September 26th, 1890 — Hogwarts Courtyard

He wasn't quite sure what to do or how to console her, but Cameron knew he needed to be there for her.

After asking him to stay behind so she could deal with it, Sloane had apparently gotten into a fight—a real fight—with Sisse of all people. Cameron had always considered the girls total opposites: Sloane was sporty, loud, and brash, while Sisse favored more feminine pastimes and had always been more quiet and contemplative. He wasn't yet sure what exactly had happened, but he couldn't imagine an alternative. He'd stumbled across Sloane positioned strategically out of sight at the far end of the courtyard against the wall and behind one of the larger oak trees. He wouldn't have found her unless he'd been actively looking for her, and at the sight of her tear-stained face he'd almost wished he hadn't.

Cameron was not good at dealing with crying girls—even Sloane, who he cared about probably more than any of the other girls at school apart from his own siblings. He'd proven that this past summer, when his way to deal with the tears he'd caused her was to argue with her until she was too distracted to continue crying.

He wordlessly sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around his elbows, looking over at her with a frown stretched across his lips. He didn't know what to do say, so he simply scooted a bit closer and pressed his shoulder into hers.

"I take it she didn't react well?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't be angry with him for stating the obvious.

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Sloane Bixby

  

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That was that then. She couldn't go more than a month without a major argument or have a year where she wasn't speaking to one of her friends.

Maybe she was a terrible friend after all.

As soon as she'd turned the corner away from Sisse, she'd sprinted outside, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked for somewhere to hide. It had crossed her mind to go back and find Cameron, but it was unlikely he was still in the classroom by then. She'd found shelter in the corner of the courtyard behind a giant oak and slumped down in the roots to cry it out.

Sloane didn't even need to look up to know if was Cam who'd found her and she wasn't sure if she was thankful or thoroughly embarrassed. She settled on glad to have his company if nothing else.

She quieted after a few moments, rubbing her eyes with a tear-stained sleeve before looking over at him. Her hair was mostly blue and she couldn't be bothered to change it back. "She pretty much told me I'm an awful friend because I didn't tell her about how I felt about you or about us." No matter that it was literally the only secret she'd ever kept from her friends. "I never told anyone until I told you. I didn't think it was anyone else's business but ours." She still felt that way, even if Sisse had succeeded in making her feeling guilty about it.

"Maybe she's right, I can't go more than a month without an argument with someone I care about or a year without someone not speaking to me." She sniffled and put her head back down on her forearms as a fresh wave of tears threatened to take over again.

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Cameron reached a hand over and caught her braid between his fingers, but stroked it gently instead of tugging on it like he normally would. He'd seen her hair blue before, but never so entirely; it didn't suit her the way warmer colors like pink and yellow did, even against her striking blue eyes. He supposed such a sad color wasn't meant to suit anyone.

"I'm sorry," he said dumbly, frankly shocked that Sisse Thompsett of all people would be making such accusations. She'd seemed to kind, so mild-mannered in the more than three years he'd known her. "It's not true, though. You know that, right?" The argument was ridiculous anyways. Surely Sisse hadn't expected to be informed about their relationship or any of the feelings that came before it. It wasn't as if they were in their mid-twenties and a crush was some sort of precursor to engagement. What they had—whatever it was—was not allowed.

"If you're talking about the arguments with me, I'd argue that they weren't rooted in friendship." At least on his end it wasn't. Worrying about her charm bracelet—ha! It was most definitely not something he would have worried about with any other friend. "But I'm sorry she acted like that. I don't know why it would bother her so much anyways." If Sisse was mad at Sloane, was she mad at him? They were friends, too, and Cameron had never told her how he felt towards Sloane. Why the double standard? (Then again, she might very well be mad at him. He hadn't had much of an opportunity to clear things up. Maybe he should have gone.)

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   Sloane Bixby

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"Isn't it though?" She sobbed from her sleeve. "I'm the common ground, always." Maybe she really was bad at being friends. Was this how things were going to go for the next four years? One by one were they going to stop talking to her until she had nobody left? What if Sisse did tell somebody else? Then what kind of issues would it cause between their previously tight-knit group of friends?

Cam's attempts to reassure her were appreciated, but she was already spiraling downward with no bottom in sight. She'd always gotten along better with boys until school and then her roommates had been so easy to get along with. Then as they got older it seemed to get harder and harder. "The reason Alice took off last week, that night after studying, was because she thought she didn't fit in with us." If Sloane had been paying attention, she might have noticed, but she hadn't. Why were things so easy with Cam and even Ned, but now all of her other friendships were falling apart? She wrapped her arms more tightly around her legs and pressed her forehead into her knees instead.

