Unbound

[Zara Cohen-Knight]

The deed was done and Zara felt no better but she hadn't exactly expected to feel better after breaking up with Asaiah but she'd allowed him to avoid seeing her by going to eat at odd hours and not lagging around the corridors after class. Mostly though this was because Zara couldn't risk seeing Darcy after having blown up at her best friend. She couldn't risk her finding out that her outrage had been not for something so stupid but because Zara felt that she was wrong to see the girl in her bikini. And yet Zara couldn't spend time in her dorm because there were too many girls everywhere and she was too afraid incase her gaze would linger too long that she'd be found out. This secret kept her feeling sick and alone as there was no way she could ever tell Lennon such a thing and so she ate in silence, mostly alone with her nose in a book as if that would help her avoid the world around her. It didn't.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol had begrudgingly not actively sought out Zara out of respect for Asaiah. But one morning while she was exiting the Great Hall after a late breakfast, she saw the girl sitting alone at the Ravenclaw table. Marisol bit her lip and looked around for Asaiah, or someone, to stop her but since she had woken up late she wasn't around her usual friends. Marisol said she would not purposely go out of her way to seek the girl out, but with Zara just sitting there in complete coincidence, she was not technically breaking her word. Marisol couldn't pass up the opportunity to get to the bottom of things so she marched over to the Ravenclaw table. "How dare you hurt Asaiah," she started, getting straight to the point.
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[Zara Cohen-Knight]

Zara looked up as she heard a very harsh voice. Great. Marisol had never been Zara's greatest fan but she had thought that she would be left alone enough to just figure things out for herself. Of course she was wrong. "Excuse me?" Zara asked, hoping that the Gryffindor would come to her senses and realize that this was not appropriate and that her relationship with Asaiah was only the business of herself and the Slytherin respectively. She was a private person, after all.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol was not one for subtly so she rolled her eyes at Zara's response but she also had to keep her temper under control. She was trying to prove that she was not as hot-headed as her friends told her she was, though she was having difficulty when situations like this occurred. "You know what I mean," she stated, "What did Asaiah do for you to blindside him like that?" she demanded. She knew couples as young as Zara and Asaiah's were not going to last forever, but she had never expected Asaiah to be the one hurt in the end and that's what upset the latina the most.
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[Zara Cohen-Knight]

Zara liked to think of herself as a pretty patient person, even if she wasn't according to those who knew her. The girl had a lot on her plate and didn't appreciate the ambush. She suspected Asaiah wouldn't like to hear that Marisol had done this too so the Ravenclaw closed her book and said, "Maybe it wasn't Asaiah - maybe I got tired of his rude and nosy friends." The Ravenclaw looked at her ex-boyfriend's friend stubbornly hoping that this would make her leave or make her realise that whatever the reason it was none of Marisol's business because it really wasn't. She was glad that Xavier was trustworthy because he was the only person that could have the vaguest of clues if he cared to read between the lines - she wasn't sure if he did but if he had picked up on it he was keeping it to himself and the girl was thankful for that.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol instinctively scoffed at Zara's response, but deep down that had been a serious concern for her when Asaiah told them the news. But something told her that wasn't the case in this situation so she tried not to let it bother her. "Yeah I doubt that," she replied sarcastically. Marisol was pretty judgmental but since Asaiah had agreed not to comment on her relationship with Octavian, Marisol had paid him the same courtesy as best as she could, but this was another issue. "So if that's not why, and it's probably nothing Asaiah did because he's perfect - then what is it?" she demanded, a little forcefully.
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[Zara Cohen-Knight]

