with 4 chairs. "I can't sit here, this is a Slytherin table."
"Oh please. Sit down and I'll get you a drink. What do you want?"
"Punch is fine. Make sure it's not spiked, huh?" He walks off in the direction of the drinks table. I sit down and try to make myself comfortable on the little wooden chair. Not so easy going considering my ass is too big for the damn chair. I sigh and give up. Draco walks back with two cups in hand. He sets one in front of me and I take a sip. "These chairs are ridiculous! How is anyone supposed to sit on them." He chuckles and I throw a sugar cube at him.
"So how have you been feeling Bella? We haven't had much time to talk lately." I nod, taking another sip.
"I've been all right, I guess. Still no movement which is really getting on my nerves. I'm going to see Madame Promfrey tomorrow, make sure all's good."
"How big is she now?"
"I haven't had time to check lately but in week 23 the book said she was supposed to be about one pound and just over 2 inches."
"Have you figured out when you're due yet?" I shrug.
"Naw. I'll ask Madame Promfrey tomorrow."
"Want me to come?" I smile inwardly.
"Sure, if you like."
I spend the rest of the night chatting and catching up with Draco. I get more stares and more people point at me, but it doesn't bother me anymore. I've decided that the baby is going to be a good thing. And no matter what happens, she's gonna have more love than she'll know what to do with.
Mind Over Matter, Chapter 12
Instead of unpacking my clothes, I head down the hall to the bathroom. After an entire day of plane, and then car, travel, I'm feeling pretty gross. I lock the door and strip down and take a long, hot shower. As I'm drying up there's a knock at the door. "Yeah?"
"Uhm, Gemma?"
"Yeah. What?"
"Dinner is in 10 minutes and I'd like to use the bathroom."
"Okay, just give me another minute." The voice stops but doesn't move far from the door. I tug my clothes back on and open the door, coming face to face with a girl. She smiles when I catch her eye.
"Hi, I'm Tessa."
"Gemma. I'll just get out of your way." I side step her and head back to my room. I decide to change my clothes as well and brush my hair, braiding it to one side. When I'm done I turn to see Tessa standing in my door way.
"Would you like to walk down to dinner with me?" I'd decline, but I don't know where the kitchen is yet, so I nod in agreement. I've never really gotten along with females, or anyone really for that matter. Becca was a rare find. I should probably say something to Tessa, but nothing comes to mind, and I'm not one to fill silences with chatter. She seems content to stay quiet anyway.
As we come to the main floor I hear steps coming down the stairs behind us. Apparently I'm not moving fast enough because some guy, who I assume to be William, rushes past us and almost runs to the middle door on the left. I glance at Tessa. "That's Will." Thoughts confirmed. I feel an arm on my shoulder and turn to my right to see Zee in between Tessa and I.
"Yeah, Mr Personality himself. He can be okay most of the time, but don't get between him and his food."
"So what's with the nickname?"
"Don't be hatin' on the name, okay?" I smile.
"Never said I was hatin', just asking where it came from." Zee grins as Tessa slides from under his arm and walks a little ahead of us.
"Well, like I said earlier, I used to get beat up a lot. Guess most guys didn't care for such a sophisticated name. Anyways, the summer I was 13 I moved and decided to come up with my own name. I also buffed up and grew a few inches."
"But why Zee?"
"I thought Admiral sounded a little cheesy. And Z is the last letter of the alphabet and I was 13 and thought it sounded cool, all right." He opens the kitchen door and sits at the table, motioning that I sit beside him. I sit. "After that, it just stuck, so now I'm Zee."
"Huh."
"How'd your parents come up with Gemma?" He takes a bread roll from the centre of the table and bites into it.
"Well you nailed it before. My mom wanted to call me Jewel, but my dad hated it, so they settled on Gemma. I think he wanted to name me Francine after his mom. So glad they decided otherwise." Zee snorts into his bread.
