Please do not disturb. [Theresa] on Magical Arts Room and Sports

Cepheus Princeton

August 24, 2013 2:39 PM

Please do not disturb. [Theresa] by Cepheus Princeton

Roscoe had returned dutifully, though not as quickly as Cepheus had expected. She had not returned the gift and Cepheus was beyond relieved. He had no experience with buying one’s beloved gifts, but from his own experience with his female friends, there never seemed to be any objection to jewellery. Perhaps he should have consulted his mother or a close friend, but he couldn't trust them not to tell others. Alicia did know bits of his illicit relationship and supported him for the most part, but he did not want to ask her for advice on gifts for Theresa. It seemed too strange, bringing it up in casual conversation.

The annual allowance his parents bequeathed him for buying Christmas gifts had been spent almost in total on her gift, but he had merely asked for more and they had given it to him with only a few vague questions to which he gave vague answers. Money was never a problem for Cepheus and his family was only accumulating more everyday.

Theresa had requested they meet during supper, so Cepheus had felt some pressure to provide something for them to eat. Friday evening came and while everyone else was at dinner, he nicked some goods and slipped out to the MARS water room. It had taken ages for Cepheus to decide which MARS room would be the least crowded. With Quidditch practises currently on, there was little hope that the sports room would be vacant. With the Dance Club now around, the dance room would be used more. The same went for the visual arts room, and the music room was bound to be occupied by some student or other. Cepheus didn’t want to give Theresa any ideas he was musical in any way, either. Eventually he came to rest on the idea that he would lock the door of the water room and hope for the best. He didn’t think they would have a wink of privacy anywhere else. He would have tried the gardens again, but it was, firstly, too cold outside, and he wanted a change of environment.

Cepheus pushed open the door and held his breath. Inside there was a large river with a cove off to the side open for exploration. He grinned. It would be perfect. He wasn’t sure if Theresa would be interested in exploring a cove the room had created for them, but it would be, at the very least, a good hiding spot if someone decided to come in. Cepheus went down near the cove in case a hurried dash to safety needed to be made, and charmed a few floating lights to give a softer ambiance near the water. He waved his wand and conjured a chequered blanket as well and set it down along with a couple butterbeer bottles, two apples, a handful of bread rolls and a handful of tangerines for them to share. It was little and very random, but it was all he could take from Cascade Hall without looking overly suspicious. If she had already eaten, well, this could be their dessert.

He sat down, then stood up again, feeling restless. His fingertips beat a rhythm against his thigh as he paced, wanting her to wear the bracelet yet afraid that others would see the flashy piece of jewellery and question her about it. He feared she would break under the pressure and confess everything and their reputations would be ruined. And if her relatives found out, the Careys would chase him down for seemingly 'ruining' their daughter or cousin or sister, and Cepheus's purpose for coming to America to make acquaintances and strong ties with fellow pure-blood, American families would all be for naught.

The napkin he was holding in his pocket in lieu of a handkerchief was wrung and twisted till it came apart in his hands. He stuffed the now-useless bits of paper into his pocket and cast another floating light charm to add to the others. The door opened and he whirled around, half expecting to see one of the Quidditch Careys there with a Beater's bat.

Instead it was Theresa and he dropped his defensive stance and went to her with a smile. He was beyond relieved to see her. "It's lovely to see you, Theresa. Really." He went and kissed her cheek in greeting, but it seemed more intimate than he had expected. "Well, let me just get the door," he continued, embarrassed. "Colloportus." He hoped no one would attempt to interrupt them, but if they did the jiggle of the doorknob would be enough to alert them to hide in those few precious seconds. Cepheus took her hand, feeling joy at the small liberties he was able to take with her now. "Did you have any trouble getting here?" he asked as he led her down to the blanket and the snacks.

