After the Fight

[Lily Drage]

Lily walked silently down to the Great Hall with Blake. She was not sure what to think, or what to expect. Sure, Blake had just kissed her upstairs in front of Ford but she was not totally sure that was about her or about sticking it to Ford. She hoped it was the former, but as she assessed Blake's demeanor she was not sure. He guided her around to a table, sliding her to where he wanted them to sit. It was a bit out of the way, but it was what they needed tonight. It was time for a very awkward conversation about what all happened when they were separated.

She sat down and looked up to watch Blake round the table and sit down. She was not sure what to say to him, so she opted to remain silent. Lily scooped a glob of mashed potatoes onto her plate, pouring some brown gravy over the top of it. She then placed a broasted chicken thigh and leg on her plate and picked up her fork. She pushed around the potatoes, hoping that Blake would start the conversation and let her know what it was he was going to want to know.

 

[Blake Zepline]

The walk from the fourth floor corridor to the Great Hall had been uncomfortably silent for Blake. He had so many questions in his head, so many presumptions and worries... so many doubts. Throughout his relationship with Lily, Blake had always undeniably trusted Lily. She had always been there for him, and never once did he ever feel the need to question her feelings for him, and especially her loyalty. But as he sat opposite her, he could not help but feel the pain of an underlying realisation that, should his doubts be truth, he would most likely lose her.
The exchange Blake had witnessed between Lily and Ford held him at different odds. At first, he was outraged that Ford had the indecency to parade his feelings for Lily right before him. But then he felt at ease when Lily did not reciprocate, and even more so when she caused him physical pain. Yet, even though he could find enough satisfaction with this, it still was not enough to convince him that Lily had absolutely no feelings for Ford, no matter how badly he wanted to believe it.

As Lily helped herself to some food, Blake copied her, scooping whatever was in front of him onto his plate just so that he had something to distract him temporarily. Picking up his fork, Blake started stabbing random pieces of chicken unthinkingly; he'd lost his appetite. His eyes wandered from his food to his knuckle, where the skin was red and raw from punching Ford.
"Are you angry with me?" he asked Lily, his head still bowed over his bruising knuckle. "I didn't mean to involve myself in your business with Ford..."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily continued to look down at her food, using her fork to push around some potatoes. She was embarrassed over what happened earlier and was still not sure what exactly to say to Blake. She listened to him speak, then with her eyes still down, she responded.

"No, I am not angry with you. I am angry with this whole situation. I should never have let Ford get to me. I feel bad that you had to see that." Her face flushed again with embarrassment. "I hate that you had to witness that and even more that you had to get involved to get me away from him." She looked up at Blake for the first time since sitting down, actually since they descended the stairs. She took in the fact that he was pushing his food around too and realized that he must be upset over the whole thing. She shyly asked him, "Are you angry with me for what happened?" She was scared to find out what he would have to say to her, or what he would ask. Things with Ford happened while he was gone but she still felt bad. Lily was not really ready for that chat yet, but knew that it had to happen now.

 

[Blake Zepline]

Blake was relieved to hear that Lily was not mad at him. He'd been expecting her to say that he should have let her handle Ford on her own, and that it was none of his business. At her question, Blake put down his fork and looked up to meet her gaze.
"Of course I'm not angry at you. How could I expect you to ignore his taunting? And what happened between you and Ford in the past... is your business. It happened while we were separated, so I could never be angry at you for moving on." Blake's voice had faltered at this point. While he'd been away, he had truly tricked himself into thinking that Lily had not moved on. That she was still waiting for him. And that was what kept him going, what brought him back to school, to her. But he knew now that he was a fool for believing it, even if it had been his sole comfort.

 

[Lily Drage]

Tears began to well in Lily's eyes as she listened to Blake speak. She was glad that her gaze was down or she would really lose it and start bawling. She felt horrible that her boyfriend was witness to the events of this evening, and that they had gotten so out of hand. Taking in a deep breath, she spoke, hoping that she would be able to explain everything without making Blake angry.

"I...I really didn't move on. You were gone and I had no idea where you were or if you would ever come back. The whole thing started at the Yule Ball that year. I went with the girls since I really didn't have any desire to find a date. I was still hurting after you left. I know now you had nothing to do with that, but I was angry and hurt for a long time. I had no word from you, not even any idea where you were." She took a deep breath before continuing, "I had said I would give up on boys until after school was over. I was done. The Ball was fun, I had a great time dancing with the girls. Somehow, Bruin and Ford got into a fight over Sophia and crashed into the food table. When Ford was storming off, he wasn't watching where he was going and slammed into me and we both crashed to the floor. It was innocent enough. He helped me up and offered to take me to the hospital wing. We headed out, and ended up out by the lake on a walk. Ford over exaggerated what happened out there. If any merpeople were kept up, it was from conversation and the fire that he lit to keep me warm."

