#friend drama

[mosquego359]

𖤐One Kiss and A Quidditch Match — Chapter 2: Spin the Bottle𖤐

Prologue (recommended to read)

Chapter 1

Pair: Cedric Diggory x Male Slytherin Reader

Word count: 4.4K words

Summary of the book: You and Cedric Diggory hate each other. It has always been this way. But everything changes one night when you kiss each other at a party. Now, it seems you can’t escape each other — from being partnered up in Herbology for an important project to having to help Cedric during the Triwizard Tournament.

Summary of the chapter: At the party, your roommate asks you and your friends if you want to play Spin the Bottle.

Notes: Please comment anything I should change to improve this. Also, I am not British so I am not 100% sure how to correctly write people from the UK.

Content warning: There are a couple curse words and drinking in this chapter, but they are not too frequent.

!PLEASE DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE WITHOUT PERMISSION OR CREDITS TO ME!

...

“Where’s my brother?” Winnie asked, scanning the nearly vacant Slytherin common room. Next to her, a girl with curly brown hair stood.

“What the bloody hell are you wearing?” Brian sputtered, his maw open and bushy eyebrows bunched together. He looked her up and down, his confused expression apparent on his features.

Winnie tilted her head in visible puzzlement, “It’s a party. Aren’t we supposed to be dressed up to look pretty and stand out?” She looked down at her outfit, “I don’t see what’s wrong with what I’m wearing.” You smiled at her ignorance.

The girl next to her widened her eyes and looked away. Her shoulders shook, attempting to hold back her laughter. Next to you, leaning to the side, one hand on his hip, Brian’s face was contorted into a dumbfounded expression.

You observed Winnie’s odd outfit choice. She wore short overalls with a primarily pastel chequered palette and a small daisy on the front pocket in the middle of her chest. Underneath, you saw a white, overlarge sweater. You thought it was a bit simple for her until you noticed the sleeves looked dipped in colourful paint, peeling off in several areas. It was no doubt Winnie's creative idea. Her socks were also white but had pastel polka dots, and her shoes were black ballerina flats. For a Pureblood, she sure loved Muggle-wear.

You glanced at her face and noted that it was the only area on her body that wasn’t doused with colour. Her frizzy hair was tied up in a low ponytail, a few strands escaping from the coiffure.

You decided to jump into the conversation. “Yes, Winnie, but your outfit is rather,” you paused, searching for the right word, “visible.”

“What’s wrong with visible?” She furrowed her brows.

Before you could respond, Brian stepped in, cutting you off, “Well, we are sneaking around, and if we get caught, it’ll be a problem. We need something more discreet and everyday-wear.”

“But you and (Name) are also wearing nice clothes.” Winnie gestured to your primarily brown outfits.

“Winnie,” you tried reasoning with her, “Brian and I are wearing really dark and simple clothes. It’ll be more difficult to recognise us from a distance since many guys dress similarly, while your outfit is really bright and recognisable.”

She looked down, disappointment etched on her features as realisation dawned on her, “Oh okay…” she mumbled.

The girl next to her caressed her shoulder reassuringly. It was funny because she was at least 180, while Winnie was over a head shorter. That’s when it finally clicked for you.

“Hey, I know you,” the girl looked up at the sound of your voice, “You’re Winnie and Elsie’s roommate, aren’t you? Mary, right? I’m not the best at names.” You smiled at her, and she nodded, a silent gesture of affirmation.

“Anyway,” Brian said, “Is Elsie coming, or did she decide to skip?”

Winnie looked up again, “Oh, Ramona and Avery are helping her get ready. Where’s my brother? Is he already gone?”

You nodded, “Yes, he wanted to meet Destiny beforehand.” 

You didn’t ask about why Elsie was spending extra time trying to seem appealing since you remembered the way she looked at Alistair and how he would often be the topic of conversation whenever he wasn’t there, whether she was complimenting his flying skills or insulting his girlfriend.

Brian was also aware, so he kept his mouth shut.

Winnie clapped her hands together and put them to her cheek in a sweet, motherly way as one would when cooing at a romantic couple or cute puppy, “Ohh! I’m glad everything is going well between them.”

You were never sure whether or not Winnie liked Destiny, but she seemed genuinely happy for her brother despite his girlfriend’s imperfections. It was one of her aspects you liked. She was determined to help everyone, so it surprised you that she wasn’t a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff.

“Where’s Campbell?” You heard Elsie’s voice coming from near the top of the stairs of the girl’s dormitory.

Winnie raised her hand and looked up, “I’m here.”

“No, the other Campbell. I never call you by your last name, Winnie, and if I did, you’d be Campbell NumberTwo.” Elsie stepped down from the dormitory. Two girls looking rather proud of themselves followed suit.

Elsie wore a red chequered skirt with a matching cropped blazer over a black corset top you recognised from a muggle shop near your house. Her short hair was tucked behind her ears with pins and hair clips.

Winnie squeaked joyfully and wrapped her arms around Elsie, then pulled away and bounced up and down. Sometimes, since she was so enthusiastic, you weren’t sure whether Winnie knew about her best friend’s crush on her brother, considering that was the reason Elsie dressed up in the first place.

“You look lovely,” you smiled reassuringly, and Elsie shrugged, looking away and playing with her sleeves. You rarely saw her this reserved since the first time you met her, and most of her other friends never got to see that vulnerable side of her.

Mary signed something to one of the girls who helped Elsie get ready, and she checked the time with a pocket watch.

“It’s 11: 15, peeps. If we hurry now, we’ll be at the Gryffindor common room by 30.”

The entire group nodded in acquiescence. 

As you shuffled towards the door, you removed your penny brown sweater and handed it to Winnie, “Here, you need it more than I.”