Zara folded her arms across her chest stubbornly. She was not budging on this and since Marisol was really not catching on the more she spoke the more the Ravenclaw became enraged because Zara was entitled to secrets and privacy. It made her feel a bit lonely having such a large secret but the harm it could do to her was far worse so the girl was simply never going to say. She could not handle being a social pariah for that. "Why do you care so much?" Zara demanded then her eyes opened wide as the penny dropped and she exclaimed, "You like him don't you?!" Asaiah was far from perfect but Marisol thinking he was must be indicative of a crush or else she wouldn't be so blind.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol's patience was being tested the more Zara refused to answer her question. It really wasn't that hard in her opinion, all Zara had to say was she was crazy for doing it because there had to be no other logical reason. Marisol's mouth fell open and she replied, "He's my best friend!" in response to both of her questions. As if having a crush on a best friend was ludicrous. "You hurt him and he doesn't deserve that," she added fiercely. "So I demand an explanation," she added out of line.
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[Zara Cohen-Knight]

Zara almost laughed at Marisol. Almost. If anyone was a prime example that you could like your best friend it was Zara - even with the fact that hers was morally reprehensible according to her mother. Or so Zara imagined - she'd never thought to ask. Although accusations of hurt feelings were thrown and she did feel bad for Asaiah because he was a nice guy she could not tell Marisol anything. The risk was too great - for all she knew the Gryffindor was a terrible secret keeper. She did yell at people all the time and Zara couldn't risk that being yelled out for everyone to hear. "Asaiah will get over it," she said dismissively even if her eyes had softened briefly enough to show an observant person that her resolve was a bit weaker than she would've liked, "We're fourteen." Then the girl said, "I like how you still haven't answered my question. Why do you care so much? He would never ask you to do this so why can't you let it be?" She looked at Marisol expecting something because there really was no sense to be made of such a visceral reaction to someone being dumped. It wasn't as if they were engaged and she'd left him at the alter. This was a dumb relationship, doomed from the start in more ways than one.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol could tell that Zara knew she had hurt Asaiah and felt bad about it, which should've comforted the girl to know that the Ravenclaw had some compassion for the Slytherin's feelings. But instead it angered her more because it meant Zara knew she was wrong to have done it but she still did it anyway. "You haven't answered my question!" she pointed out. "I care because this came out of nowhere, there has to be a reason you did this to my best friend," now exaggerating how upset Asaiah was. "So why did you do it?" she asked again. Then suddenly a thought crossed her mind and she said, "You like someone else don't you?" her tone very accusatory.
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[Zara Cohen-Knight]

Zara scowled at Marisol - everything that Asaiah had told her about the girl was right. She was a stubborn mule and wouldn't let things be. It was a wonder anyone was her friend, truly, and this was coming from Zara! This was getting really long in the tooth and her own agitation was growing every second so the girl was about to excuse herself because people should really keep their emotions bottled up instead of sharing them aggressively like the Gryffindor did. Especially the feelings Zara had. This was when the girl was accused of liking someone else and she felt sick to her stomach. If someone thought that then maybe they would think she liked Darcy but she couldn't let that happen. "So what if I do?" she asked sharply. "Should I have stayed with Asaiah anyway?" A strong defence was always a good offence so Zara snapped, "Maybe I should have acted crazy like you and get dumped like that Gryffindor boy who lasted what.... a week before dumping you?" Zara didn't know the entire facts only the rumours that had circled around Marisol and Cato but it was laughable because he was pathetic which she and Darcy had discussed multiple times. "Or maybe I should have broken up with Asaiah respectfully and try to retain our friendship because he deserves that much?" she said rhetorically clearly showing what the best option was. Zara was not apologetic about her actions nor her words. "You're the one that is going to hurt his feelings more, not me," she stated blankly because sharing this with Asaiah would be unnecessary hurt.

 

[Marisol Woods]

As soon as Zara suggested she might have liked someone else and proved Marisol right, the Gryffindor felt vindicated and was going to say 'aha' when suddenly the Ravenclaw retorted with something completely unexpected. Anger flashed in Marisol's eyes but she quickly laughed at the mention of the older Gryffindor boy that she had taken to the picnic with Zara. "Oh please Cato wasn't even my boyfriend," she scoffed, "I was only pretending to date him so - " she stopped herself shortly, unable to finish that sentence with the truth to Zara. She shook her head and laughed as if the idea of explaining herself was not worth it for the Ravenclaw. "You keep deflecting, I know you're not telling the truth," she stated, waiting expectantly, stubborn as ever. "Why would you do this to him? He never did anything wrong so there must be something wrong with you," Marisol sneered.
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[Zara Cohen-Knight]