"Okay, everyone, listen up for a minute." I look over at Liz. "I'd like to welcome Gemma Slate. You've already met Lawr.. Zee Golding, Tessa Packard, Samantha Que, and William Cedar." She points to each person in turn. "Tomorrow after everyone's rested up I'll give you a tour of the labs where we'll begin our testing."
"What kind of testing?"
"It differs for each ability. You'll learn more about that tomorrow." I take a small bite of my bread roll. Suddenly I'm not so hungry. I knew they were doing studies and research, but I'd never really thought about how they do those studies. Obviously, they test our abilities and study us. I wonder if we're being studied right now. "After dinner everyone can do their own thing again for the night. As always, lights out at 10 sharp." I almost groan out loud. We have a bedtime? How old do they think we are, 12? I catch everyone's faces and assume they've already thought this. Oh well, just because it's lights out doesn't mean they can make me sleep.
After that, Liz leaves us alone to eat. Zee and I do most of the talking, simply because both Will and Samantha retreat out of the kitchen as soon as they're done. Tessa stays a little to talk, but soon leaves as well. Zee turns to face me. "So, what do you do?"
"Uhm, Gemma?"
"Yeah. What?"
"Dinner is in 10 minutes and I'd like to use the bathroom."
"Okay, just give me another minute." The voice stops but doesn't move far from the door. I tug my clothes back on and open the door, coming face to face with a girl. She smiles when I catch her eye.
"Hi, I'm Tessa."
"Gemma. I'll just get out of your way." I side step her and head back to my room. I decide to change my clothes as well and brush my hair, braiding it to one side. When I'm done I turn to see Tessa standing in my door way.
"Would you like to walk down to dinner with me?" I'd decline, but I don't know where the kitchen is yet, so I nod in agreement. I've never really gotten along with females, or anyone really for that matter. Becca was a rare find. I should probably say something to Tessa, but nothing comes to mind, and I'm not one to fill silences with chatter. She seems content to stay quiet anyway.
As we come to the main floor I hear steps coming down the stairs behind us. Apparently I'm not moving fast enough because some guy, who I assume to be William, rushes past us and almost runs to the middle door on the left. I glance at Tessa. "That's Will." Thoughts confirmed. I feel an arm on my shoulder and turn to my right to see Zee in between Tessa and I.
"Yeah, Mr Personality himself. He can be okay most of the time, but don't get between him and his food."
"So what's with the nickname?"
"Don't be hatin' on the name, okay?" I smile.
"Never said I was hatin', just asking where it came from." Zee grins as Tessa slides from under his arm and walks a little ahead of us.
"Well, like I said earlier, I used to get beat up a lot. Guess most guys didn't care for such a sophisticated name. Anyways, the summer I was 13 I moved and decided to come up with my own name. I also buffed up and grew a few inches."
"But why Zee?"
"I thought Admiral sounded a little cheesy. And Z is the last letter of the alphabet and I was 13 and thought it sounded cool, all right." He opens the kitchen door and sits at the table, motioning that I sit beside him. I sit. "After that, it just stuck, so now I'm Zee."
"Huh."
"How'd your parents come up with Gemma?" He takes a bread roll from the centre of the table and bites into it.
"Well you nailed it before. My mom wanted to call me Jewel, but my dad hated it, so they settled on Gemma. I think he wanted to name me Francine after his mom. So glad they decided otherwise." Zee snorts into his bread.
"Okay, everyone, listen up for a minute." I look over at Liz. "I'd like to welcome Gemma Slate. You've already met Lawr.. Zee Golding, Tessa Packard, Samantha Que, and William Cedar." She points to each person in turn. "Tomorrow after everyone's rested up I'll give you a tour of the labs where we'll begin our testing."
"What kind of testing?"
