I'm Sorry It's Been Like This.

[Sam Prince]

It the first time that Sam missed hanging out with Riley, probably because it was the longest period of time that they went through without seeing each other. It had become such a natural thing to see Riley everyday even if it was just briefly, she was always around but it had been three long days with not a single word passed between the pair. Fortunately it was just a simple lack of effort on Sam's part. It was the fault of his vigourous Quidditch training over the past week, like a fifth year would study for his OWL's, Sam trained hard on the pitch. Perhaps he pushed himself a little too hard but it was the letter from his uncle annoucing that the Moutohora Macaws were looking for an intern. Who better than Sam Prince to polish their brooms or hand out water? Sure it wasn't exactly flying with them but there was no way that he would let an opportunity to intern with the national New Zealand team, phase him. So if training long into the night would help impress them, so be it, even if it meant missing out spending time with his girlfriend.

It was in the evening when Sam had bumped into Riley in the common room, someone he ached to spend time with even more when they were face to face. But he was pretty sweaty from his Quidditch practice and told her to meet him by the lake in half an hour. The thought of being able to spend some amount of time with her was refreshing and as Sam shook his wet hair in attempt to dry it, he wondered wheter or not she was mad at him for training all the time? Or that he didn't spend his Brightstone Weekend with her? He never exactly told her he was going to Brightstone, or the fact that he spent it with another girl. A bubble of guilt began to slowly expand throughout his body. Surely she wouldn't be that mad? But no one could really tell with girls, they were so tempermental. Even after five long years of being best friends with three girls, he still found it difficult to fully understand how their minds worked. Nevertheless, Sam took hurried steps down the last staircase, skipping the last step altogether. He knew he was a tad late but the shower refused to work right for him, which he knew was no excuse but it was an explanation of sorts. He brushed his hand through his hair again, shaking from it, any of the remaining wetness.

The air was still heated from the long hours of sun throughout the day. The sun still peaked out of the wispy clouds but it was beginning to settle. How did he know? The violent mixture of pinks and purples that exploded into the sky. It was his favourite time of day, always had been. Sure how could it not be? It was so peaceful on the grounds of Hogwarts at this time, those rule abiding students fled to the castle to keep inside the curfew, while the others were rather respectful of this time, keeping the peace. Amongst those peace-keepers was his girl, standing alone by the lake. He flicked his wrist around and glanced at the time, he wasn't as late as he thought he was but he wasn't exactly on time either. Slowing his pace down, Sam walked towards Riley silently and once was near enough he stood behind her. With his fingers he slowly brushed the hair off the back of her neck, combing it to one side. He laced his fingers through her soft blonde hair momentarily before placing a soft kiss on the back of her neck. Both of his arms curled around her waist bringing her closer to him and with a sweet smile he said, "Hey."

 

[Riley Mauven]

Brightstone weekend had been just as it always was for Riley, she had hung around home and on the odd occasion helped her mother out at the muggle market. Things were tight for them, but that was nothing new, though the bright eyed blonde always found things to be happy about. Right now the thing that made her happiest in the world was Sam. Even the sound of his name on her tongue made her smile, saying he was her boyfriend created a wild feeling in her stomach. Riley's fifth year was drawing to and end and just the thought of having to decide on her future made her feel sick. She had gained an internship for the daily prophet, but the thought of being stuck in a crowded office made her wish she hadn't. Quidditch was Riley's one true passion, and one of the things that brought Sam and herself together in the first place, there was a feeling she got when she played the game that nothing else could give her, except for Sam.

Riley had bumped into Sam as she was muddling about in the common room, and had immediately dropped her guitar to her side. Not giving a second thought to meeting up with him by the lake she immediately accepted. Of course like any lovesick teenager Riley was disappointed that she hadn't caught up with her boyfriend during the brightstone weekend, but she was too naive to ever believe that Sam could have been up to something he shouldn't be. He was one of her best friends and she trusted him completely, though she did find it odd that he hadn't done so much as call her since the last time they had spoken. Riley hurried down to the lakeside without a second thought as to what she looked like, she didn't want to be late and wouldn't pass up the chance to sit down by the lakeside and perhaps even get some inspiration for a new song. Looking over the lake and up into the sky she smiled sweetly and knew just how lucky she was to be in this world, to be loved and to love. As her hair blew back in the wind she felt something brush up against her neck and her smile grew wider than it had ever been.