“Aww! Thank you, (Name)!” She slipped it over her head and pulled it down, wrapping her arms around herself, petting the wool. She swayed from side to side as she trotted behind the others. You stifled a chuckle at how much larger it was than her, walking behind the other.

“11: 30,” whispered the girl with the pocket watch — whose name you found out was Ramona Armstrong, the sister of one of your roommates —, brushing her spiky red hair out of her eyes, “They’ll be here to check the door in a couple second, I reckon.”

The Fat Lady looked at your group, “You know, most of the students are already here.”

Winnie tilted her head, “But can’t we go to parties at any time after?” 

The Fat Lady gave her a look that suggested that Winnie’s reply wasn’t one she particularly liked, “Well, apparently.” She sniffed.

The door slowly creaked open, and a head of red hair popped out from behind the painting. He grinned at your group, “Well, look what we have here.” Fred Weasly grinned, analysing your group, “You all 16?”

“Yup.” Elsie spoke for your group, disinterestedly checking her nails.

Fred hummed, “We’re gonna need a password anyways.”

“What?! But there was nothing about the password in the invitation!” Ramona and Mary’s friend babbled to your left, unmistakably irritated. From the corner of your eye, you saw Brian tilting her head. When you looked to your right, he and Winnie were frowning in perplexity.

“Goodness, I’ve never met 6th years so dense,” the Fat Lady groaned from another painting, fanning herself, “He’s obviously playing with you, now please go inside so I can sleep!”

You sighed. Of course, there was no password. Fred just found it funny to mess with a bunch of Slytherins, many of whom were deemed intelligent by their report cards. Fred snickered. If George was somewhere behind him, you couldn’t hear laughing.

Fred made a gesture with his head to follow him, and your party silently slipped into the dark Gryffindor common room. Sure, the walls were soundproof in every bedroom, but you glided soundlessly just in case.

“Once the passageway opens, you gotta all run, got it?” the redhead whispered, not looking for any affirmation from you.

He pressed a brick in the fireplace, then lightly tapped two others.

The wall slid to the side to reveal the interior of a room, and the loud chatter of 6 year students made you realise why everyone had to enter quickly. Fred was the first to slip in, and you went last. When you entered, the wall slid back into place.

Around you was a grand area a bit smaller than the common room, crowded with students your age or older drinking, playing games, or chatting. A hallway was across you, a badly drawn toilet sign hanging from a nail in the wall. While you were a bit annoyed at how dim the pink light was, you had to admit that the teachers would find it difficult to perceive it from the courtyard.

You felt a hand grab your hand.

You looked down to see Winnie. Next to her, her arm interlocked with Brian’s since they were closer height-wise. Elsie shuffled to your other side. 

“We should look for Alistair,” you suggested, raising your voice to be heard over the other conversations around you.

Winnie nodded with excitement, “Uh huh! So he and Destiny can see how lovely our outfits look tonight!” You glanced at Elsie whose cheeks turned pink at the thought.

“Well, we’re gonna have to leave y’all here,” Ramona said. Mary and the other girl were already sinking into the sea of people. “Good luck finding your friend.” She saluted you with two fingers before walking away, running her hands through her red hair. 

As you made your way through the crowd of people, you saw one of your other roommates: Ziggy Armstrong. He was next to a boy you presumed to be the best friend he frequently talked about whenever you hung out.

“Ziggy!”

The boy glanced at you at the sound of your voice but still eagerly listened to his friend's conversation. You brought your arms to a shrugging motion, shaking your hands silently asking for Alistair’s location.

Ziggy pointed behind him to a corner of the room where you could make out two people sitting awfully close. 

You crinkled your nose at the thought of Alistair making out with his girlfriend and having to intervene in their... bonding session. It's not that you've never done anything of the sort, you just felt a tad uncomfortable seeing it happen, considering you never had feelings for the person you were with at the time. You gave Ziggy a thumbs up, only to see he’d gone back to engaging in his conversation.

“Over this way,” you pointed to where Alistair was.

Your group shuffled through the crowd, sliding past tightly cramped students and dodging the dancing teens to reach your friend. You led the way, and your friends rapidly followed suit.

You neared the duo, quickening your steps, when you saw them get up. You couldn't call out to Alistair and the person he was with — whom, to Elsie's displeasure, was Destiny White — since the chatter among the other people was too invasive and would muffle your shout.

Suddenly, someone walked in front of you. Since you hadn’t seen them, you ran face-first into them, foreheads bumping together, causing momentary pain in your skull. You felt liquid on your chest. It seemed whomever it was spilt their drinks when you crashed into them.

“(Name)!” Winnie and the rest of your party caught up to you to make sure you were fine, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…” you groaned, obviously contradicting your statement.

A bit peeved, you glared at the person you bumped into through your lashes, pressing your naturally cold hands to your forehead, only to be met with a light grey glower from the worst person you could bump into at the moment: Cedric fucking Diggory.

He said something, but his words fell on deaf ears as you pushed past him.

You rushed to where Alistair was, only to find the space occupied by a group of Gryffindors laughing about the Triwizard Tournament's unexpected appearance.

You groused, throwing your hands into the air in frustration, before pivoting around to find your other friends.

They were still where you left them, Elsie and Brian waited for you arms crossed and deadpanned expressions, while Winnie hurried over to meet you, a look of worry etched on her soft features. She lightly grabbed your left arm, walking with you to the two others. You vaguely noticed Cedric had dissipated into the crowd.

“Don’t leave us alone with that Hufflepuff git again,” Elsie scolded, tapping your chest with her index finger.

You looked away, rubbing the back of your neck, which started heating up. It happened whenever you were embarrassed or flustered. Sometimes, when you felt ashamed. “Sorry, I was stupid,” you apologise, pressing your cold hand on your heated neck.

“Your shirt! There’s a spill!” Winnie gasped, pointing at your chest.

