Closed Boy Problems

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie had denied it to herself for the past weeks, maybe even months, but she no longer could. After seeing him with his girlfriend at Halloween and watching him play at the Quidditch game, Sophie knew it was official. As much as she hated the idea, she knew she liked Gabriel Rosenberg. Liked him a lot, and it was a problem. She had no idea how it had happened. Not too long ago she had hated him, despised him even, but now it had all turned around. If you asked Sophie when it had changed, she wouldn't be able to pinpoint it. But it had definitely changed over time. Sophie had sent a note to Caro to meet her in the empty antiquated lavatory on the fifth floor. She wanted to talk to her friend about this. With Geo leaving, Caro was really her only good friend left in the school. Sophie had to tell someone, even if it was embarrassing. The girl paced back and forth in the small, dark room. She hoped her Slytherin friend would show up soon, and that no one else would disturb her.

 

[Caro Taylor]

Caro didn't think she'd ever been so relieved at anything as she was by a chance to chat privately with her best friend. She had been feeling all mixed up for so long, and didn't know how to feel about the boys in her life anymore. Sophie wasn't exactly the boy-smartest person in the world, but hopefully she'd at least be able to listen. Caro slipped into the bathroom, beaming at the sight of her best friend. "Sophie!" Caro grinned, hugging her tightly. "What did you want to talk about? Is everything okay?"

 

[Sophie Wilson]

When the door opened, Sophie turned and was relieved to see Caro. At her question, she shook her head. "No, it's not." She said, even if she knew it was a touch dramatic. After the hug, she slumped against the wall and ran a hand over her face. "I like someone." She admitted to Caro, knowing it was probably best to get it over with. "A boy." She added, not quite looking at Caro. "And it's the worst possible guy I could like." She glanced at Caro, wondering what her reaction would be. "It's Gabriel." She said softly, followed by a deep sigh.

 

[Caro Taylor]

Caro wrapped her arms around herself unconsciously as she listened to Sophie, surprised at how upset her friend seemed. Caro had been eager to unload her own gossip, but whatever Sophie was going through seemed serious. As Sophie explained though, Caro's eyes widened in shock. "What?!" She breathed, shocked. "Like, that annoying Gryffindor guy?" She said uncertainly, trying to put the pieces together. "Since when? How?! He's so obnoxious, Soph, what happened?!" She breathed, mind racing as she tried to consider how Sophie could be interested in someone so annoying.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

The words had left her quickly, and it had almost been easy to say. But once she saw Caro's expression, Sophie immediately regretted telling her. "Yeah." She muttered when Caro asked if it was the annoying Gryffindor guy. "That Gabriel." She sighed again, her cheeks flushing. "I don't know, okay? Haven't you ever liked anyone? It's not like you can choose who you like." She said, a little defensively. "I always hated him... but lately, it's been almost fun to talk to him. Sometimes." She shrugged, then shrugged again, clearly self-conscious. "It'll pass, right?"

 

[Caro Taylor]

Caro regretted her choice of words when she saw Sophie's reaction, but only a little. Gabriel was annoying, and as journalists they should be able to talk about people honestly. Still, Caro tried to reign herself in a little, focus on being sympathetic. That was difficult when Sophie's question about liking people brought her roiling confusion about Nixon and Shane back to the forefront of Caro's mind, but she did her best not to focus on it, shrugging noncommittally. She was surprised to hear that Sophie had been talking to Gabriel enough to have started enjoying his company, and wondered what else she had missed. "That's... it might pass?" Caro said uncertainly, thinking of her lingering feelings for Nixon. "I dunno. It's hard to say, sometimes crushes like that just... stick, I guess..." Caro trailed off, unbidden thoughts niggling at her. "Even if there's something better right in front of you. But like... sometimes not, right?"

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie frowned a bit as she listened to Caro. It didn't escape her notice that Caro hadn't answered her question about liking anyone. This frustrated her a bit. She was sharing something private and embarrassing, and Caro wasn't really helping and not sharing anything of her own either. Her answer was cryptic, and Sophie crossed her arms. "It might pass, yeah. But I don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean something better right in front of you?" She narrowed her eyes. "Do you think I should like someone else? Or are you talking about a boy you like? I noticed you didn't answer my question. I just told you, why don't you do the same?" Sophie knew it wasn't entirely fair, she had asked Caro to come here specifically so she could tell her this, but it was easier to now deflect attention back to the Slytherin.

 

[Caro Taylor]

Caro winced at Sophie's request, her face heating up. She was so in her head about her own issues she had gotten completely sidetracked, and now she had said too much. "I... it's complicated." Caro said, voice trembling slightly. "And... look, you can't judge me for this, okay? It's, like, a whole thing." Caro turned and paced up and down the small space, running a hand through her hair as she slowly spoke. It was hard to keep the tenderness out of her voice as she thought back on such treasured memories. "Nixon... sends me a rose every Valentines. He has for years. And... I wondered for ages if he liked me but he kept going out with other people. But then, he kissed me at the Yule Ball last year. So I was like, oh my god, Nixon really does like me... but then he just... kind of ignored me. For ages. Other than another rose. So I was like... what does this even mean? But then I met this other guy, Shane, he's one of Nixon's roommates, and he just... kissed me! Like, out of the blue! The first time we ever talked! And I was like oh my god! But he hasn't talked to me since either, and I'm like... do I go after him and forget about Nixon? Or do I just... pretend that never happened? It's like... guys are only ever interested in making out with me, nobody ever just... wants to talk to me, or... spend time with me, it... it sucks so much." Caro stopped pacing and took a slow breath, wiping a tear that had made its way out of her eye unbidden. "Sorry. It's just... a lot, and I haven't... talked to anyone about this..."

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie knew her annoyance with Caro wasn't entirely fair, but she felt exposed. It had taken a lot of her to admit to liking Gabriel, and Caro hadn't really reacted in the way she had wanted her to. Sophie hadn't even realized she had been hoping for a specific kind of reaction, and still wasn't quite sure what it was. But when Caro looked upset about having to talk about her own crush, Sophie felt a bit guilty. But not enough to stop her from speaking, she was curious. Sophie listened as Caro told her about Nixon, a boy who had been in Hogwarts Monthly for ages. Sophie was startled by the news. She'd had no idea! Her eyes were wide as she spoke about him, and then another guy. Shane, who was a relatively new kid, Sophie knew. As Sophie saw the tear Caro wiped away, she closed the distance between them and gave her friend a quick hug. "That's... a lot." She said as she let her go again. "Why didn't you tell me? I could beat Nixon up for you. Well. I couldn't. But I could take some sort of revenge. What he did to you isn't okay." She said sternly. "But this new guy... I don't know. Isn't it weird he kissed you out of the blue?" Sophie gently took Caro's hands in her own. "I want to talk to you and be around you." She said softly. "You're the best friend I have left. You can tell me these sort of things earlier..."