About to question the Gryffindor about what she meant because that was strange to have pretended to have a boyfriend for reasons other than Zara's very good reason to have approached Xavier. This was until she was hit hard. Zara instantly felt sick. Something was wrong with her. She couldn't tell her best friend in the entire world about it when she needed Lennon by her side, holding her hand and making her stronger. She couldn't tell Darcy about it either. She'd felt alone before but never like this because she always knew that she could count on her twin to be there to help her but Zara knew that there was something wrong with her. She blinked away tears quickly - her sadness quickly turning to rage as she stood and because Zara didn't swear in English she swore at Marisol in Hebrew thanks to one of her Hebrew school friends having a particularly loquacious older sibling and sharing the meaning with her, "F*ck you." The young witch knew that practically no one at this school would understand what she had said but Marisol would be able to tell the meaning strictly from the way Zara had said the word and the wild look on her face. It was completely different to the way she had ever been before but you can only kick a dog so much before it bites back. Zara was ready to bite. She slammed the book down onto the house table and reached for her wand - pointing it sharply at Marisol. "You don't get to know everyone's secrets so you either walk away or I will send you to the hospital wing," she said quietly but threatening the girl all the same.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol wasn't sure what exactly it was she said that caused Zara to flip out the way she did, but she could tell she had hit a nerve. For the briefest of moments the latina was smug in getting the Ravenclaw wound up, but then she took in the way Zara looked close to tears. This was about more than just breaking up with Asaiah, though Marisol had no idea what it could be. It wasn't the threat of a wand in her face that caused her to calm down, but the uneasy feeling of familiarity amongst the girl's reaction. Though she didn't talk to the girl much, Marisol knew Zara was mostly level-headed and not hot tempered like her, so for the Ravenclaw to pull out her wand on her meant this was something serious to her. Marisol understood the feeling of having to keep something so secret you were willing to go through great lengths, ridiculous lies and uncharacteristic behavior in order to keep it hidden. Marisol took a step back and said, "Okay," nodding her head slowly in understanding. She didn't know what Zara was keeping secret, but she knew the dread of keeping one and being antagonized to reveal it.
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[Zara Cohen-Knight]

Zara wasn't sure what she had expected from Marisol - maybe anger or maybe more provocation but she hardly expected the girl to back down so there was a few seconds of processing before she lowered her wand. If there was ever a time when Zara was glad to be fresh faced it was when she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her cloak and sat down, tucking her wand away as if she hadn't just threatened Marisol. "I'm.. I'm sorry," Zara said genuinely but she would still hold that ground because she was apologetic only for her harsh reaction not much else. She reached for the pendant on her necklace of what would appear to just be a star for the uninformed but for Zara it was soothing and helped to shield her from so much. The girl grasped it and looked up at Marisol - feeling a bit stupid and ashamed of her outburst - while she offered, "This probably goes against the rules for hating your best friend's ex but you can join me for breakfast if you want?"

 

[Marisol Woods]

The feeling of guilt after an impulsive outburst was familiar to the hot-headed Gryffindor and it was beginning to settle in. Marisol shifted somewhat uncomfortably as Zara sat back down slowly, clearly also thrown off by the whole situation and both of their reactions to it. "I'm sorry too," Marisol replied quietly, shaking her head. She was going to turn around and leave but then the Ravenclaw said she could stay for breakfast. Normally Marisol would've declined the offer even if it was done as a peace offering, because she could respectfully accept the loss and leave Zara alone, but something about the girl's secrecy was painfully familiar to the Gryffindor so she felt compelled to stay. She wasn't going to pry any further, but she wished there was a way to show Zara that she wasn't the only one with secrets and that it was okay. "Sure," Marisol replied softly. She took a seat across from the dark-haired girl and gave a small smile. "I'm sorry again. Asaiah is my best friend so I'm very protective of him. But he is a good person so I know he would hold no hard feelings, and I shouldn't either," she said as she reached for a piece of toast.
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