Closed Out Of Sight, Out Of...

[Clifton Ward]

After an extremely heavy start to the year, Clifton was constantly surprised at how light he felt these days. Being in the Hufflepuff common area was difficult; he had still managed to isolate himself from.... pretty much all of his friends at this point. But at least he wasn't alone anymore. Everything with Knox felt easy, in a way Clifton had never felt before. It was a relief dating someone so willing to take the lead, and he felt... safe with the Gryffindor. He still missed Lily sometimes, still felt guilty for being so horrendous to her, but at least things weren't all bad anymore.

And this time of year, Clifton had more than enough work to keep him occupied. He had stored far too much of his used film up in his own dorm rather than taking it down to the Accio rooms to be developed, but now that work well and truly needed to be done. So Clifton was carrying a teetering armful of film cannisters down the stairs, hoping he could get everything developed and ready to go before Vader noticed. He groaned under his breath when a stray roll of film tumbled from his arm, rolling its way down the corridor up ahead. Clifton hurried after it, but he had no idea how he was going to pick the damn thing up without dropping everything else in the process.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily had been having a very rough time for what felt like ages. She couldn't help but feel like she'd slowly lost everyone close to her, one after another, and every time she lost someone they took a little piece of her with them. She'd lost Clifton, it felt like she'd lost Elliot. She wasn't good enough for William or Jasper. She could feel something off with Lars, like there was something he wasn't telling her, and it may have just been her mind but she felt like he was going to leave her too.

She was walking through the halls, feeling lost, when she saw a familiar figure running down the hall. She hesitated a moment, sighing. This was ridiculous. She wordlessly summoned over the canister he'd dropped, along with several of the ones he was carrying. She stepped up next to him, giving him a very shy, very shaky smile. "H-hi Clifton," she managed, "May- um, may I help? Y-y-y-you, um, you have a lot of, um, of things," she stuttered, before biting her lip to stop herself. This was okay. She was okay. Right?

 

[Clifton Ward]

As much as he had been quietly hoping for help, the person it came from was not one he expected at all. He was barely able to keep a grip on the rolls of film in his arms as he heard Lily's voice, jumping in shock and turning to look at her with wide eyes. Part of Clifton almost wondered if he was dreaming her; it had been so long since he had been anywhere near his ex-girlfriend that the thought she was actually here seemed slightly ridiculous. Lily was here though, and Clifton opened and closed his mouth uncertainly at her offer. Was this... a trick? Some kind of long-planned revenge? "That, um... those are for the yearbook...." He explained, hoping she wasn't going to damage Accio property to get back at him. "I... I mean, if... you don't have to..." He added weakly, voice trailing off as he visibly deflated. He should apologise, he knew, but where was he even supposed to start?! Lily probably despised him, and rightly so.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily might not have seen Clifton in what felt like a very long time, but she could see how uneasy he felt. She hesitated, but still took a very tiny step closer, ducking her head to try to catch his eye. "Clifton..." She tried to smile at him, hoping it was a little less shaky than before. "It- um, its okay," she spoke softly, trying to figure out what to say without sounding too presumptuous. After all, how well could she have really known him? "I just... I just want to help," she offered shyly, swallowing nervously and taking another tiny step back. Maybe he hated her now, or maybe he always had. He hadn't wanted her, it was silly to think he'd just accept her help now. She wavered a moment, unsure if she should just give the things back and run away.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton wouldn't have been surprised if Lily had wanted revenge on him for his actions, but as soon as she spoke he felt silly for suspecting she might sabotage the yearbook to get back at him. "Oh... If... If you like..." He said hesitantly, chancing a glance at Lily. He had barely looked at her since the breakup, and being so close to her again made his heart ache. He knew he had feelings for Knox as well, but he still loved Lily, and having her around again was like a dagger to the heart. "I just, um, need to take these downstairs to... To develop them."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily took a small breath, offering him a shy smile and turning to start the way he needed to go. She didn't speak for a moment, unsure of what to say. She sighed softly after several moments. "So, ah, Clif, how- er... Clifton," She corrected herself, trying not to wince at the loss of familiarity, "How are you?" She asked, her voice softer, blond hair falling to cover her face. She didn't bother to brush it back, using it as a shield to protect her from the boy beside her.

 

[Clifton Ward]

It was surreal standing so close to Lily again, hearing her voice and smelling her perfume, like nothing had ever changed between them. But the emotional distance was enormous, and Clifton forced himself to remember this was over. Lily didn't want anything to do with him, and he had a boyfriend now. "I'm, um... I'm good." Clifton said hesitantly, leading the way downstairs towards the Accio darkroom. "How... how are you?"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily nodded slowly, she was sure he was doing alright. She hesitated at his return of the question, and after a moment she started to piece together an answer. "I... well, I'm not... great, really, but I'm... alright?" she started slowly, trying to decide what to say. "There hasn't really... been much new going on," she spoke softly, before sighing and stopping, turning to peek up at him. "Clifton, listen, I... was actually hoping to run into you," she started, glancing down again and scuffing her toe against the ground. "I, ah, I know things... didn't really work out... romantically, between us," she winced as she said it. "And that- I mean, it took me a little while, but it- it's okay, and I know- I know-" she swallowed nervously, struggling to continue but pushing on anyone. "I know you're... with someone," she managed, "That's... that's good, really, I just..."

Lily took a deep breath, her hair working very well to hide her face. "I want us to be friends again, Clif," she admitted softly. "We used to be really close, before... before I messed it all up, and I just... I'm sorry." she peeked up at him a moment before looking away again, a blush covering her cheeks. "I just... I just really miss you," she managed. "I know things can't be the same, but... could we maybe be friends again?" she asked softly, heart pounding in her chest.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton didn't know if he had ever been in such an agonising conversation before in his life. Their breakup had been more painful, certainly, but at least that bandaid had been ripped off right away. This... slow, uncomfortable stumbling of words was almost worse. He nodded quietly as Lily said how she had been, trying to think of what to say. Should he apologise? Of course he should, but... then they would have to talk about it, and Clifton didn't know what that conversation looked like at all. He was almost relieved when LIly went on, though his heart quickly clenched when she said she had been hoping to talk to him. Here it was, whatever revenge she had prepared. Or... not. He looked down at Lily in surprise, heart lurching when he realised she was still wearing the locket he had given her. That meant something, and he had absolutely no idea what. "Oh..." Clifton croaked, scrambling to collect his thoughts. This wasn't what he had expected at all, and it was hard to know where to begin. "I... yes. That... that would be nice. Yes..." He stammered out, too nervous to say anything else.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Clifton's words were better than she had expected, she had really kind of thought he would just laugh and brush her off. She let her shoulders relax, letting out a soft sigh. Alright, she could work with that. "Alright, friends, that's good," She looked up at him with a shy smile. "I, ah, I'm working at Honeydukes now," she told him, trying to think of things they could talk about. "I haven't joined any clubs, but I think my knitting is getting better," She tucked her hair behind her ear.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Friends. It was frankly more than Clifton had ever expected he would have with Lily again, and the thought felt strange. He kept turning it over in his mind as he listened to her, continuing their conversation on increasingly stable ground as they made their way downstairs together.

--fin--​