Solace

[Bella Walsh]

It was one of those cool and rany days that Bella had always come to like. However, today was not a good day. She had been trying to interact with a new group of students, made up primarily of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students who had interest in become Aurors as well, trying to ensure that there were people available to duel practice with if she needed it during the remaining school year. The stress of the upcoming exams was sitting heavily on her shoulders, not to mention, she was attempting to schedule some wickedly hard classes for her last year to beef up her resume later.

Her mother had been writing her constantly with news on ministry internships she could take on during the summer, as well. Between all of that, class, and homework, she'd unintentionally been blowing Artemis off at constant intervals. Finally, it had hit his nerve and he had called her out on it as she was running from the library, bogged down with a stack of tomes. She'd rushed out an apology as she ran down to the Hufflepuff Common Room and set the books down again before she stopped long enough to think about what he'd said.

Had she been ignoring him? He looked so hurt...

Wait! She never meant to ignore him!

That Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL was not going to study for itsself.

That Ministry Internship might help...

He really looked hurt...

The stress bubbled up and she darted from the Common Room and out of the castle and into the slowly falling rain. Her mind was darting around in too many directions and her emotions were bubbling up in her chest and tightening into the biggest ball possible. She made her way to the bench furthest from the school and sat down, taking a deep breath in to try to break up the tension in her chest.

The instant she drew in breath, however, she found herself starting to cry. Warm tears mixed with the cool droplets of rain and slid down her cheeks, making her only want to cry harder. She was placing so much emphasis on things that hadn't happened yet, that she'd been ignoring and unintentionally hurting the one person that she never wanted to hurt. She'd hurt him once before this year too, and it was enough to make her chest spasm to even remember that awful day.

Tears were running freely down her face and the rain simply washed them away as they fell. Dear Merlin, she felt awful. Why did he put up with her? Even that thought was crippling as she got up to her feet and moved to the nearest leafless tree. She needed to lean on something or the disappointment might swallow her whole. The rain was starting to pour now, and her blonde locks were coming down from her style and hanging loosely at her waist. Had she worn makeup today, it would be running for sure.

She nearly fell at the base of the tree as her heart ripped itself open and every last bit of hurt she'd been holding inside started pouring out through her eyes. She cried harder than she ever had in her life and her heart broke with every other beat. So much had built up inside her and it almost kiled her to release all of the pain at one time, but she had no choice.

All her mind could focus on was the pain inside those eyes, the pain inside her prince's eyes. It was slowly ripping her apart and all she could do was lean her head back against the trunk of the tree and cry and cry until her insides ached.

"I'm sorry!!! I'm sorry!!! I never meant to hurt you!!!"

As if the empty school grounds could tell him that.

She didn't show up for Runes. She didn't show up for Potions. She didn't show up for Transfiguration. As far as it seemed, she'd disappeared.

Honetly, with how she felt, she'd rather disappear. Her heart ached with the amount of people she'd let down recently. Moreso her love than any other student. The rain was coming in sheets, and by now she was soaked to the bone with her hair stuck down her back and to the sides of her face. It was hard to tell which were tears, but her reddened eyes suggested that she had cried so much that most of that wetness could have been tears.

Between sobs, she drew in a shattering breath and coughed quietly. The cold was getting to her, but her heart wouldn't stop aching long enough for her to think about it.

How many tears did she actually have built up in there?!

[Deleted]

There were many different things that Artemis had that differed him from many of the other men and women that were his age. He was a much more understanding individual than others his age were, something that had enabled him to look the other way when his girlfriend had begun hanging around students from both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang and the times in which he would see her, much less be alone with her became fewer and fewer as the time passed on. He would see Bella in the halls, talking and laughing with the other students in the halls and smile, knowing that she was making friends in which she could talk to about her future career choice and that was enough to make him happy.

He prided himself on being a patient individual, not minding at all when Bella started arriving later and later to their planned dates until finally she just stopped showing up all together, leaving all of the hard work and effort that Artemis always put in their dates to get wasted. Needless to say, the selfless attitude that he always seemed to have faded away fast when the dejected boy found Bella in the halls still talking and laughing away with her new friends instead of being with him like she should have been.

This became a regular occurrence until Artemis finally gave up on planning dates of any sort. He knew that Bella would not show up so why should he even bother?

That had led him to where he had been today, chasing after Bella as he tried to talk to her about how he had been hurt by her lack of interest in him but yet again she seemed to lack any real interest in what he had to say. That had been enough to strike his nerve and make him irritable as a hurt look appeared on his face. " Since you seem so busy as of late I'll let you go. Better yet, why don't I do you one better and just stay away from you from now on? Let me know when you are not too busy to be my girlfriend again and then we'll talk."

It was with that said that the hurt boy had stormed off, not once looking back as both his anger and hurt took over him.