You looked down to see an orange stain on your white button-up, uncomfortably sticking to your skin. You cringed at the sight, feeling your nape growing hotter again. You couldn’t wear that shirt anymore unless you thoroughly washed it.

“Here,” Winnie removed the brown sweater you lent her and handed it back, “You need this more than me. Besides, I need to show off my fashion!” She twirled around and posed. 

Elsie snorted, and Brian smiled, the skin of his burn mark stretching. You pulled the sweater onto your head, the corner of your mouth twitching upwards.

“I think we’ll be alright without Alistair,” Brain admitted, leaning to his right with a lopsided grin. 

Winnie laughed in agreement.

You saw Elsie's slightly pained expression, and placed a hand on her shoulder, “We’re bound to cross paths with him at some point,” you added to Brian’s statement, although your words were primarily meant for Elsie’s ears.

“Yeah!! Let’s have fun tonight!!” Winnie pumped her fist into the air with delight, already advancing towards the food and drinks table.

“I don’t think I’d participate, personally,” Winnie shrugged, words slightly slurred from the two cups of alcohol she consumed, not sober, but not completely under the influence, “I’m not much of a competitive babe.”

You stirred your non-alcoholic (drink name) with a straw, a tinge of jealousy squeezing your heart. Since your birthday was later in the school year, you weren’t allowed to participate in the Triwizard Tournament — the infamous competition between Hogwarts and its rival schools your mother told you about when you were little.

What made it even worse was that Cedric could be participating. He was of age — well, would be soon — and no doubt had enough skill to be chosen as Hogwarts champion of this year. However, you were uncertain if he had it in him to act remotely aggressive towards the other school’s champions. Maybe he would try to get in just to rub it in your face.

Elsie smirked, “Yeah? Well I think I would. I’m 17 in less than a month.”

You felt a tap on your shoulder. You turned around to see Ziggy and his blonde best friend, a coy smile on his face, “Hey, we’re gonna play Spin the Bottle in a different room, wanna join?”

Your friends had stopped chatting; you responded with a nonchalant shrug, “Sure, I don’t see why not. Could be entertaining.”

“If (Name)’s in, I most certainly am, but don’t count on me kissing people on the lips specifically,” Brian chimed in, setting his drink down on the table next to the chips and suspicious-looking candy.

“Excellent,” Ziggy gave you a thumbs up, turning to the girls, he asked, “How about you ladies? Alistair’s gonna be there, too; it could be the full gang.”

Elsie perked up at the mention of Alistair before realising how odd it must have appeared, slouching back against the wall, eyes disinterested, “Alright, I’m in. How about you Winnie?”

Winnie frantically shook her head, chuckling as she spoke, “Absolutely not. I am not risking the bottle landing on my brother and I. No incest. Nope. Not today, perverts,” she rambled, waving her hand in the air in a tipsy manner.

Ziggy shrugged and started heading to a hallway you didn’t notice before, the blonde boy following after. Brian waved to Winnie and walked along with Ziggy. You stayed back to wait for Elsie.

“Alright,” she hesitated, “Are you fine with being alone here?”

Winnie smirked drunkenly, “Yeahhhh. But if you get bored, you can keep me company if you wanna.”

Elsie nodded in understanding, giving her a small smile, joining you as you caught up to the three other boys.

The room you entered was much smaller than the one you had been in moments before. Wooden shelves had been shoved closer to the stone grey walls, leaving space for the twenty-something students to sit comfortably in a wonky circle.

You recognised many people from your year, notably Alistair, Destiny, and — unfortunately — Cedric Diggory and his friends. You stuck to the opposite side of the room from where he was, slipping into a space next to Alistair. Destiny was busy talking to a Hufflepuff girl next to her and barely acknowledging your presence.

“Hello,” Alistair said and — to your surprise — he seemed sober, “Where have you been.”

“Searching for you,” Brian responded, settling next to you, “We gave up pretty early on, but it’s the thought that counts.”

Alistair laughed, “You’re here, Brian? I never thought your sad virgin ass would dare play a game like this. Even Elsie surprises me less. Nice skirt, by the way; it suits you.” He said nonchalantly.

Brian huffed and crossed his arms, light pink dusting his cheeks at being called out, while Elsie squinted in confusion, sliding next to you, “I’m not sure whether you’re saying that sarcastically or whether you’re serious. Is this a compliment?”

“Take it as you please.” Alistair shrugged.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen,” you turned your head to the sound of Ziggy’s voice in the middle of the circle, “Welcome, to our lovely little game: Spin the Bottle! I trust all of you have heard of it at least once in your sorry little lives, so we’ll just get on with the activity.”

He settled next to his best friend, who placed a bottle in the middle of the circle. “I volunteer to spin it first,” the blonde says, twisting the bottle, spinning it around, and then crawling back to his spot.

You held your breath in anticipation as the glass bottle slowed, only to land back on the same person who spun it. He laughed, “I don’t think that counts.”

“No redos,” insisted Ziggy, teasingly punching him in the arm, “Don’t be greedy; it’s my turn now. We’ll go around the circle clockwise, so everyone will get to kiss someone at some point. And don’t think any kiss less than five seconds will count.” You muffled a chuckle as Brian longingly looked at the exit.

One by one, the students spun the bottle around. So far, it never pointed to either Elsie, Brian or you; it did, however, land on Alistair, who — rather passionately — snogged a Gryffindor girl, much to Elsie’s displeasure. You noticed Destiny’s smile wavering, a look of betrayal in her eyes. When it was her turn, her lips barely touched those of the boy the bottle landed on.

Next went Alistair. That meant he would kiss two people in the duration of the game, while the rest of your friends hadn’t even had one.

The bottle spun, anticipation raised. You could see at least three girls excluding his girlfriend and Elsie, sitting on edge with hope, eyes glued to the rotating glass. You had to admit, you wouldn’t complain if it pointed to you; you knew he was famous for not only his looks but for his sexual talents.