"It differs for each ability. You'll learn more about that tomorrow." I take a small bite of my bread roll. Suddenly I'm not so hungry. I knew they were doing studies and research, but I'd never really thought about how they do those studies. Obviously, they test our abilities and study us. I wonder if we're being studied right now. "After dinner everyone can do their own thing again for the night. As always, lights out at 10 sharp." I almost groan out loud. We have a bedtime? How old do they think we are, 12? I catch everyone's faces and assume they've already thought this. Oh well, just because it's lights out doesn't mean they can make me sleep.
After that, Liz leaves us alone to eat. Zee and I do most of the talking, simply because both Will and Samantha retreat out of the kitchen as soon as they're done. Tessa stays a little to talk, but soon leaves as well. Zee turns to face me. "So, what do you do?"
07 September 2011
Someone Else's Happy Ending, Chapter 7
Saturday September 27th [19 w 5 d]
Oh no...where did that come from?! I look down at my stomach, wondering where that huge bulge came from. Crappp. After freaking out for a minute, I throw on a sweater, large enough to pretty much hide the offending bulge, and head down to the great hall. Today we're going to Hogmeade. I spot Draco in the place I told him to wait for me and sneak up behind him, tickling him and making him jump. A bunch of people stare at him and his cheeks turn a light tinge of pink. A much better look than the white he usually is.
"Annabel!" I laugh at him, linking my arm with his and trying to get him to skip with me. He doesn't want to and makes such a fuss that I stop. "I am a man, Bella. Men don't skip merrily down the lane." I snort and he glares at me. "As much as you'd like to think otherwise."
"Oh, no. I bask in your manly glowness. Teach me, great manly one."
"Bella, come on, stop it." He glances around. There's a few people looking and laughing, but I don't care.
"Oh come on, Draco. Who cares what people think?"
"I do, actually." I shake my read and roll my eyes. I happen to look back and see Keelan walking a few yards behind us. He hasn't spoken to me since I slapped him those weeks ago. I've made it a point to avoid him but he's always popping up everywhere. I'm beginning to think he's following me, but that's way too creepy to think about.
I decide not to mention it to Draco since he's already furious at him as it is. I'm surprised at his restraint that he's not kicked Keelan's ass yet. To my dismay Keelan decides to catch up to us, almost tripping me with his foot. I stagger a bit before regaining my footing.
"Keelan! What's your problem!" He walks backwards in front of us, shrugging.
"Just trying to solve a few of my problems, that's all." I shake my head, choosing to ignore him. Draco, on the other hand, has finally had enough.
"What's your problem, Richards?" Keelan points to my stomach.
"That is my problem."
"You know Keelan, for being put in Ravenclaw, you're pretty stupid. Come on Draco." I grab his arm but he pulls it from me with a huff.
"No, Bell. He's already done enough. Why don't you just piss off, Richards?" Keelan smiles.
"Would if I could." He turns around and starts walking away from us, laughing with his idiotic. I can see a bunch of people staring. Draco steps away from me and picks up a stick.
"Oh my God, Draco. Don't you dare! Do you want to get expelled?" He ignores me, chucking the stick. It hits its target, striking the back of Keelan's head. He spins around and stalks back to Draco, throwing his arm back to punch him. I step in front of him before he can do anything and Keelan lowers his arms. "Don't you dare, Keelan Richards." I reach behind me and grab Draco's arm, pulling him away from Keelan.
"Bell.."
"Don't even Draco. I'm mad at you right now." I let his hand go and walk by myself the rest of the way to Hogsmeade. I spot Leona walking out of Honeydukes and decide to spend the day with her instead. It crosses my mind that if I hang out with Draco I'll end up saying something I regret later. Much later, in my current mood.
Leona and I spend the afternoon walking around Hogsmeade, enjoying some much needed catch up time. As we're walking back up to the school Draco catches up to us. He tries to apologize the entire way there.
"Go away already, Draco."
"Come on, Bell. I couldn't just let him get away with trying to trip you." I stop walking and turn to him.