40 Cepheus Princeton Please do not disturb. [Theresa] 216 Cepheus Princeton 1 5

Theresa Carey

September 09, 2013 1:33 AM

That's practically inviting some people, you know by Theresa Carey

She had tried to think of something else, but so far, Theresa still hadn’t come up with a better solution to her problem than carrying on and hoping for the best. It was not, she was pretty sure, a good solution by anyone’s standards – just the only one she could think of, other than telling a bunch of what she sincerely hoped would be blatant lies and then hoping to be overlooked as half the people in the year started trying to destroy each other, and not only did she not want to do that, but with her luck, it probably wouldn’t work anyway. Planning this kind of thing really wasn’t Theresa’s strength, but she thought a plan where there was a good chance all the people she was trying to manipulate instead turned on her was most likely not one she should go through with.

Instead, then, she completely failed to eat soda crackers for supper and then went to the water room, resigned to plan A for now, toying constantly with the bracelet in her pocket, unsure of whether or not to wear it. She didn’t know what message to send, what to do at all. She was making it all up as she went along, with the result that the bracelet went on and came off at least five times before she got to MARS, finally ending up in her pocket as she went in.

Looking around once she was inside, her first impulse was to run. The whole thing reeked of romance, which could not happen. Not for them. Not unless a whole lot had changed in the past week and no one had bothered to tell her, anyway, which she didn’t think was very likely. What was he thinking, locking the door? If someone walked in, then maybe they could pass the whole thing off as two people happening to be in the same place at the same time; a locked door….

“No,” she said. “Henry saw me leave the Hall, I think, but I don’t think he really cares what I do. Or what anyone does, really.”

She bit the inside of her lip before she could say anything else which was really none of Cepheus’ business. Or mentioned that Arthur had been giving her odd looks; that could just be paranoia, she knew, he had his hands full with Arnold and probably barely noticed if the rest of them were alive or dead when he wasn’t checking their homework, and there was no point in mentioning it. Sometimes, Arthur just looked funny for reasons totally unrelated to the person whose direction he happened to be looking in, so it probably meant nothing anyway.

“I got your present,” she said, just as abruptly, then. Sometimes she thought she and Henry were more alike than she usually thought, because under the least bit of stress, she forgot all her social skills, too. She took the bracelet out and began turning it restlessly between her hands. “It’s beautiful, but….”

She took a deep breath. “I can’t accept something this…big,” Theresa made herself continue. “How could we possibly explain it? Unless you’re finally planning to go public with – with this thing of ours – “

If he did that, unless something big had changed over the holidays and she didn’t know about it yet, then all hell would break loose. She didn't know what would happen after that. She wasn't sure, though, that it could really be worse than the constant uncertainty, the constant worry that someone was going to see something and that all hell was going to break loose because of it. At least there had to be an end to that, eventually, when things would be resolved and something permanent would happen, something they could move forward from.

0 Theresa Carey That's practically inviting some people, you know 219 Theresa Carey 0 5

Cepheus Princeton

September 10, 2013 11:53 AM

I like to think some people can read. by Cepheus Princeton

The moment Theresa entered the room, Cepheus noticed she was not wearing the bracelet. His spirits sank and he wondered what she had done with it. Maybe she was too afraid to wear it, but Cepheus wanted to think she was braver than that. If he meant anything to her, anyway. He was new to all this, sure, but he still wanted her to wear what he had given her. Unless she couldn’t accept it. That was perhaps the worst scenario he could possibly think of, her rejecting his gift. But he didn’t say anything and simply nodded when she replied that only Henry had seen her leave.

As they walked down to the blanket, Theresa stopped them midway and Cepheus turned to her, surprised. She had the bracelet out in her hands now, but the way she was holding it did not look like she was pleased. Had he mucked this up as well? Romance did not seem to come easily to Cepheus and he was angry at her and at himself for this whole ordeal. Why couldn’t he simply give gifts to the witch he fancied? Why couldn’t Theresa simply accept it and wear it and be clever enough to think up an explanation?