He had said that hours ago and now he had finally calmed down enough to regret what he had said and had begun searching for his girlfriend only to find that she had not attended any of her classes, a fact that worried him more than anything. He had begun searching all over the castle, looking in every single nook and cranny until he was absolutely sure that she had not been there. He had asked a Hufflepuff female to search the common room and dormitory for Bella, his worry growing when the female had returned with news that Bella had not been seen for hours.

It had been only then that Artemis had thought to check outside and he had done so eagerly, running out into the pouring rain with little to no regard to his own well being, calling out her name at each and every turn until he finally found her, sitting back against a bench soaked completely to the bone. Running over to where she sat, Artemis ran over and hugged her tightly. " Bella. Why are you sitting all alone and out here in the rain?"

[Bella Walsh]

In her reverie, she could have sworn she had heard her name. The tears only kept falling, however silently now. The traces of saline were washed away from the purity of the rain. It was trying to wash away the ache of disappointing so many people, but it wasn't working so well. Pain was something she really knew. When it hurt, it was real. No dreaming.

Another shattered breath heaved through her chest softly and now she was sure she heard her name. As she finally willed her eyes upward, she felt arms around her. Artemis.

"It...wasn't raining when I came...I don't think it was...maybe it wasn't so hard..." With his closeness, she found herself casting a non verbal warming spell upon him to ease the cold from his body. "What...are you doing out here? You'll catch cold." She trembled softly, the cold had set into her nerves and the very marrow of her bones.

"Artemis...I'm so sorry!!" Suddenly a fresh wave of sobs racked her chest and more tears disappeared into the rain drops. Her small frame shook violently with the force and her fingers clung feebly to the material of his robes. "I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry...I never meant to upset you, not ever!"

Their dates had gone from special...to non existence. It was her fault. She stopped making time for him and she barely realized that she was, and that made her feel just that much worse. Oh, her sweet prince deserved better than that.

"I love you so much, Artemis. I promised you that I would hurt you and I just seem to keep doing it at every turn! I'm so s...sorry." Her teeth were starting to chatter and yet she only wanted him warm. "I'm sorry I h-haven't been the best girlfriend."

[Deleted]

Any anger that he might have still felt towards his girlfriend had been erased the second that he saw her sitting on a stone bench alone in the rain soaked completely to the bone. When his arms wrapped around her, drawing her small form close to his own body, he could feel just how cold her body was and that was more than enough to cause him to frown even deeper. Why had she not bothered to cast the warming spell on herself if she knew that she was going to sitting out here? She could get sick! When she spoke again he listened before sighing and tugging her even closer so that he could share the warmth of his body with her, knowing that she would not warm herself until she knew that he had forgiven her.

" Bella, it's been raining all afternoon! Besides I'm not the one that you should be worrying about. I haven't been out here that long where as you look as though you've been here for at least an hour if not longer! As for what I am doing out here, I've been looking for you."

When he felt her body tremble from what he assumed to be the cold, he frowned even further. It was when she broke down and started sobbing, calling out an apology to him that he began to react, drawing the girl even closer and just holding her in an attempt to comfort her. " Bella it is fine. There is no need to apologize to me because I've already forgiven you. I shouldn't have gotten so angry and upset with you, you were only trying to plan ahead for your future. I should have realized that."

He was beginning to feel awful. Had his words truly affected Bella that much?

" I know that you love me Bella. I love you too, you know that. It doesn't matter to me, because you did not do it with the intent to hurt me. I should have been more patient and understanding towards you. There is no need for you to apologize because that should be my job right now. You are the best girlfriend and if I haven't made you feel that way then I'm not doing my job as your boyfriend right." He could see her chattering in the rain from the cold and his brow furrowed. " Love, please warm youself up. I really don't want you to end up getting sick."

[Bella Walsh]

" Artemis, of all the things I keep doing, fitting time for you into that schedule is just as important to me. You are also part of my future, and equally as important to me. You know, I try to remember that and sometimes my brain just goes off and tries to finish...everything at once."

Her fingers tangled into his robes and clung tightly, looking down for a moment before looking up at him, tears still mixing in the drops of rain that dripped down her face.

" I didn't want to ignore you for so long, but sometimes...I just forget what I'm doing. So many people expect a lot from me and I keep letting you down and you take it in stride. That doesn't make you a bad boyfriend...not at all."

The milky skin of her face had seemed so pale, save for the soft pink glow of her being cold. All she wanted was to forget about all of the demands and just stay there with him all night. Granted, that couldn't happen, so she would take what she could get.

" Always."

That one whisper lingered in the air as she cast the warming spell on herself before looking up at the rain falling and sniffling quietly as she admired it on her skin. So beautiful. She gave a soft exhale and drew him down to hold him tightly as she felt the pain escaping her body and her muscles relaxing. She looked up and just looked into those so concerned eyes for a moment. Gods, she loved him so much that it just hurt some days.

"All I want to do, all I ever want to do it just be here with you and just make everything else cease to be so that it could last forever."