"I don't care. You had no right to throw a stick at him. No matter how much of a dick he was being." Leona and I continue walking, ignoring the apologies Draco's trying to make. I bid farewell to Leona as we sit at our tables for dinner. During dinner I notice that Draco's not eating much and he looks miserable. I suddenly feel really bad for ignoring him all day. But still, he had no right to throw a stick at Keelan. I sigh, finishing my supper and heading up to the library.
I gather a few books on pregnancy and claim my usual couch, reading up a bit on what's happening to my body. A little later I look up just as Draco enters the library. He stalks over and sits down beside me. "There you are. I had to harass a few 3rd years before finally finding you. Whatcha reading?"
"I realized I don't really know much about what's going on so I thought I'd read up on it."
"What's supposed to be happening right now?" I flip a few pages back.
"Well, in week 20 it says I can already feel movement, which I'm not. The baby is about the size of a melon. Everything's all formed and now she just has to grow. And apparently pineapple helps with heartburn. Which is fantastic because I love pineapple."
We sit for a while longer, reading through the books and seeing what's to come. At some point I rest my head on Draco's shoulder and don't even notice when I fall asleep.
Oh no...where did that come from?! I look down at my stomach, wondering where that huge bulge came from. Crappp. After freaking out for a minute, I throw on a sweater, large enough to pretty much hide the offending bulge, and head down to the great hall. Today we're going to Hogmeade. I spot Draco in the place I told him to wait for me and sneak up behind him, tickling him and making him jump. A bunch of people stare at him and his cheeks turn a light tinge of pink. A much better look than the white he usually is.
"Annabel!" I laugh at him, linking my arm with his and trying to get him to skip with me. He doesn't want to and makes such a fuss that I stop. "I am a man, Bella. Men don't skip merrily down the lane." I snort and he glares at me. "As much as you'd like to think otherwise."
"Oh, no. I bask in your manly glowness. Teach me, great manly one."
"Bella, come on, stop it." He glances around. There's a few people looking and laughing, but I don't care.
"Oh come on, Draco. Who cares what people think?"
"I do, actually." I shake my read and roll my eyes. I happen to look back and see Keelan walking a few yards behind us. He hasn't spoken to me since I slapped him those weeks ago. I've made it a point to avoid him but he's always popping up everywhere. I'm beginning to think he's following me, but that's way too creepy to think about.
I decide not to mention it to Draco since he's already furious at him as it is. I'm surprised at his restraint that he's not kicked Keelan's ass yet. To my dismay Keelan decides to catch up to us, almost tripping me with his foot. I stagger a bit before regaining my footing.
"Keelan! What's your problem!" He walks backwards in front of us, shrugging.
"Just trying to solve a few of my problems, that's all." I shake my head, choosing to ignore him. Draco, on the other hand, has finally had enough.
"What's your problem, Richards?" Keelan points to my stomach.
"That is my problem."
"You know Keelan, for being put in Ravenclaw, you're pretty stupid. Come on Draco." I grab his arm but he pulls it from me with a huff.
"No, Bell. He's already done enough. Why don't you just piss off, Richards?" Keelan smiles.
"Would if I could." He turns around and starts walking away from us, laughing with his idiotic. I can see a bunch of people staring. Draco steps away from me and picks up a stick.
"Oh my God, Draco. Don't you dare! Do you want to get expelled?" He ignores me, chucking the stick. It hits its target, striking the back of Keelan's head. He spins around and stalks back to Draco, throwing his arm back to punch him. I step in front of him before he can do anything and Keelan lowers his arms. "Don't you dare, Keelan Richards." I reach behind me and grab Draco's arm, pulling him away from Keelan.
"Bell.."
"Don't even Draco. I'm mad at you right now." I let his hand go and walk by myself the rest of the way to Hogsmeade. I spot Leona walking out of Honeydukes and decide to spend the day with her instead. It crosses my mind that if I hang out with Draco I'll end up saying something I regret later. Much later, in my current mood.
