Closed Making Amends

[Lucy Montague]

Lucy felt bad. It had been on her mind for a while now but at first, she'd been angry. She'd held a grudge, not particularly socialising much with Teddy or doing anything involving him. Lucy was good at grudges, but now time had passed and this grudge was starting to wear thin. It wasn't like with Vanity, where Lucy knew she was in the right and Vanity was in the wrong. No, Lucy had been in a bad place and maybe Teddy blaming it all on women's troubles was a bit too far but it wasn't in the same category as Vanity was. Teddy was a friend, a beloved friend, and Lucy now wanted to make amends.

She'd been too shy for the first week, but on the second week of the school year she'd finally built up the courage. She'd sent an owl to deliver a message to Teddy to meet on the lawn, somewhere a bit out of the way by an old gnarly-looking oak tree. She'd chosen one of the few times neither of them had anything on - which with both of their hectic schedules had been a hard ask. Now all Lucy had to do was wait. Perhaps that was the hardest part, standing by the oak tree and having all the things she wanted to say pass over and over through her mind. Hopefully she'd figure out the right words by the time Teddy appeared.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Things with Lucy had reached a point where Teddy wasn’t even sure they were friends anymore. So when he got her note asking to meet at the old oak tree, he was caught off guard. He hadn’t heard much from her last year, and it was sad how they’d drifted apart, because they had been close once. Not that he’d said anything about it, Teddy didn't even tease her about it, he just sort of accepted it.

He wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him now but curiosity got the better of him and he headed down to the oak tree where she was already waiting. The awkward bit was walking towards her from a distance, he couldn't tell if she was mad and this was going to be an argument, or if it was something else entirely.

He slowed as he got closer, unsure how to act. Finally, he stopped a few steps away and said, “Hey, Lucy.” He gave a small nod to her shiny new badges, “I got your note.”

 

[Lucy Montague]

Lucy felt the nerves build now he was actually there. She gave a brief smile, trying to appear friendly. "Thanks for coming. I, um, well..." she faltered slightly. She was never good at confrontations of any sort, maybe that's why last year had been so hard. "I wanted to say sorry. For last year." Emotions welled in Lucy's chest, and she hadn't realised how important this was until she was in the moment. "I was kind of a mess, and yeah, well, I just wanted to clear the air, you know?" Lucy wasn't sure how much to go into what had been going on - she trusted Teddy to a point, but she had a feeling he might share more than she'd be comfortable with everyone knowing.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy wasn't sure what to expect when Lucy had asked to talk, but it became clear pretty quickly that this wasn’t going to be the confrontation he’d worried about on the way down. He listened, then it occurred him that he’d never really taken the time to understand what she might have been going through last year. He’d written it off as lady issues, but now, seeing her like this, he realised how unfair that had been. Teddy paused, considering his words, "Really, I think it’s me who owes you an apology,” he replied sincerely, “I was an idiot, and I didn’t make it any easier for you. I’m so sorry Lucy.” He offered a small smile, “Clearing the air sounds good to me.”

 

[Lucy Montague]

Lucy felt very touched by Teddy's apology, though she still felt like it was mostly her fault. "Apology accepted, as long as you accept mine," she said, a slight edge of playfulness in her tone. She was starting to feel better - the nerves one by one transforming into relief. Lucy just wished she could talk about last year without fear of word getting around. She decided to broach the subject just slightly. Lucy thought honesty was usually the best policy. "I guess I was just...family life can be a lot, right?" Lucy didn't really know much about Teddy's family and their relationships but she was starting to assume that everyone must have trouble on some level. "Honestly, I used to hate being away from them but now I kind of like it." She gave a shrug, not sure what Teddy's opinion would be.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy hummed thoughtfully, catching onto Lucy's playful tone. "Hmm, I’ll think about it," he teased, before adding with a smile, "Alright, alright, apology also accepted." He studied her for a moment, sensing a certain hesitance in what she was saying but in all honesty it was just nice to be talking to her at all, "Yeah, I can relate," he said, letting out a short laugh. "Did you notice my dad’s teaching here now and he's telling the students to call him Professor P? It's so embarrassing." He shook his head, thankfully he was teaching lower years so didn't have to sit in class with him. "Have yours been causing you trouble?" He asked, hoping Lucy was okay.

 

[Lucy Montague]

Lucy held her breath when Teddy joked about holding back accepting her apology, then laughed a little when she realised he was just fooling around. "You had me for a moment!" Lucy laughed, the nervousness dissipating now and she was slowly easing back into their familiar back-and-forths. "Oh, really? Professor P?" Lucy trying to stifle giggles and half-succeeding. "That must be so weird having your dad here. Oh," Lucy registered his question, and evaded answering straightforwardly. "It's complicated. It's okay now though. I think." She wasn't actually sure, but things were at least stable.