The bottle slowed and finally stopped.

You turned to your left to see Elsie’s shocked expression. You weren’t completely sure whether it was good that she would be kissing him or whether her lack of experience would ruin everything.

You realised that your thoughts were trying to excuse cheating, and glanced at Destiny’s oddly calm expression, her thin eyebrow knotted together in intrigue.

You scooted backwards so that Alistair and Elsie were directly beside each other.

Her cheeks were coated in a light pink blush, her eyes cast away from the pretty boy’s face, and you knew if you pressed your hand to her chest, you would feel her heart beat like rapid fire.

When Elsie’s gaze met Alistair’s, he frowned and shook his head. “I refuse.”

A wave of murmurs enveloped the crowd. Your eyes widened. Was this seriously going to end up in another argument?

“...What?” Elsie whispered a slimmer of confused betrayal and deep sadness could be noticed on her pale face.

“I said I don’t want to kiss you.”

“Wha-why not?” Elsie looked positively irritated, and frankly, a little embarrassed. “You kissed that other girl.” A few giggles could be heard from the students. You glanced over and saw Cedric gazing at your friend with empathy. Ziggy shared a glance with his best friend, a look of uncertainty.

Alistair shrugged, “Yeah, but that’s different. You’re just not really appealing to me. And why do you actually care? Do you like me or something?” He teased, but it seemed to strike a nerve.

Elsie’s already flushed cheeks turned as red as her chequered skirt, “Of course not! Why would you think that?” She glanced at the spectacle of onlookers, “I just, um.” She trailed off, and got up frantically, wiping the nonexistent dust from her skirt, “I don’t feel like playing anymore.”

She spun on her heel and rapidly exited the room.

You quickly got up to follow, but Alistair grabbed your shoulder, a gaze of newly-found maturity in his eyes, “No, (Name), let me handle things.”

He left, and you apprehensively sat back down, sharing a worried glance with Brian. Destiny got up and left, mumbling an illegible excuse. Now that three people you knew were gone, the room felt awfully spacious.

Without missing a beat, Ziggy attempted to restore the ambience, “Alright! I believe it’s your turn, (Name).”

You nodded silently, pushing your anxiety to the back of your mind; Alistair had it handled, you were sure. It was about time he learned how to be responsible and apologise. 

You crawled to the middle of the circle and spun the bottle — not as fast as Alistair since you didn’t like the anticipation.

Your eyes wandered over to the door. Maybe it was because you were worried about Elsie’s mental state. Maybe it was because you didn’t completely trust Alistair with handling her emotions.

You felt Brian tap your thigh. “(Name)? You’re not gonna like this.”

“Hm?” You snapped your attention back to the room, gaze falling onto the bottle pointing in the opposite direction. Your eyes slowly lifted to see who the person you were supposed to kiss.

That’s when you realised what Brian meant by you not liking who it landed on.

You and Cedric’s gazes connected, a tornado of emotion whirling in your eyes, a storm of hatred between you.

“Alright, now, please, proceed to kiss.” Ziggy insisted.

“I pass.”

“So do I.”

You and Cedric glared at one another. There was no way you were kissing that dickhead. You’d rather die, and you could say the feeling was mutual for him.

Ziggy groaned, “Don’t stall. As a punishment, you’ve got to kiss for at least ten seconds. Now, my little lovebirds, kiss before I make you use your tongues.” Your neck started heating up at the thought.

You don’t know what made you do it — maybe curiosity, maybe Ziggy’s threat, possibly something else — but you shuffled closer to Cedric, who, noticing that you were complying, decided to do it as well, refusing to back down from your nonexistent challenge.

Your heartbeat in your chest, your breath quickened from nervousness, or perhaps you were nauseated enough by him that your adrenaline energised you.

“Reminder: ten seconds!” you perceived Ziggy’s voice in the background, “We’ll count for you.”

You took a deep breath through your nose, eyes flickering from Cedric’s lips to his cold grey eyes, and leaned in. Noticing you had already taken action, the Hufflepuff hesitantly did the same.

You closed your eyes and felt his lips brush against yours before connecting in a surprisingly soft kiss.

“Ten,” you faintly heard the other students chant, counting along in your head.

His lips were rather soft, you noted, subconsciously pressing your mouth harder against his.

“Nine.”

An unknown feeling crept into your chest, as you and Cedric, seemed to be pressing up against one another, while also desperately trying to pull away.

Eight.

Your heartbeat quickened, a thumping drum against your ribcage.

Seven.

Your hot neck kept getting hotter, uncomfortably so, as the kiss prolonged. It hadn’t even been five seconds — or perhaps it had been and your peers were just teasing you, intentionally taking their time counting.

Six.

You imagined what Brian might have looked like at the current moment. Shocked? Annoyed? You knew if Alistair saw you and Cedric, lip to lip, he would have flipped a table.

You breathed through your nose, in sync with your rival, like waves pulling in and out from the tide. 

How long had you and Cedric been kissing? Had it already been ten seconds? Should you pull away? Or was it not over yet, and if you stopped, you had to restart the whole experience?

A small voice in your head spoke, a whisper of wind echoing through your thoughts. Maybe you should stay like this for a bit longer. It wasn’t like you didn’t enjoy it. Cedric’s lips were soft and warm.

In that instant, your body felt burning, as if a sudden wave of embarrassment decided to envelop you, like a heated reminder that you’ve been kissing the one person in the entire room you felt hostility towards.

Oh shit. 

You backed away, an odd sense of unfulfillment in your racing heart as your lips parted from Cedric’s.

You looked at him, into his gorgeous stone grey eyes, and, if you weren’t blushing already, you were now.