Leona and I spend the afternoon walking around Hogsmeade, enjoying some much needed catch up time. As we're walking back up to the school Draco catches up to us. He tries to apologize the entire way there.
"Go away already, Draco."
"Come on, Bell. I couldn't just let him get away with trying to trip you." I stop walking and turn to him.
"I don't care. You had no right to throw a stick at him. No matter how much of a dick he was being." Leona and I continue walking, ignoring the apologies Draco's trying to make. I bid farewell to Leona as we sit at our tables for dinner. During dinner I notice that Draco's not eating much and he looks miserable. I suddenly feel really bad for ignoring him all day. But still, he had no right to throw a stick at Keelan. I sigh, finishing my supper and heading up to the library.
I gather a few books on pregnancy and claim my usual couch, reading up a bit on what's happening to my body. A little later I look up just as Draco enters the library. He stalks over and sits down beside me. "There you are. I had to harass a few 3rd years before finally finding you. Whatcha reading?"
"I realized I don't really know much about what's going on so I thought I'd read up on it."
"What's supposed to be happening right now?" I flip a few pages back.
"Well, in week 20 it says I can already feel movement, which I'm not. The baby is about the size of a melon. Everything's all formed and now she just has to grow. And apparently pineapple helps with heartburn. Which is fantastic because I love pineapple."
We sit for a while longer, reading through the books and seeing what's to come. At some point I rest my head on Draco's shoulder and don't even notice when I fall asleep.
Mind Over Matter, Chapter 11
I shut my eyes tight and grasp the arm rest. Flying has never been a favourite thing of mine, and that certainly hasn't changed since my birthday. I hear Liz chuckle beside me and grit my teeth. Taking off is worse than landing, but it's still terrifying. I almost cry out as the plane bumps against the ground before flying down the landing strip. Once the plane is completely stopped do I finally open my eyes and unclasp my hands.
"Flying not your favourite thing, huh?" I glare over at Liz as I check my carry-on.
"You could say that."
"How many times have you been on a plane?"
"A few. My grandparents live in Greece, so we fly there once a year or so. I'm surprised you didn't know that." I grin over at her and she smiles.
"I never like to just assume, even if I know things. It's hard to get to know someone when you know everything about them, you know?" I shrug.
"Sure." We're quiet as we exit the plane until we claim our bags.
"This way. Mr Tomlin is very excited to meet you." I struggle with my shoulder bag, looking around for a cart.
"Who's that?" Liz claims a cart and I toss my bag onto it.
"He's the founder of the project. His father before him, and his before him."
"Does he have any special ability?" Liz pushes the cart and I follow beside her, dodging people too rude to move.
"Unfortunately, no he doesn't. But, he is very dedicated to what it is the project is trying to do."
"And what's that?" She glances over at me.
"I thought you read the information I gave you."
"I might have skimmed over it." Truth be told, I hadn't even looked at it.
"Well it would do you some good to read it." I shrug and Liz sighs. We walk for a few minutes in more silence until I spot a guy holding a cardboard sign reading SLATE. Classy. I see him before Liz so I lead her over to him. "Hi Geoffrey." I get nothing from what little expression I can see of his face, half of it hiding behind big sunglasses.
"Miss Wood." We all turn and head out of the airport. I'm itching to get outside and away from airports and planes and sitting. It was a six hour flight on two planes. I'm just sick of the whole thing.
There's no talking as we head to the car, a big black Mercedes, and as Geoffrey drives down the highway. There's very little to see, so my mind wanders. I recall that Liz never did explain how my ability works different than others that can do what I do. I'll ask her about that later.
We drive for what seems like hours before finally pulling into a driveway. Or, more accurately, a side road. I'm beginning to think we'll never get out of this car when suddenly the trees clear and a big house appears in front of us. I gape up at it. I've seen some big houses, but this one is huge. It looks to be 4 storey's, with a big wing on the left side, and a smaller building off to the right side. It looks like a shed, except three times the size.