"I just don't understand, she looked so betrayed, like I'd committed the worst act a friend could do." She just didn't get it.

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His frowned deepened as she continued sobbing. He couldn't argue his way out of this one, not when he was firmly on her side. He wasn't aware that there had been so much drama within the Gryffindor girls lately—now Sisse, and apparently Alice, too?

"It sounds like our friends are way more insecure than they should be," he said, and it made perfect sense. During their fight he'd been insecure, and Sisse was obviously insecure in their friendship if she felt entitled to know Sloane's feelings and personal matters. The matter with Alice confused him to the core. What did she mean, she didn't fit in? She was practically a sister to him! As much as he loved her, it sounded like yet another instance of Sloane's friends being insecure in their friendships. Maybe this was what everyone went through at this age. Somehow, he doubted it.

Cameron reached around her curled up form and pulled her against his body, his hand coming to a rest on her waist. It was the most he could do here; they might have been hidden from most angles, but it was still Hogwarts. He wished they could have this conversation in his family's backyard in Godric's Hollow, where there was plenty of room and privacy.

"But it doesn't make sense with Sisse, really," he continued, hoping to find a point of logic that might resonate with her just long enough to stop the tears. He'd definitely have a word for Sisse later. "Because if I walked in on her snogging, say, Ned, I'd probably pretend to gag. Or actually gag," he commented, his nose involuntarily scrunching at the thought. "Who wants to hear about their two friends snogging? You know?" The more he thought about it, the less sense it actually made.

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Getting close had already gotten them in trouble tonight, but Sloane was incredibly thankful for him at this very moment. She leaned into him gratefully, still wrapped around herself, but starting to run out of steam for tears.

What he said made sense, but it only made Sloane blame herself more. Maybe if she were a better friend, they wouldn't question her friendship. If she paid attention to those stupid girly talks and participated, maybe she wouldn't be missing whatever piece it was she'd lost.

Tears still fell, as she turned the situation over and over in her head. Why, why did Sisse care so much about it? What did it matter other than it could get them in trouble? That was not what Sloane had just gotten out of her argument with Sisse.

Then he said it and her head snapped up, eyes red and puffy, cheeks wet. "That's it," She gasped quietly and then pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. Sometimes she was able to think like a girl, but it took a long while to get there. "Right, because you don't fancy Sisse, it would be a non-issue, but if you did and she was kissing somebody else..." If Sisse had also been harboring a crush on Cam then the reaction was starting to make sense. "How could I be so stupid?" She mumbled, sighing softly. "I really am a terrible friend." The problem was, what could she even do about it?

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For nearly thirty seconds, Cameron tried to wrap his head around what she was saying, tried to grasp her meaning. He sat in silence, his gaze flickering between Sloane's blue hair and the small staircase that led into the courtyard behind it. Sisse shouldn't care, but she did, and Sloane thought... what? "You think Sisse fancies... me?" he asked finally, unconvinced but not able to claim for sure that she didn't.

Sisse had never been anything more than friendly with him. She'd been his tutor, his Divination partner, a friend he sat with at breakfast on the days where he'd woken up so early that he'd considered pouring hot tea in his lap so he could escape class to nap in the hospital wing. He supposed before this year there hadn't been any indication that Sloane liked him either, but at least they'd always been close! Similar interests! Bonded over shared academic struggles! Sisse was just a girl he knew, and he was just... a boy she knew. Right? Right?

"I think you're wrong," he said, shaking his head. No, there had to be some other explanation. Sisse was such a girl; maybe she really had taken offense that Sloane would hide their relationship from her, in some twisted way that neither he nor Sloane could understand. "I don't treat her any different than Alice or Calla. Never. I'm just... Cameron."

But what if she did? He didn't know how girls operated, but he could only imagine what lengths Sloane might go to repair her friendship. She could break things off altogether to spare Sisse's feelings, or even abandon him entirely to prevent further pain. They'd only been together a week; she had no reason to keep trying if it cost her friendships. His gaze dropped to his lap and he felt his chest tighten.

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Too caught up in her own internal struggle, she wasn't paying any attention to how long it took Cam to piece together what she meant, but he did get there and all she could do was nod. He disagreed of course, but he was a boy after all and even though she was pretty terrible at being a girl, most of the time, it did click eventually.