Cepheus really did not know where his relationship with Theresa was heading, though he did not know why he bothered keeping their relationship a secret except to keep her honest and keep them both out of a scandal. Two good reasons, of course. But he hated how anxious Theresa became and he didn’t like that she wasn’t honest with him. Were girlfriends usually supposed to be less honest with their boyfriends? If Theresa could even count as his girlfriend, that is.

All in all, she was rejecting the gift and, in essence, Cepheus saw her rejecting him as well. How could they possibly explain their relationship? How could they possibly continue on with this if they were both unhappy even when they were together? The whole reason Ceph had dared to continue on with this was because he wanted to be happy with her, not riddled with anger and anxiety. Now she was rejecting him and Cepheus saw no feasible reason to continue fighting for this if Theresa was going to be holding back. She didn’t want it; that was it.

He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep himself in check, and finally replied, “I see.” He didn’t know what else to say. He wanted to be with her even if it was in secret, but he wanted to be happy with her as well. And if she couldn’t be happy, then perhaps they’d better sod it all and forget about it. Cepheus turned around like a scorned lover and went down to the blanket and sat on his own. “You’re right, of course.” Merlin, things were complicated and only becoming more so. Was this all worth it? Sometimes he didn’t know. He ran a hand through his meticulously combed hair, freeing some of the strands of hair from their gelled hold. After a moment of silent brooding, he opened a butterbeer and looked over at her. “Have a butterbeer,” he offered. If things ended tonight, at least it was in a lovely place and he wouldn't act like a child about it.

40 Cepheus Princeton I like to think some people can read. 216 Cepheus Princeton 0 5

Theresa

September 12, 2013 10:07 PM

Optimist. by Theresa

Theresa felt herself turning red, even though none of this – the secrecy, the possibility of drawing the full wrath of their families down on them, the doing things which just weren’t possible while the first two things were in mind – had been her idea. She had not done – well, all right, she had been doing something wrong this whole time, but if she forgot about all that being wrong, then she hadn’t done anything wrong. She was the one trying to keep to the stupid rules for this he had invented.

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake,” she said. “Don’t do this. I didn’t want to do this. There are – not a lot of things which would make me happier than to take this and wear it all the time. I love it, it’s beautiful. But – “

She bit down on the inside of her mouth, her skin unfortunately light enough to clearly show the rising blush of deep embarrassment she felt over what she had stopped herself from saying, then burst out with anyway. “Cepheus, my parents have seven children,” she admitted in a low voice, just barely above a whisper. “I’ve never owned anything as nice as this bracelet in my whole life. My father could never get me this, and no one else in my family would, and if I tell Arthur, when he inevitably notices it like a crow on silverware and asks, that someone else did, he’ll ask them, and so unless you can convince your brother to spontaneously propose to me, then you’d spend a very long time in the hospital wing, and I don’t want that!”

She ran her hands through her hair. “And what about your family? What are they going to say to you spending that much money at a jeweler and – and – and her not getting it?"

The word her came out like an obscenity. Theresa struggled to master herself.

“Don’t be mad at me,” she cajoled, trying to take the edge out of her voice, to sound more appealing. “Please. You’re the one who said things still have to be like this. I want – I want the bracelet, I want everything, but – what do you suggest?” she asked desperately. “Believe me, I’m listening.” She reached out and touched his arm. “Please, don't be like this," she said.

0 Theresa Optimist. 0 Theresa 0 5

Cepheus

September 15, 2013 2:29 PM

Someone's got to be. by Cepheus

The risk of ending up in the hospital wing was one Cepheus did not understand. His betrothal was public now, but it didn’t mean he was married. At least not yet. He knew Theresa was from a large family, but he hadn’t realised she had six siblings. But what did it matter? He rubbed his face wearily as she continued to talk, asking about his family and her family and this whole matter and Megan not receiving the gift instead—it was all exasperating and Cepheus hated having to think about it all the blooming time. He thought about it almost immediately whenever Theresa came to mind. On most occasions he simply pushed it away and allowed himself to think fondly of her, but other times he wrestled with those questions and tried to convince himself this was the right way to go.