Lily stopped for a moment to glance up at Blake, not really sure if she would like what she saw on his face. She was starting to get scared that this whole little incident would cost her the first person she really loved. "We spent a good chunk of the night out there talking. Nothing else. We never kissed. He held my hand, and he put his arm around me, but that was it. Honest. A few days later when we were all back from break, I ran into him again. He was an ass. Kinda like today, but I ended up just slapping him for what he was saying. A few days after that, we had a run in in the library and I ended up punching him in the gut. From that point on, I avoided him as much as I could. When he and Sophia got back together, he literally flaunted it in my face. He went out of his way to be cruel to me. Then they both left for England and you came back shortly after that." She was not sure how he would react, but hoped that it would be okay in the end.

 

[Blake Zepline]

Blake listened patiently as Lily explained what had really happened between her and Ford. Although there were moments as she spoke where he could feel his blood boiling in envy, in all truth, he was overwhelmed with the feeling of relief. He'd been dreading the part when Lily would tell him had happened with Ford, because he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Finding out that they only held hands and that he'd wrapped his arm around her seemed like nothing in comparison to what he had been expecting to hear all along. Reaching across the table, Blake took Lily's hands into his own, his expression mirroring the way he felt in a smile. "I love you," he whispered.
The words left his mouth smoothly, and it felt right when he said it, because it was true. He was in love with Lily, and had been in love with her for so long now that he was surprised he'd never said it sooner. Perhaps he had delayed saying it because he didn't want to be rejected for how he felt. But as he sat opposite her now, his eyes only for her, warmth radiating from where his skin touched hers, it did not matter whether she loved him back or not. Because his heart had swollen to such a great size that he was happy enough in being able to love her with all that he was. There was no time frame nor age to this kind of love, no sense of self-seeking refuge. It did not make a difference that they were teenagers, nor that they were probably inexperienced in other forms of the word love. All that existed for Blake was Lily, and his heart for her.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily had kept her eyes down as she told Blake the story of her and Ford. She was close to tears when she was finished, and was afraid that if she looked up, she would completely break down and cry. Suddenly, her hands were enveloped in his and Blake was whispering to her that he loved her. She was relieved and sighed deeply. She could not help the tears that fell from her eyes. She looked up at Blake and smiled.

She was so afraid that Blake would tell her they were over when she was filling him in on the details. She loved him more than anything else in the world, and was completely relieved that he felt the same way as she did. She wanted to tell him how she felt about him so many times. She was afraid that they were too young, but for months she had begun to have dreams of the future. She let her imagination wander over what they would look like old and grey, with their children and grandchildren surrounding them. She imagined the day that he proposed to her, and the day they would get married. She had always been afraid that this was just going to be her fantasy, that she would never see this day actually arrive. Blake's words made her dreams take a step closer to being reality.

Squeezing his hands back, she stood up from the table and moved her way around to his side and sat next to him on the bench. "I love you. I have for so long, Blake," she whispered, her hand rising to stroke his cheek before she leaned in to kiss her love.

 

[Blake Zepline]

Blake welcomed Lily's kiss by returning a prolonged and lingering one. And though he was aware that the Great Hall was full of people, he did not hold back. He felt a new longing, a strange passion that he had never experienced before, explode in his chest, causing the peculiar cascade of warmth to rush through him. Pulling back from Lily suddenly, Blake felt his face redden with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry..." he mumbled, hoping she wouldn't question his moment of chagrin.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily was surprised when Blake kissed her back so fully. She totally forgot where they were and who was able to be watching. For her, nothing existed in the world at that moment outside of the young man that was holding her. She had been so afraid that Blake would leave her, and now he was professing his love for her in words and actions. Her face began to flush as the blood began to race through her veins.

All too suddenly, Blake pulled back. Lily noticed the embarrassed look on his face and realized that he must have realized where they were at the moment. She smiled at him, then settled onto the bench next to him. Her heart was still racing and she could feel the flush in her cheeks deepening. She glanced around the room, hoping that they would not get into trouble for what just happened. Lily brushed the wettness from her cheeks that lingered. She turned back to Blake and smiled. "Wanna go for a walk?"

 

[Blake Zepline]

At Lily's words, Blake was all too relieved that she hadn't noticed why he'd been embarrassed. It was bad enough that it had happened, but for her to have noticed would have been much worse. Nodding solemnly, he replied, "A walk sounds great right about now." Rising to his feet and holding out a hand for Lily, Blake waited till she too was on her feet before he lead her out of the Great Hall and to the lake front. It had been a while since they'd been there together, and though Ford may have ruined the place for Blake momentarily, he was not going to let that spoil his night with Lily.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily stood and placed her hand in Blake's. She smiled up at him, then allowed herself to be lead from the Great Hall. She was not sure where they were going, but as long as she was with him, it didn't matter. She was simply so happy that he loved her.