They were far too alike for their own good. "Yeah well, I thought the same here, I'm just Sloane." One of the boys, teammate, adventuring buddy. She motioned between them halfheartedly as she finally took a shuddering breath to halt the tears. If she was right, and she'd figured it out, there wasn't anything she could do really. What? Give up what she and Cam had just started? Either way it was choosing one friend over another and she'd already gone an unbearable year without talking to Cam. It would sound absolutely terrible of her, but in reality, and even in spite of their blossoming little romance here; she was closer to Cam and after everything they'd been through, she couldn't just stop now.

"There's nothing I can do about it though, if she did- does, I don't know." She could now see why Sisse was upset about her not saying anything, but honestly, would it change anything? Sloane fancied Cam, who fancied her right back, it didn't involve anyone else. "Having to choose between friends is ridiculous," She sighed, feeling a slight headache starting to creep in. "But I'd choose you, every time." They had way too much history. She'd already tried to give up on him twice and he'd stuck it out; she would do the same for him.

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   Cameron Gillenwater

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She was right, at least where they concerned. It was still different, though; at least Sloane had a reason to like him, and there was nothing about him that he thought would be alluring to the prim and proper Sisse Thompsett. He was clueless in the classroom, rough on the quidditch pitch, and not at all in tune with feminine sensibilities. It was one of the reasons he was so drawn to Sloane. Still, Sisse and Sloane were close friends, and he didn't want to be the reason they fought.

"If it helps, I don't fancy her.I'd hope that's obvious by now." He'd have to face Sisse eventually, but he didn't know if he could bear to bring up their suspicions just in case they were wrong. He couldn't see himself teasing Sisse or begging her to tutor him knowing that she might want to be in Sloane's place. It felt weird, and that was only while speculating about it! If it was true... Merlin.

"I won't be the one to make you choose. She's still my friend, too. Or was my friend." Did Sloane want him to be friends with her? He could only imagine how jealous he'd feel if he found out that Ned fancied Sloane, and Sloane still went out of her way to spend alone time with him. He was probably being silly now, imagining up scenarios that didn't exist. He let his arm move from her waist back up her arm and to the back of her neck, where he ran a hand down her messy braid. He gave it a gentle tug, an expression of affection. "But I'm glad. It means I've done something right for once." He gave a little smile. Finally, after three years of constant bickering and on-and-off fighting, he wouldn't have to fight for her again. Not this time.

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Sloane managed a week chuckle; it was pretty obvious, but it was also nice to hear out loud all the same.

"No, no, I know, I would never make you choose either." She could handle everyone still being friends, she really wished that's how things were. It would be weird now though right? She highly doubted Sisse would be talking to her any time soon and she worried now that it would impact whatever friendship Cameron had with her as well. Ugh. At least she was secure enough with Cameron not to have to worry about him.

The smile that followed was better after he tugged on her braid. "Weird how far we've come in a year?" She shook her head a little in disbelief. "Thanks for coming after me, Cam." Wherever things fell after this at least she wouldn't be all alone.

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Cameron smiled in return, pleased with himself. In the past it was rare to find himself on this end of the argument—the comforting side, the right side. Usually it was Sloane who was angry with him, and probably Sisse, Ned or Alice who was trying help convince her not to break off their friendship. He knew Sisse would have been the voice of reason in their past arguments; she would have tried to convince Sloane to stay friends with him. He owed that much to her.

"Hopefully you won't have to choose," he said, knowing that if Sisse and Sloane's friendship became fractured it was likely that the others would start to wonder. How would Alice respond if Sisse and Sloane decided to sit at opposite ends of the Gryffindor table? What about Calla, Alice, or even Maddy? He would go with Sloane, and everyone else would be forced to put the pieces of their argument together, and that was the last thing he wanted. "Hopefully Sisse will get over it and everything will go back to normal. People say things they don't mean when they're angry, you know?" He hoped so. Sisse never seemed the type to say things in a fit of rage, but maybe crushes were a sore subject. He wouldn't know.

He gave her braid another little tug and nodded in response. "Weird how far we've came in the last month," he said, not forgetting that it had been almost a month to the day hat he'd cornered her in the High Street alleyway in a (successful) attempt to win her friendship back. "But no need to thank me. I'm always here for you," he said with a shrug. It was his job, he supposed, now that they'd entered a little romance. He'd have to find other ways to show his affection since they'd have to be more careful in the future. Way more careful.

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Sloane was not as confident as Cam sounded and all she could do was shrug a little at his optimism.  There was no way this was going to just blow over and she had absolutely no idea how to handle what was going to come next. Play it as normal as possible until somebody else noticed, she guessed. Sloane was still very much of the opinion that nobody else needed to know, but she had to wonder if the longer they held onto it, the bigger the fallout would be. She didn't think Sisse would tell anyone, despite having said the opposite earlier, but that would be hanging over her head too.