This wasn’t easy and all of Theresa’s points were valid. Cepheus just couldn’t bring himself to deal with it all and he had wanted to simply soak in the feeling and let the future worry about itself. He took a long drink of the ignored butterbeer and clenched his teeth afterwards as he brooded. His fifth year was supposed to be the best out of them all despite his Quidditch loss; he had a secret girlfriend, he was doing relatively well in his courses and he had his solid group of friends. But it didn’t seem to be the way he wished it were.

Ceph was staring blankly at the lake as she spoke and he felt her touch his arm. He took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. Cepheus could understand all of her concerns, but couldn’t she just forget it? Perhaps he was simply being naïve about it all. Bloody Megan was always looming there in the corner and he wasn’t even married to her yet. He was angry at Theresa, but at the same time he wasn’t. He was angry mostly with their entire situation and wanted to make it clear to Megan that she didn’t have his heart and she most likely never would.

Theresa was still waiting for an answer so Cepheus put the bottle down and took her into his arms. He didn’t say anything for a moment, the thoughts still processing to form a comprehensible sentence, but he wondered briefly if this would be the last time they would meet like this. They both understood that this could never be public without causing some sort of scandal and they both had their reputations to uphold. And if it ever did end poorly, Cepheus didn’t doubt, with Theresa’s cousins still at Sonora, he would be on the receiving ends of their wands if not their fists.

“I don’t know,” he finally replied. It was perhaps the least helpful response he had ever given in a crisis. “I don’t care if we make it public and let everyone know,” he continued boldly. “I could handle my parents’ disapproval and I’m not bound until I sign the bloody contract. But I don’t want you to look badly for it because of me and my mess. Merlin.” He let her go and ran a hand through his hair once more. He turned to look at her, potential situations running through his head. She looked pretty under all the lights even in her frenzy so he kissed her once. He couldn’t be the one to end this relationship right now; she would have to do it or else they would both suffer through this anxiety. “I’m sorry I gave you something so ostentatious,” he said, subdued a bit by the kiss. “I should have thought it through better.” He took the bracelet from her and watched it sparkle under the twinkling lights. “Knowing at the very least that you liked it makes me feel a bit better.” He put it on the ground between them. Now for the difficult question. “What do you think we should do? Not just about the bracelet, but about...about us."

0 Cepheus Someone's got to be. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Theresa

September 15, 2013 10:07 PM

I'm trying now by Theresa

As the silence went on, and on, without any reply, Theresa felt her own temper – a combination of frustration with the whole situation and terror, both for her future and for the present – beginning to ebb away, leaving her feeling shaky and wanting to burst into tears. It was only a lifetime of being surrounded by male relatives, having to be twice as tough as them to get any respect at all, which let her hold back that impulse. She wished she had never said anything at all, that she had figured something out, but she had just been so afraid of everything –

Finally, he moved, even if he didn’t say anything yet, and she sagged with relief, putting her arms around him, too. This was a good sign, she thought; you didn’t normally hug people right before you became furious with them. Unless you were planning to stab them in the back, anyway, and she hadn’t seen a knife. She thought she would have noticed that.

She listened as Cepheus finally began to speak, frowning a little when he let her go, then relieved again when she got a kiss. Why couldn’t it just be these things? Why did the whole world have to be so – so twisted up and wrong? The families what they were? If blood was what was so important, couldn’t they just be left to make their own arrangements, only disowned if they did something stupid like hook up with Muggleborns? Waverly was supposed to be much more unfortunate than Theresa was, but she could have a boyfriend and break up with him and get back together with him, for all Theresa knew, if she wanted to and do whatever she wanted to and nobody care at all….

Money, blood, power – the three were different things, but they had gotten them all twisted up into one thing, and apparently, the one which was supposed to be so important wasn’t really. It was all money and power, all the rest was just an excuse, and all she had was what didn’t count.

