Ruining Everything (Josh)

Reaching up, she slid off the hair band and let her hair hang loose, running her hand gently through it. The wind had died down slightly, but there was still a cool breeze blowing in her direction. A perfect ending to a perfect day, she thought. Smiling to herself, she stood up, but didn't move towards the castle just yet. Joe had already left a few minutes ago, and she knew that curfew was soon approaching, but the view was too nice to pass up. Gazing at the reflection of the sun in the ripple-free mirror before her, she sighed happily. She was really beginning to like - no, she corrected, love - Joe, as a friend and more.

Already she felt herself blushing at the thought of him, and she giggled softly. She had never before felt something like this towards a boy, and the fact marveled her; she never thought she would find love. Hearing footsteps originating from somewhere behind her, her grin widened. "Forget something?" she asked, not turning around. It had to be Joe, she figured. Who else would be here at this time?

"Joe did."

The voice did not belong to Joe, that much she knew, but couldn't exactly place it. She turned her head slightly, catching a glimpse of green. So it was a Slytherin. Feeling something beginning to reach into her hair, she pulled away. "Who in the-" she started, shifting around to avoid the person's fingers and get a better look at them. She stopped short when she saw Josh kneeling there. "Josh?" she asked, confused. All her past interactions with him had shown that the Slytherin had no interest in her whatsoever. What, then, was he doing here?

"So now I get to play."

Frowning deeply, she stood up, beginning to get angry. "Play?" she repeated his choice of words. "Do you really think I am a toy?" She laughed without a trace of humour in her voice. "Go away and leave me alone." Taking off in a brisk walk, she brushed past Josh and started in the direction of the castle.

"Oh, no, that's Joe."

She didn't comment but those four words caused her mind to suddenly stop working. Although she didn't trust the Slytherin before her, she couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that statement. Joe was his... toy? Deciding it best to ignore him, she shot him a glare.

"And if you take another step away your little brother might just accidentally meet a bad fate. Or Joe might accidentally stumble over the side of the Astronomy Tower..."

Her entire body froze when she heard that. Surely he wouldn't... But something at the back of her mind told her that he was serious. Feeling the anger start to build up, she clenched her fist tightly, not daring to move. Slowly, very slowly, she turned around to face him, feeling the tips of her hair beginning to change to a darker shade of red as it did when she became enraged, which was very rare.

"Come here, Brooke."

She barely heard it over the sound of her mind yelling curses and profanities at him, but she did, and she knew she had to obey. In the heat of it all, blinded with anger at having Josh threaten two people she cared about, she snatched up her wand and marched straight over, pointing it directly in his face. "Don't. You. Dare. Hurt. Either. Of. Them," she spat, pronouncing each word out, one at a time to get her message clearly across.

"That... is entirely up to your decisions."

A spell was forming on the tip of her tongue as she saw his hand move towards the wand, but before she could utter the simple words, the wand had been taken. There was a loud crack, as though one of them had stepped on a twig, but she knew neither of their feet had moved, and slow realization seeped in. He wouldn't have, would he? Her heart lurched, wanting to look down at his hands, but also not wanting to take her eyes off of his; she chose the latter.

"You play to my games, or your little brother ends up like this."

Another flash of movement and her broken wand was hanging limply in front of her, and she switched focus onto it. "Tristan..." she whispered, the impact of his words really hitting home. What did she ever do to Josh for him to come at her like this?

"Do you understand, Walters?"

She gave a curt nod, finally dropping her gaze. "If I do what you want, you'll leave him alone, so just tell me what it is you need," she said softly, her voice threatening to break. Anything for my family, she thought to herself. Anything at all.

She waited, not able to bring herself to look up at him. Seconds ticked by, and the ant she had been following with her eyes had gone into a hole, disappearing from view. What was the Slytherin waiting for? She had already told him what he wanted to hear; that she would obey him. That was what he wanted, wasn't it? After what seemed like forever, she heard his barely audible voice and saw a shadow casting over the rock she was now looking at, knowing he had moved closer to her.

"I just need you."

She saw her wand hit the rough ground and roll down towards some grass. "Wha-" she started, but was interrupted when she felt his hand make contact with her face. Flinching slightly at his touch, she forced herself to remain still, to keep breathing. Tristan's face was all she could see, even as Josh's came closer and closer. Closing her eyes so she didn't have to watch what she knew was coming, she counted the seconds till she felt his lips come in contact with hers. Her first kiss, taken by a someone she barely knew. And for what? That she didn't know.

Joe's face flashed in her mind and she felt the tears start to form, but she would not let them fall. Her own moral conscience would not allow her to keep this from him, and she briefly wondered how he would react. Surely he would know she loved him and would never dream of cheating? But those thoughts were replaced instantly by ones of Tristan, and she knew she had no choice but to let Josh have his way.

How long passed before the Slytherin finally pulled away, she didn't know, nor did she ever want to find out. It had to be the worse thing she'd ever done, and already she felt the urge to throw up. But Josh's hand was still on her face, and with each stroke of his thumb against her cheek, she felt more and more repulsed.

"I'm sure Joe will be very proud of your right now. Remember him, every time you see me, won't you. And don't ever stop picturing him in your mind when you kiss me."

How tempting it would be to bring her leg up and kick the boy where it hurt most. But she didn't, because she had heard his warnings and knew he had meant them. She would prove him wrong, she thought, she would keep on loving Joe, because he was the first person she'd ever loved and she never wanted to lose him.

"You're going to break him, Walters. You and your weaknesses, they're going to break him."

He finally stopped touching her, and she felt relief, but a sense of horror as she noted the truth of his statement. She had to convince Joe that she did love him, that Josh had forced her to do it. And what were these weaknesses he was talking about? Caring for someone? Surely that was natural of any human being...

"I'll find you when I need you again."

She didn't reply, merely standing there, still, as she heard him walk away. When she next looked up, he was nothing but a shadow in the distance, and it was only then that she let the flood gates loose. The tears that she had been holding back all came at once, pouring down from her eyes uncontrollably, and she started to run. Running until she was too tired to run anymore, and then she fell down, somewhere in the forrest, and began to weep. It was only hours later that she emerged, eyes red and swollen, slipped into her dorm, and went into a deep sleep.