Cam was right on the second matter though. The last month had been a weird whirlwind of change some good, some bad and Sloane was wondering if she could successfully keep up of if everything was going to start crumbling around her. "Still, I appreciate it." She smiled softly at him and mopped up the rest of the tears from her face. Now she had to work out an avoidance plan. At least when she and Cam had been fighting in the past, she could always hide in her dorm. Unfortunately that was now the last place she wanted to be.

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Cameron moved to his feet and offered a hand to help her up. He would be there as he'd said, but he knew that there was only so much he could do regarding her friendships. She would have to go to her dorm, attend classes, and eat lunch in the vicinity of Sisse for, well, the rest of her time at Hogwarts. All he could do was offer moral support.

"I think everything will work itself out." As long as Sisse didn't snitch on them, and as long as they didn't get caught any longer. "I think it goes without saying that we'll need to be more careful. No more snogging where anyone can walk in on us." As difficult as dealing with Sisse would be from here forward, he was grateful that it was her and not anyone else. He smiled a sad smile, wishing he could steal a kiss or anything really, but they would have to wait until they could be truly alone. It was safer to sneak off during Hogsmeade weekends or—Merlin forbid—wait until Christmas to get proper alone time.

"But we'll manage, won't we?" he asked, touching the back of her hand but doing nothing more.

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Sighing dramatically, Sloane allowed herself to be pulled up from the ground. She probably looked like a hot mess, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Hopefully it didn't look too different than when she came in from flying. She gave Cam's hands a tight squeeze before moving them to try and smooth her hair back into place. It probably wasn't working. Judging by the greyish blue color at the ends, she was convinced it probably looked a fright. She took a moment to concentrate and make it brown again, but she thought it still had a tint to it.

She still wasn't as convinced as Cam, but she was going to keep it to herself; she wanted him to be right. Nodding along, she knew they were going to have to be far more careful getting here on out, which probably meant little to no actual time just the two of them alone alone, but they would have to make due.


Even if things looked a little bleak right now, she did think they, she and Cam, would make it work. "We'll manage just fine." They could make due until Hogsmeade weekends or Christmas break, certainly. She passed him a smile, looking up at the castle with hesitation. Now she had to find somewhere to hide.

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Cameron pulled a loose strand of hair from across her forehead and tucked it behind her ear, his bottom lip jutted out in a sad smile at her disheveled appearance. She might as well have come from the quidditch pitch, he thought—and after losing a game, probably.

"I'll still be here, you know, if you need company," he assured. She might need it in the coming days, or maybe even weeks. He truly believed the conflict would resolve itself, but it wouldn't be the first time he'd underestimated a girl's ability to hold a grudge. "Alone time or not, we can still be friends like usual. Nobody will suspect a thing." He might have to have Meta, Hestia, and possibly Maddy sit with them to make it seem like a quidditch thing every now and then, but everyone knew how they were with each other.

He watched her gaze up at the castle, and suddenly he had a thought.

"I can't believe I'm saying it, but that cat of yours might come in good use." The kitten, which was growing rapidly every day, was also smarter than the average cat, he'd noticed. "If you need to send a cryptic note to the boy's dorm... I think Splash could figure out a way."

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Smiling softly, Sloane took another deep breath and refocused.  She must have still looked a mess if Cam was helping to fix her hair. If she concentrated hard enough maybe she could fix the red eyes and the blue hair. Though she'd thought there wasn't much she could do, she may actually have a solution. She was a far cry from being proficient at her meta abilities, but she was starting to really get the hang of her hair and some minimal other things. It probably looked weird as she shifted the mess to something more presentable, but by the time she was done, her braid was neat again and the wisps that had escaped all over the place were back in place. "Better?" She looked upward comically at her hair, before holding out the neatened braid to inspect, adding pink at the ends for good measure.

"I know, I'll be alright." It would take a little getting used to, but she could likely figure it out. Just a new routine to avoid the dorm as much as possible. It would be easy until it got cold out, but even then it might not bother her. She didn't want Cam worrying unnecessarily about her.  Sloane didn't like being fussed over too much. "Right, like nothing's different." She chuckled at the irony. Everything was different, they just had to pretend like it wasn't- and hope Sisse did the same.

Thoroughly amused by his new use for Splash, Sloane bit her lip to contain the actual laugh that threatened to escape. "We'll have to figure out a code." She mused as she started toward the castle.

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