Riley gently brought Sam's arm up from around her waist and kissed it lightly before spinning around and kissing him delicately on the lips. "Hey you." she said, as if it was the most normal situation in the world. As her hands ran through his hair she smirked, she was the first to admit to herself that when she kissed him it still felt so different. She was used to ebing his best friend, not his girlfriend. "Where have you been hiding?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, she had missed him more than ever, and she hoped he had missed her too. Letting his arm slide back around her waist she realised that she had been to the lake so many times but never stopped just to admire its beauty, the explosion of pinks in the sky were reflected in her hazel irises, and Riley knew that she right here in this moment, she was truly happy.

 

[Sam Prince]

With his arm's wrapped loosely around the waist of his girlfriend, there was nothing that could have made him feel any happier. Sam had to admit, with the lurking memories of his day with Indianna he was quite afraid that it would effect what he had with Riley. Fortunately Sam still felt that feeling in his stomach, as if a herd of butterflies were fluttering ruthlessly around it. Her lips on his skin, on his lips, it seemed the feeling was simply uncontrollable and how she still managed to possess this hold of him was utterly amazing. But it was as she stared into his eyes and asked the question he was - to be honest - rather dreading, that regurgitated the familiar feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't like anything happened between himself and his new friend nor would he do anything like that. But the guilt still remained to boil inside of him at the fact that he did spend his Brightstone Weekend with Indianna, without telling his girlfriend about any of it.

But he couldn't evade the question for much longer, the normal amount of time had passed between a question and an answer, time was now eating into a place of awkward silence. "...Quidditch -" He blurted out, "Pitch." Why it was that he couldn't speak properly was beyond him. "The Quidditch Pitch. Is where I've been hiding." He recovered a little more smoothly. It wasn't like he was telling her lies, he was just evading the whole truth. Forcing a raspy chuckle in attempts to continue his not-so-casual answer he mentioned about the opening for the internship. "The Moutohora Macaws are looking for an intern for the Winter. I'm thinking of applying..." His words flowed more naturally from his lips as he focused on something other than his Brightstone Weekend and who it was that he spent it with. His fingers drummed softly against her waist feeling that sense of comfort overcoming the bubbling guilt, releasing the tightness from his chest. It lead him to the strange relief of knowing that Riley could still make him feel the same way that she always had. Nothing had changed, not really.

 

[Riley Mauven]

As their lips parted and Riley turned to face the prefect she saw the panick in his eyes that seemed to have risen when she asked for an explanation of his absence. The amount of time it took to answer worried Riley, he was never this tense when he was with her, but she wasn't about to go and ruin it all by pointing it out to him. "Oh OK" the sixteen year old replied, her reply colder than she could have imagined. Nice save. She thought to herself as she watched her boyfriend recover. "Thats, ah, thats great!" she said, kissing him gently on the forehead. "They would be lucky to have you" she added, and she really meant it. If there was one thing she knew about her boyfriend it was how much he not only loved quidditch, but also how great he was at it. That was just one of the things they had in common, the reason they were such good friends, she had always thought.

Riley knew that Sam's future held quidditch in it somewhere, and she was proud of him for wanting to apply for the internship, so she decided to let it go, it wasn't worth it anyway. Feeling his gentle fingers against her hips she smiled, nothing would ever change the way she felt about him and as she ran her fingers through his shaggy hair she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeesed him tightly. "What are you doing for the winter break?" she asked, a feasible question, though once she had asked it Riley admittedly regretted it. Sam was probably doing something with his family, and they hadn't been going out all that long, perhaps it was too soon to be investigating his plans for the holidays. The hufflepuff would be expected to spend time with her mother anyway, the muggle market wasn't going to run itself, but she secretly hoped she would be able to spend some time with her boyfriend. Letting her brown eyes fall to the ground as she awaited his reply, Riley fiddled with the plaited bracelet around her wrist to pass the time.