You scrambled up, trying to maintain a decently dignified composer. Your jaw tightened, and your (eye colour) eyes hardened into cold gems, not a single emotion behind your gaze.

“I’m leaving,” you announced to the group, still staring at Cedric. The world around him and you faded like a smoky memory.

Slowly, you backed away, attempting to ignore the hotness of your nape and the thumping of your heart, beating loudly in your eardrums until you finally broke eye contact with the Hufflepuff as you walked back into the main party space.

...

Thank you for reading, please comment any suggestions you have or any issues I should fix.

If y'all are interested, here's how I imagined Elsie would look during the party.

Chapter 3 is out!

[theborzoiarebackintown]

Life is a lot at the moment and I may be MIA for a bit. Margo encapsulates how we’re feeling pretty well lol

[taurusicidal]

i hate being the nicest person! just for them to turn around and say things behind my back!

[femmefatalevibe]

how do i deal with an overcompetitive best friend? Shes usually the top student of our class btw. She looks to see where i've reached in my studies by looking at my books while studying, she tries to fact-check some of the stuff i say and talks loudly abt the mistakes i made in my wording of my sentences. She also gets visibly upset and quiet when i get stuff right or start studying in class. Do you think she's aware if her actions + any tips?

Most people's bad behavior is a reflection of their inner turmoil, not an accurate reflection of your behavior/actions/qualities – unless there's some sort of direct action(s)/comment(s) you made that could be their rationale for their attitude toward you.

There's a good chance she prioritizes her status as an academic achiever and her success in this area blinds her to any sense of social graces/empathy towards others in this area of her life. This could mean she bases her identity primarily on her intellect/being the highest achiever vs. interpersonal relationships/image (not a good thing per se, but a possibility to consider).

To determine whether this rude behavior is in any way personal (she does it only to you or to anyone who displays academic prowess/success), you will need to speak to her. Explain to her that it makes you upset when she does "XYZ" behaviors (like loudly announcing your mistakes), and ask her why she feels the need to do this?

If she gets defensive when you say that you enjoy learning and understanding the material too and, as a friend, you should be hyping each other up, distance yourself from her. It is not personal, but you can't tell someone to prioritize their relationships over their ego – they need to make that decision for themself. If she gets embarrassed/apologetic, congrats on building a stronger friendship and helping others gain higher levels of self-awareness.

Hope this helps xx

[arandombiped]

yall help I broke off a friendship over text but I messed up big time by leaving it open-ended because now I am a jittery ball of anxiety trying not to explode

context under the cut, cw for transphobia/enbyphobia

So I’ve known this guy since we were like 7 (we’re both 17). We live down the street from each other, we had a lot of similar interests and stuff, but once I started questioning my identity and figuring things out, he was pretty resistant to me changing. When I told him I was aroace, he basically just said no, and that I just had to wait for the right guy. When I told him I was enby, I learned from my mistakes and told him over text. He never responded. He never changed what he called me.

This past Monday, I texted him this:

Hey I know it’s been a while since we brought up my pronouns, so I wanted to ask your comfort level on actually using they/them for me 

and I got no response. So today I sent:

👆genuine question, you could even just put it on a scale from 1-10

and he finally replied, saying that he was at a 1-2. I asked if there was anything I could do to raise that comfort level. He said no because it was his “personal stance on the subject.” I told him this (just gonna keep copying because this was a kinda long interaction)

well, I do hope you can see it’s a bit more than a personal preference for me. It does really get tiring to be referred to as something I’m not. I just kinda wanted to get a gauge and give you a heads up, because I’m at a point where I’m going to be correcting people when they’re using the wrong ones, including yall in the friend group. If you are at all curious about why this matters so much to me, just let me know and I’ll do my best to explain when I’m ready 

And I am being very genuine and honest here. I really did just want to see where his comfort level was, because I know that it would have a pretty big impact on me going forward. But to this he said:

From my perspective calling you they/them is calling you something you aren’t, and I did not say preference, I said stance meaning that I do not condone your decision on this matter.

chat do you know the willpower it took to not strangle a man today

I took a minute after this text to consult with the one friend of mine who I usually vent to about this guy, then spent about 30 minutes writing this in response (it’s gonna be long):

Firstly I just want to say, I hold no grudges towards you and I truly value our friendship. We have known each other since we were in the second grade, and I am very happy that we were able to be friends. But my identity is not your choice to make. My identity is not an opinion or something to joke about or something I have “chosen.” You don’t get to “condone” or “not condone,” it just IS. If you are unable to accept the reality of who I am as a person, then we are not required to continue this relationship. I will likely continue to interact with you at school and at D&D, but I will take no initiative to be around you. This part of me isn’t going away anytime soon. If you are unwilling to make space for me in your life because of your personal stance, then I am not going to wait around for you. If you are willing to reconsider your stance, then I will be willing to continue being friends with you. Either way, I wish you the best and I hope you can understand.

He hasn’t responded since. I’m not even sure if he’s read it. But now I’m dealing with the anxiety of being stuck with no response. I’m defaulting to not being friends anymore, but it’s just really rough.

[choucon]

Would you stay if I needed?