"Big, isn't it?" I just nod while getting out of the car. Once I'm out, all thoughts of the house leave my mind and I'm consumed with stretching out my limbs. It feels terrific. "It's definitely way more space than we need, considering how many people are staying here at a regular basis."
"How many?"
"If Jackson joins us, that will make 6 teens and 2 adults living here all the time." Huh. Somehow I'd always imagined it like a regular school, with tons of kids attending during the day and going home at night. But, the more I think about it, the more I realize how silly that is. If they got me all the way across the country, then of course there won't be many people here full time. Liz hands me my bag. "I'll give everyone a grand tour tomorrow, since you're all probably exhausted, but for now I'll show you up to your room and you can meet everyone."
"Will I get to meet Jackson?" I can't explain why, but he's been on my mind a lot since Liz told me about him.
"Yes, but not for another couple days." I get the feeling there's a reason behind it that she's not telling me. I follow her up the front stairs, that lead to a wrap around porch on both sides on the house, and in the front door. There's a staircase going up directly to my left and one going down directly to my right. There's a hall that stretches out in front of us, with a few doors on each side, some open and some closed. Liz leads me up the stairs. There's two landings, and I'm lead to the very top one. There are four doors, two on either side, and one at the very end.
"The door at the end is the bathroom on this floor, there's one on the boy's floor as well. The far left room is Tessa's and the far right is Samantha's. You can pick either of the two left. The boy's downstairs are Lawrence and William."
"Zee, not Lawrence." I turn around to see a guy climbing up the stairs behind us. He looks at me and winks. "Do you know how much it sucked growing up with a name like Lawrence?" Liz rolls her eyes.
"Well whatever your name is, you know you're not supposed to come up to the girl's floor."
"Hey, I know. I was just coming up to welcome the newest newcomer and say hi." He extends his hand toward me. I take it after a second. "Name's Zee, and don't forget it."
"Gem." I take my hand back.
"Gem, like as in a jewel?"
"No. Gem as in Gemma." He grins. He seems really easy going.
"Are you about done? Gemma needs to pick her room and get herself settled in. You can see her later at dinner." Lawrence - Zee - gives me another wink before heading back down the stairs. When he's gone Liz sighs and shakes her head. "So, back to what I was saying, you can pick either of these two rooms. Dinner is at 5:30, so that gives you little over an hour to get yourself settled. If you have any problems I'll be down in the study. Middle door on the right."
I watch as she walks down the stairs and then turn around. I look at both rooms and opt for the one on the left. It isn't as big, but it's got a great window seat and a double bed, instead of a single. I drop my bags on the floor and sit on the bed, looking around. This all seems kind of surreal, like it's not really me and I'll wake up at any minute and resume my old, boring life. I smile a little. This really is me, and this is my new life, I'll just have to get used to it.
"Flying not your favourite thing, huh?" I glare over at Liz as I check my carry-on.
"You could say that."
"How many times have you been on a plane?"
"A few. My grandparents live in Greece, so we fly there once a year or so. I'm surprised you didn't know that." I grin over at her and she smiles.
"I never like to just assume, even if I know things. It's hard to get to know someone when you know everything about them, you know?" I shrug.
"Sure." We're quiet as we exit the plane until we claim our bags.
"This way. Mr Tomlin is very excited to meet you." I struggle with my shoulder bag, looking around for a cart.
"Who's that?" Liz claims a cart and I toss my bag onto it.
"He's the founder of the project. His father before him, and his before him."
"Does he have any special ability?" Liz pushes the cart and I follow beside her, dodging people too rude to move.
"Unfortunately, no he doesn't. But, he is very dedicated to what it is the project is trying to do."
"And what's that?" She glances over at me.
"I thought you read the information I gave you."
"I might have skimmed over it." Truth be told, I hadn't even looked at it.