The question he finally reached was one Theresa had devoutly wanted never to hear. “I can’t just shoot her?” she suggested weakly, half-wishing she wasn’t half-joking. Life would be so much simpler if she could just point an arrow or a wand at anyone who got in her way and that would make them move, assuming they didn’t have more wands behind them than she did. That was how the family worked, really, how they all had anything: there were so many of them, all working cooperatively, that anyone bothering one Carey for what the family did not deem good and sufficient reason knew he had the wands of them all pointed at him. They did things to each other and that was just a fact of life, but no one else was allowed to interfere with them.

She let the tips of her fingers go around and around the edge of the bracelet, now right in the middle between them. She had read enough poetry in her life and half-understood it to think she could guess what that meant. “I don’t know – right now I just feel like I totally overreacted and was stupid. I want to forget I ever said any of this, and stay like this for a while, and kiss again.” She kept her eyes on the jewelry, still running one finger in a circle around the edge. “I want you to at least let me be around your friends. Every now and then, at least. Just once, I mean, I know you don't always want girls around when you're with your friends, I get that. It’s – it’s just that that, that’s worse than the rest. I can’t stop thinking, maybe you just think I’m, well, that I’m the sort of trashy thing men don’t talk about, so you wouldn’t want them to know no matter what, and honestly, none of them are really in a position to throw the first rock at us." She knew she was rambling a little from lingering discomfort, but her tone was calm now, a little hurt, a little tired after all the stress earlier. "I understand about the adults, really I do," she added, a little plaintively again. "I don’t think I even care about that very much, but the others – are you ashamed of me, or do you not trust them? What do you think about me?”

Theresa felt better just for saying it – for finally asking the question she had been wondering about all year. She had to know, or at least hear a really convincing lie, before she could begin to go any further, now that it was all out there.

0 Theresa I'm trying now 0 Theresa 0 5

Cepheus

September 19, 2013 11:14 AM

I appreciate your efforts. by Cepheus

Things had to be changing if Theresa wanted to be around his mates. Just last term when their clandestine meetings had first begun, he had brought up the idea of her spending time with him and Alicia and Gareth and the lot, but she hadn't been very enthusiastic about it. He had felt foolish then and he felt foolish now with the bracelet, but her admission had to be a sign that she wanted them to be a bit more public. He had no qualms about spending more time with her and not having to tiptoe around the people he cared about most at this school, save his blood relatives. If things worked out and Alicia and Gareth and the others accepted Theresa into their clique, then Cepheus would be all the more delighted.

Being a pure-blooded male meant there were more liberties he was allowed to take than pure witches. Muggle-borns were allowed to be trashy and do whatever they wanted, but being a part of the pure breed meant there were greater responsibilities to carry and more to lose if they did not perform. Cepheus had grown up knowing that and had only recently come to loathe it, but he knew it was a fate all pure-blood wizards had to either accept or reject. Rejection came with disownment and poverty and acceptance carried on another line of pure-bloods. It was a vicious cycle, but Cepheus's family, as he had learnt since coming to school, was on the more liberal side of things. Princeton wizards never even considered taking on another witch behind their wife's back. There was a spinster in Scotland who oversaw the families there instead of the eldest wizard and reported back to his grandfather. They allowed witches to ride on brooms, though playing Quidditch was debatable between branches.

With Theresa's family, as large and prominent as they were, her being involved with a Princeton would not have been scandalous except that he was betrothed. It was not a strict marriage contract and Cepheus knew that well; his grandfather had been with another witch when he'd first been betrothed, but Grandfather had broken things off immediately once his marriage to Grandmother was made legal. It was a choice Cepheus was not sure he would be cold enough to make.

Theresa voiced her worries and Cepheus imagined she had been mulling over it for months now. She wanted their relationship to be valid and, despite the rest of her rambling, that was what comforted Cepheus most. She ended it with her ultimate question, one which Cepheus would have no trouble answering. There was more, as Cepheus realised, than merely Theresa's anxieties about their families. There was the tormenting thought that she was simply an object with which he was using to rebel against his own family. Now that this was out in the open, Cepheus felt his heart lift. It wasn't that she didn't like him anymore; at least this he could fix.