[the-bimbo-bunny]

okay y'all listen

TLDR: my friend who was the Aziraphale to my Crowley did the same thing Azi did at the end of season 2 (but worse) and it ended up only validating my kin

for almost 20 years (I'm 23) I had a best friend who ended up kinda being my Aziraphale friend. after basically our whole lives of being friends we both got really into Good Omens, they borrowed my book, we binged season 1 together, and (after it being announced years later) anxiously awaited season 2 to binge as well. after season 2 we only resonated with the characters more and it became a really comforting bit calling each other Aziraphale and Crowley (we're neurodivergent and got attached to the fictional characters, sue me) It was very wholesome and fun, and I mean hell they even threw me a Good Omens and Jimmy Buffett themed surprise party (again, neurodivergent)

like dude they even made me this cake!

then like a week later they literally did the worst thing they could've possibly done (not going into detail here) and just up and abandoned me and everyone else for something that is genuinely hopeless and they're the only one not able to see it.

so, obviously we're all heartbroken bc we lost someone who meant the world to us, but uhhhhhhh

weirdest fucking way to validate my kin but like damn okay, ig I am Crowley lmao

[yourlnterlude]

yall can we be moots pls i need friends i just had to drop my two main ones because they became friends w my ex and I didn’t have a good feeling about it

please I need friends 😕

[v1xv4p0rub]

Anyone have any songs they recommend about hating your friend's boyfriend? I'm trying to make a playlist. Please leave recs or boost

[answertotheuniverse]

friend drama really sucks and i never knew how much until recently

to all the chill people stuck in the middle: a toast, to not knowing wth to do 🥂

[evilynapple]

it’s time for realizing that sometimes i just gotta suffer through drama even if I didn’t cause it

[mosquego359]

𖤐One Kiss and A Quidditch Match — Chapter 4: Beauxbatons and Durmstrang𖤐

Prologue (recommended to read)

Chapter 3 (previous)

Pair: Cedric Diggory x Male Slytherin Reader

Word count: 2.7K words

Summary of the book: You and Cedric Diggory hate each other. It has always been this way. But everything changes one night when you kiss each other at a party. Now, it seems you can’t escape each other — from being partnered up in Herbology for an important project to having to help Cedric during the Triwizard Tournament.

Summary of the chapter: Two weeks after you became partners with Cedric, Hogwart's Rival Schools arrive.

Notes: Please comment anything I should change to improve this. Also, I am not British so I am not 100% sure how to correctly write people from the UK. Also, Wix is the gender neutral term for witch and wizard and, like in the books Durmstrang and Beauxbatons are a school with mixed genders. This is the video I'm basing for the guests' introduction.

Content warning: One curse word. It's also a bit fruity.

!PLEASE DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE WITHOUT PERMISSION OR CREDITS TO ME!

...

Around a week or two later, you decided to hang out more with Alistair. Your judgy grudge against him had dimmed to a slight annoyance, and the two of you agreed to not bring it up.

It was now the 30th of October, and Hogwarts’ rival schools, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were to arrive in the evening. You personally hadn’t given the Triwizard Tournament much though for you were too young to participate and not keen on putting your life in dangerous situations.

The rest of your friends, however — particularly Alistair and Ziggy — were buzzing with anticipation.

And that was how you, Brian and Ziggy’s friend — whom you found out was named Roman Conyngham — silently watched Ziggy and Alistair passionately fantasise about the Triwizard Tournament.

Their conversation buzzed around the air of the grand Dining Hall, a complex and complicated interaction that caused you to zone out from boredom. Your eyes strayed from any of the boys you were with and to Elsie, Winnie and Destiny, sitting together at the Hufflepuff table.

Your mind shifted to the day you and Cedric became partners. 

After class, you watched as Elsie rapidly marched away from the classroom, Destiny by her side. You swore you saw her glance back at you before finally disappearing into the corridor.

At lunchtime, you swiftly devoured your meal, curious yet concerned for Elsie. She was often serious, and that meant what she would tell you was something important. It was probably rather personal since, if it wasn’t, she would have informed you on the spot.

You craned your neck to see if she was still in the great hall — which she was not — before heading to the library with a goodbye from Brian and Winnie. 

It wasn’t hard finding Elsie; she was pacing by a window at the corner of the library — your usual studying spot.

“Elsie?” You said softly to grab her attention.

Her head snapped up, and — with a furrow in your brow — you noticed a stressed look in her golden eyes. She gestured for you to come closer, simultaneously looking around for any snooping students.

“(Name),” she paused, nervously playing with her hair, “It’s about the party…”

You nodded carefully as curious thoughts circled your mind. Was this about Alistair?

“You see, after the whole…fiasco with Campbell,” Elsie cringed, “I went to the drink table since I was looking for Winnie. And I may have taken a couple too many shots. So I was drunk when I finally found Winnie. Stay with me on this, alright?”

You arched a brow. This was about her? Was there drama between them you didn’t know of? If so, why had they been so friendly with one another since the party? Sure, they seemed a bit off at some points, but you didn’t think too much of it.

Elsie glanced nervously to the side, “Winnie agreed to tell you. Please don’t say anything to Alistair, (Name). We’re telling Brian later.”

“You can trust me.” You promised, “Take your time.”

Tugging her brown curls, Elsie stayed silent momentarily, staring at your eyes. You saw how hesitant she was about the conversation and mentally applauded her for opening up to you. She inhaled a big breath, “I kissed Winnie.”

“So, Alistair, how do you feel with your little sis getting along with your ex?” Ziggy asked, snapping you out of your daze.

Alistair shrugged but looked visibly uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat as he replied, “Eh, don’t care much for it. I mean, Winnie can do whatever; I don’t control her life.” He puffed his fringe out of his face.

Ziggy and Roman shared a look, and the former responded in mild disbelief, “Yeah, of course.”

Personally, you were glad that they were all finally getting along, but a small pang of jealousy shot into your heart when you recalled barely talking to them for the entire day. In DADA, they had moved their seats to the back where Destiny sat, and you barely saw them in Herbology because of your project with Cedric Diggory.

Professor Sprout had given you a different room to work in, and when you came out covered in cuts and bruises from the Snargaluff, your class would joke that you were physically fighting.

For example, earlier that day, the Snargaluff was particularly peeved and somehow tangled you and Cedric in its bulky vines. You felt embarrassed to say that Professor Sprout had to rescue you from its grasp.