"Well it would do you some good to read it." I shrug and Liz sighs. We walk for a few minutes in more silence until I spot a guy holding a cardboard sign reading SLATE. Classy. I see him before Liz so I lead her over to him. "Hi Geoffrey." I get nothing from what little expression I can see of his face, half of it hiding behind big sunglasses.
"Miss Wood." We all turn and head out of the airport. I'm itching to get outside and away from airports and planes and sitting. It was a six hour flight on two planes. I'm just sick of the whole thing.
There's no talking as we head to the car, a big black Mercedes, and as Geoffrey drives down the highway. There's very little to see, so my mind wanders. I recall that Liz never did explain how my ability works different than others that can do what I do. I'll ask her about that later.
We drive for what seems like hours before finally pulling into a driveway. Or, more accurately, a side road. I'm beginning to think we'll never get out of this car when suddenly the trees clear and a big house appears in front of us. I gape up at it. I've seen some big houses, but this one is huge. It looks to be 4 storey's, with a big wing on the left side, and a smaller building off to the right side. It looks like a shed, except three times the size.
"Big, isn't it?" I just nod while getting out of the car. Once I'm out, all thoughts of the house leave my mind and I'm consumed with stretching out my limbs. It feels terrific. "It's definitely way more space than we need, considering how many people are staying here at a regular basis."
"How many?"
"If Jackson joins us, that will make 6 teens and 2 adults living here all the time." Huh. Somehow I'd always imagined it like a regular school, with tons of kids attending during the day and going home at night. But, the more I think about it, the more I realize how silly that is. If they got me all the way across the country, then of course there won't be many people here full time. Liz hands me my bag. "I'll give everyone a grand tour tomorrow, since you're all probably exhausted, but for now I'll show you up to your room and you can meet everyone."
"Will I get to meet Jackson?" I can't explain why, but he's been on my mind a lot since Liz told me about him.
"Yes, but not for another couple days." I get the feeling there's a reason behind it that she's not telling me. I follow her up the front stairs, that lead to a wrap around porch on both sides on the house, and in the front door. There's a staircase going up directly to my left and one going down directly to my right. There's a hall that stretches out in front of us, with a few doors on each side, some open and some closed. Liz leads me up the stairs. There's two landings, and I'm lead to the very top one. There are four doors, two on either side, and one at the very end.
"The door at the end is the bathroom on this floor, there's one on the boy's floor as well. The far left room is Tessa's and the far right is Samantha's. You can pick either of the two left. The boy's downstairs are Lawrence and William."
"Zee, not Lawrence." I turn around to see a guy climbing up the stairs behind us. He looks at me and winks. "Do you know how much it sucked growing up with a name like Lawrence?" Liz rolls her eyes.
"Well whatever your name is, you know you're not supposed to come up to the girl's floor."
"Hey, I know. I was just coming up to welcome the newest newcomer and say hi." He extends his hand toward me. I take it after a second. "Name's Zee, and don't forget it."
"Gem." I take my hand back.
"Gem, like as in a jewel?"
"No. Gem as in Gemma." He grins. He seems really easy going.
"Are you about done? Gemma needs to pick her room and get herself settled in. You can see her later at dinner." Lawrence - Zee - gives me another wink before heading back down the stairs. When he's gone Liz sighs and shakes her head. "So, back to what I was saying, you can pick either of these two rooms. Dinner is at 5:30, so that gives you little over an hour to get yourself settled. If you have any problems I'll be down in the study. Middle door on the right."
I watch as she walks down the stairs and then turn around. I look at both rooms and opt for the one on the left. It isn't as big, but it's got a great window seat and a double bed, instead of a single. I drop my bags on the floor and sit on the bed, looking around. This all seems kind of surreal, like it's not really me and I'll wake up at any minute and resume my old, boring life. I smile a little. This really is me, and this is my new life, I'll just have to get used to it.
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