“You didn’t want to meet them last term,” he reminded her gently, “but I’d like us all to be friends. They’re not a bad group, really, and I’m sure they’d accept you.” Theresa was of the right sort and she wasn’t pretentious or unbearably vain. Ceph wasn’t quite sure how Alicia would take to her, but he didn’t doubt his other mates would accept her well enough. “I’m not ashamed of you at all,” he assured her, “but I thought you’d like it better for your own reputation that we didn’t share it. I was afraid of my family’s response at first and the rumours my brothers would tell them, but I don’t care about that anymore. I don’t think of you as one of those witches at all.” Cepheus didn’t want to look more like a fool so he left it at that, but he wanted to reassure her that she meant more to him than that. “I’d like to be able to talk to you in public without being afraid of someone getting the wrong idea. I’m not a fan of public affection, but…if you were I wouldn’t be ashamed of it. I’m not ashamed of you.”

This was sharing too much and Cepheus had to stopper his mouth before he said any more. There were loads of words in there that sounded pretty in his head and out of his mouth. If his family discovered his little secret, he knew they would be upset. He could see his father’s face, disapproving, the same face he had worked his entire life to avoid seeing. It wouldn’t be easy at all and he did care still about the things his brothers would tell the family. He would be looked down upon by his own cousins as well. There would be much of his reputation within his own family that he would be giving up with a public relationship with anyone else other than Megan. Even Grandfather, who couldn’t say a word to him about this, would disapprove.

But that wasn’t the point now. The point was to do what they wanted, Cepheus and Theresa, and to forget their families. Ceph took a breath to calm himself and touched her shoulder. “What do you want?” he asked firmly. “Do you want everyone to know?” He had spent his entire life living up to the standards of his family’s expectations and, having failed already the athletic standard he was measured up against, what could more ‘failings’ do to him? If he wasn’t interested in Megan, was that his fault? Perhaps he was at some fault for daring to pursue a relationship with anyone else, but it was a folly that was well worth it. Megan could date Rupert for all he cared.

0 Cepheus I appreciate your efforts. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Theresa

September 21, 2013 7:30 PM

And I always appreciate appreciation by Theresa

As she thought about her moment of honesty, Theresa felt more disgusted with herself than she ever had for carrying on with someone else’s potential husband. Cheating didn’t offend her moral sensibilities at all – she was really convinced of that since she and Alex had talked with Lucille, thinking it was their duty to explain to Lucille how everybody did it but nobody talked about it after their cousin became engaged, only to be horrified to discover that Lucy knew all about it already and found them funny for trying – but behaving like a weak, hysterical, insecure little woman did. The only weakness she didn’t consider shameful was her one for pretty dresses, and this was not like that at all. She should have been above caring what he thought of her, or at least composed enough never to show that she did care.

Now, though, she had said it, and that put the Quaffle in his hands, so to speak. She didn’t like that. She didn’t like that at all.

Nor was she at all sure about being accepted by his friends, honestly. She had wondered more than once if, assuming the relationships they were all in or she thought they were in now went on, she might someday approach Thad and Alicia and propose an arrangement – she thought she could stand being a Mrs. Pierce so long as it was only in name after the heir was born and he didn’t mind her affairs any more than she minded his, provided Alicia wasn’t also fooling around with Cepheus on the other side as well – but the main thought that made the thought repellant wasn’t the possibility that they would be so offended by the implications about their characters and relative positions that Thad might turn her into a frog and Alicia chop her up and boil her in a potion and persuade Jay to drink it right before his exams. It was the possibility that they might laugh in her face for thinking she was even good enough to be the mistress of a member of their clique, let alone the wife of one. That they might not bother to find her offensive if they didn’t find her reasonable, either for insulting them as individuals or for insulting either’s partner. That was far worse than being served up as a soup to curse her whole family.