Needless to say, you felt triumphant when Cedric had to hobble to the nurse to get his scratches checked. Apparently, the Snargaluff’s vines had squeezed his leg so hard it turned blue, thus causing him to get healed. You, on the other hand, felt fine despite an ache in your core and a few scrapes from being compressed by the plant.

You admitted that you felt an odd pang of pity seeing your usually all-powerful rival limp out of the class like a fragile bird. You weren't used to seeing his vulnerable side.

Hands-on your cheek, you glanced over to where he was sitting with his friends. He was laughing, his perfect pearly smile gleaming charmingly. You felt as if some of the girls you knew thought of him as a fairy prince with those gorgeous grey eyes and soft-looking brown hair.

The last time you saw him was in the hallway, walking to his next class, which you believed to be his Transfiguration class. His leg was still in a cast, but he looked to be trying to apply some weight to it with the help of his mates and a mutual friend of yours — Chunhua Chang, also known as Cho.

A wave of warmth subconsciously flooded your heart at the thought of him recovering from the incident. You were honestly glad of his healing and smiled when you noticed he was recounting something to his friends. He was so…

Wait, what were you thinking? 

You shook your head, and despite no one being able to hear your thoughts, your neck grew warm in embarrassment. Sure, you were mildly aware of your attraction to boys, but there was no way you liked Cedric Diggory of all people.

You felt a nudge from your right, “You doing okay, man? Your face looks a bit red,” Roman asked in concern. Sometimes, you were glad most of the other students were ignorant of your odd condition.

“I’m alright, thank you for your worry, Roman,” You smiled calmly at him, and he shrugged.

“Did you see the chariot outside?” you heard a 4th Year student to your left ask her friend with excitement, “Today is the day the foreign students arrive!”

Her friend giggled, “Ahh! Do you think there’ll be any cute boys?”

“Obviously,” the first girl huffed, “French boys are hot.”

“What about those at Durmstrang?”

“Don’t even think about it, Emily! I heard they are troublemakers. Apparently they’ve been cheating at the Triwizard Tournament for years. I doubt any good guys go to that dreadful place.”

You turn away from their conversation, feeling rather awkward listening to a bunch of children for information regarding Hogwarts’ rival schools. Luckily for you, Ziggy and Alistair were now gushing about the games. 

“Hey, Brains, do you think the new schools will arrive soon, I’m starting to get hella impatient,” Alistair huffed and nudged Brian, who was snoozing off. You stifled a laugh at his confused expression.

“Huh?” He asked, and you swore you saw drool trickling down his chin.

“When will we get introduced to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang?” You rephrased Alistair’s question, leading forward curiously.

“So you were listening!” Ziggy jumped in.

Brian ignored him and frowned, “Well, I expect Dumbledore to give us a speech any minute now. I believe he is waiting for the rest of the students to settle in their seats. Surely he won’t make us sit here impatiently for long.”

You craned your neck to the entrances of the Great Hall, noting not a single student in sight seemed to be trickling in. Everyone was here so why wasn’t Dumbledore doing anything.

As if your thoughts were a trigger, the old headmaster stood up from his chair, and, like a magnet, attracted the attention of all the students. Despite your dislike for him because of how he favoured Gryffindor and detested Slytherin, you admitted he was rather excellent at drawing everyone’s eyes to him.

“Well now that we’re all settled in and sorted, I’d like to make an announcement.” Dumbledore commenced. The door to the main entrance cracked open and Filch scrambled over to the headmaster as he continued, causing a few students — including yourself — to chuckle at his silly run, “This castle will not only be your home this year, but home to some very special guests as well.”

The old man paused to listen to what Filch had to say. He nodded carefully, whispering something in his ear before continuing his speech. “You see, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event: The Triwizard Tournament.” You glanced at the Hufflepuff table, seeing how Cedric’s friends were teasing him and the way he smiled in mild embarrassment. A pang of jealousy shot through your heart. It wasn’t fair that he got to compete, and you weren’t. You were just as powerful, perhaps even more. 

“Now, for those of you who do not know, the Triwizard Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. For each school, a single student is chosen to compete. Now, let me be clear, if chosen, you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint-hearted, but more on that later. For now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies and men of the Beauxbatons academy of magic and their headmistress: Madame Maxime!”

The doors of the main entrance slid open, and a bunch of students your age strutted in, perfectly in sync and classical music played as they walked.

They were all dressed in a similar fashion: a silky, baby blue uniform with an elegant poncho and small hat. The girls wore skirts over lights while the few boys wore tight-fitting pants that totally did not make you stare at their asses. 

You heard Alistair whistle when they passed. The girl's repressed smiles at his flirtatious move. 

At some point in the song, they extended their arms with a very flowy movement, making you realise they were dancing. They then separated themselves into two groups and lined up in a v formation in front of the students.

A tall woman dressed in furs and leopard prints walked after her students. She had to be at least 2.5 meters if not more. You assumed she was the headmistress, Madam Maxime, as you and many others gaped at her. 

Ziggy and you shared a look, and he mouthed, “She’s humongous.”

In front of her, two students performed a gymnastic choreography, elegantly bowed to their headmistress and finally stepped into the lines their fellow students were placed in. 

Hogwarts erupted into applause, and a few wix even stood up. However, you spotted many girls in the room with disapproving looks on their faces.

Dumbledore carefully took Madame Maxime’s hand and placed a respectful kiss on it. He then walked a bit higher up on the steps and quickly silenced the crowd with his hands.

Alistair whispered to your group with a smirk, “Did you see the pretty blonde one?”  But he was quickly hushed by a few people to his left.

Your eyes scanned the Beauxbaton girls until you spotted one of the girls who bowed to Madame Maxime next to the Hufflepuff table. Her hair was a golden blonde, wrapped in a ponytail, and the front curled around her jaw like a perfect ribbon, framing her glowing face. Even at a distance, you could tell she was stunning.