Well, from her perspective, anyway. She guessed the family might see it differently - if they were cursed that way, she, after all, would be dead, so it wouldn't really matter to her anymore. Jay would have to become a vegetarian and run off with that strange girl in his year and suffer because she'd insulted some people for the rest of his life.

She didn’t comment on any of that, though, and just got to the important part: he didn’t think she was one of those witches. “Well, I don’t think I would really like a lot of public displays of affection, either,” she said. “And I know, our reputations and all…I’m sorry if I’m being, you know, all backward.” She picked up the bracelet again, diamonds pricking her fingers. “I’d like to at least be friends in public, though – like you said, we could work together in class sometimes, speak to each other…. Of course still do this, too – “ she quite liked the private displays of affection – “but it not just be against the rules to ever even talk in public, you know?” She took a breath. “As for your friends…Now that we’ve got, um, some things cleared up, I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to just for me. Do you want them to know, or just to be friends with them? Gareth’s related to her somehow, isn’t he?"

0 Theresa And I always appreciate appreciation 0 Theresa 0 5

Cepheus

September 23, 2013 1:57 PM

Glad we understand each other. by Cepheus

There was some relief to be felt in hearing that Theresa was not a fan of public displays of affection either. There was a proper time and place for those things and Cepheus didn’t want half the school to be privy on his affairs, whatever affairs those might be. Though he was outgoing and enjoyed the company of people, he was also, naturally, a very private person. It was part of the package of being a pure-blood: one had to be private about one’s personal life and only show vulnerability when it was in one’s favour. Theresa had certainly showed that side of vulnerability, but at least it wasn’t in front of a large audience. She could keep a cool front when she was in public and that was part of the reason why Cepheus admired that. Some witches enjoyed making spectacles of themselves in public to get their way, an act Cepheus found distasteful and a serious cry for attention.

He watched as she picked up the bracelet and fiddled with it. This situation was confusing and irritating to sort out, but once it was sorted he knew they would be off for the better. Cepheus had to wonder if his grandfather had ever had talks like these with his ex-girlfriend, but it was disgusting to even think his grandfather had been with anyone else besides his grandmother.

Putting on a public display of friendship was exactly what Cepheus was hoping for. Telling his parents would be beyond difficult and he did not want to burn those bridges yet. Telling his mates would be easy enough, save Gareth, and Cepheus frankly didn’t care if they disapproved, except for Gareth. He did care about the opinions of the others a bit, but not enough to stop seeing Theresa. His brothers were an entirely different story and he didn’t think he would let them nor his cousins know yet. Or ever. This way he could spend more time with Theresa without worrying about setting off any suspicions. Perhaps most of those had been in his own head anyway and if anyone asked he would be adamant about their friendship. He could be a good liar.

“Let’s be friends then,” he said with a smile. “In public, of course,” he added as he took one of her hands in his. “I have no qualms with telling Alicia—she’s my best mate besides Gareth. But I think I’m going to hold off on telling Gareth anything. He’s related to her so that would be a more difficult conversation and that could wait. I’m not going to tell my brothers anything either because I know they’re going to try and sabotage it or embarrass us somehow. Rupert’s dead-set against me having any other romantic interests and Leo’s angry with me.” It was a long story that he would save for another time, but there was, concerning Leo, something about Quidditch and getting hurt and not being properly compensated for his stupid injury. Leo was such a child all the time that Cepheus didn’t care that they weren’t speaking.

“Now that we’re 'friends,' would you like to attend the fair together?” It would be a great display of their friendship especially if they were in a group. “Perhaps Alicia can join us and Gareth, if he’s willing, and Thad.” If Gareth decided not to attend, then it would feel like a group date, so it would be prudent for a fifth person to join them. Cepheus highly doubted Alex would be willing, but that didn’t leave many options open besides Henny. When the time came, he would worry about it then. He was still working on enjoying the present time he spent with Theresa without thinking and fretting about the future.

0 Cepheus Glad we understand each other. 0 Cepheus 0 5