“And now, our friends from the north!” Dumbledore boomed, grabbing your attention, “Please great proud sons and daughters of Durmstrang and their headmaster Igor Karkaroff.”

A more sombre music started playing along with drums. A band of mostly boys marched in, occasionally hitting their staff on the group and shouting on time with the music. They stuck their staffs forward and twirled them, performing a simple yet powerful choreography as they neared the front with the Beauxbaton students, who had moved to the sides next to the wall.

Suddenly, they rushed forward, and two of them executed a series of somersaults and gymnastics, breakdancing their way where the Beauxbatons students once were while the others placed themselves in a v shape.

Two men entered the Great Hall, and you heard Ziggy and Alistair gasp, and Roman whispering, “Is it really him?”. This caused you to recognise one of those faces as the famous Bulgarian Seeker, Viktor Krum. 

You assumed the mean-looking man in white behind him was the headmaster Igor Karkaroff. You finally noticed a smaller man trailing them, dressed in grey.

The two students who breakdanced blew fire from their wands like dragons, controlling it to make it resemble a phoenix, giving the other students a little spectacle.

When the fire disappeared, they rapidly lined themselves up with the others, making way for Karkaroff and Hogwarts erupted in applause. The Beauxbatons students clapped respectfully.

The headmaster of Durmstrang walked up to Dumbledore, who spread his arms wide in greeting, and they both hugged each other, patting each other on the back in a friendly manner.

Once Karkaroff had moved to the side, Dumbledore cleared his throat to grab the student’s attention from the attractive Beauxbaton candidates, the gymnasts from Durmstrang and Krum.

“Please, please, take a seat, you all, make yourselves at home,” Dumbledore smiled at the crowd of guests. The students shared a look before ultimately choosing their tables. Luckily for you, Durmstrang had chosen the Slytherin one and had settled into their seats. Krum sat next to Alistair and across from Ziggy, who both started shifting in their seats in excitement.

But before they could say anything, Dumbledore spoke.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and — most particularly — guests. I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable.” You heard a snicker from the Ravenclaw table and rolled your eyes at the disrespect.

“The Tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast,” Dumbledore continued, “I now invite you all to eat, drink and make yourselves at home!”

Through the meal, Viktor Krum, Ziggy and Alistair started having a conversation while you and your two other friends talked quietly amongst yourself.

Brian and Roman were rather alike: calm and collected, introverted and you found out Roman was a top student in most of his classes. At first, it confused you since you never saw him until he mentioned being in Year 7.

“You gotta have someone to control that energetic idiot,” he shrugged when you asked him about being friends with Ziggy.

Speaking of him, he and Alistair were gushing over Krum, whom you noticed was rather unresponsive. It wasn’t until the Quidditch player glanced at his peers and shifted in his seat that you realised he didn’t like the attention. You felt pity; he was worldwide famous and yet never enjoyed the attention.

At the end of the meal, Dumbledore brought in something called the Goblet of Fire and when he started speaking of signing up for the Triwizard Tournament, you tuned out, a jealous hole forming in your heart. 

Like Alistair, you wanted to participate, but in contrast, you were too young. You recalled the Weasley twins complaining about it in the hallway earlier that day, and despite your indifference to them, you couldn’t help but relate.

Your eyes drifted away from the headmaster to the Hufflepuff table, first to your girl friends, then to Cedric Diggory. To your surprise, he was already staring. Since you were competitive, you instinctively kept your eyes on him until he turned away.

Slowly, you faced the front again. You felt heat rushing to your cheeks and neck for the second time tonight. Your hands were cold, so you pressed them to where your skin felt warm.

Merlin’s Beard, what was happening to you?

[nixierain]

Normal antics in my friend group

Friend: "Roll to smite Rain"

*rolls a nat. 20*

Me: "I am smitten"

Friend: *dies internally* "Thats not what that means!!"

Me: "Oh yeah...."

[taurusicidal]

some people in my circle have been testing me lately and it’s ruining my patience. sorry if i haven’t been active here.

i’m just trying to protect my peace and everyone else.

[femmefatalevibe]

Hi femme! I was wondering if you could do something about not talking shit and staying out of drama? Tysmmm I love what you do and you're so amazing <33

Hi love! Thank you so much! This comment made me smile from ear to ear <333

I would say there are a few easy motivators to opt out of gossiping/stay out of drama:

Staying silent in the realm of gossip/drama/people talking shit saves your reputation by default. Opting out of drama is one of the best PR campaigns you can implement for yourself. This strength allows you to pursue/strengthen opportunities, connections, and relationships with those who succumb to this low-brow energy and no longer have access due to their desire for instant gratification

Remember that any energy and time spent investing in drama/gossip correlates to less energy/time you can spend working on yourself, your goals, and the things you enjoy. With this in mind, involving yourself in gossip sounds like a lose-lose situation to me

Staying out of negativity will almost certainly lead you to be a more positive person by default. Like attracts like at the end of the day. Don't let other people's drama, hangups, or issues get you down. You deserve better than that

Hope this helps xx

[azzyangelfish]

Not redacted related content but just a mini rant for a sec:

I have a friend that emotionally manipulative. Whether she does it on purpose or not I don’t know but she emotionally abused my other friend during their relationship. And now that they broke up and he’s setting boundaries with her, she’s coming to me and saying ‘I’m so pathetic’ and ‘I need him to get better so I can get better’ shit like that. And when I tell her that it’s not about her she goes ‘well that doesn’t make it hurt any less’ and ‘I already hate myself Azrael.’ And I just…I dunno what to do anymore. I’ve never been in this situation and I can’t talk to anyone about it because of the nature of the break up. I feel like such a shitty friend all around…anyways sorry for the rant. We’ll be back to scheduled Redacted content soon! (If you have any adobe feel free to comment or message me cause I’d appreciate it <3)