The question did nothing other but further confuse him. He didn't know what he'd thought she'd understand. That he wanted to keep it a secret? The reason for keeping it a secret? Or did he think she'd understand that he liked Sloane and couldn't stop himself from pursuing it? Now that he thought about it, he wasn't quite sure what had Alice so angry to begin with.
"I just... Well... You know how Sisse took it. She saw it as some grand betrayal for keeping it a secret, as if telling anyone was the sensible thing to do," he explained, struggling to keep his breath steady as his heart filled with fear. His feelings for Alice may not have been romantic, but she was important to him—more important, maybe, than Sisse was to Sloane. She was the one other girl in Gryffindor apart from Sloane that he felt comfortable sharing his emotions with, and now she stood in front of him, angry at having discovered one of his deepest emotions. Even if it didn't qualify as a betrayal on her end, he felt vulnerable in a way that he'd never felt with her before.
"I'm not worried about you or anyone else tattling. I'm just worried about the wrong person overhearing it, discovering it. The more people who know, the more dangerous. It's logical." It was the best appeal he could make to her.
"I just... Well... You know how Sisse took it. She saw it as some grand betrayal for keeping it a secret, as if telling anyone was the sensible thing to do," he explained, struggling to keep his breath steady as his heart filled with fear. His feelings for Alice may not have been romantic, but she was important to him—more important, maybe, than Sisse was to Sloane. She was the one other girl in Gryffindor apart from Sloane that he felt comfortable sharing his emotions with, and now she stood in front of him, angry at having discovered one of his deepest emotions. Even if it didn't qualify as a betrayal on her end, he felt vulnerable in a way that he'd never felt with her before.
"I'm not worried about you or anyone else tattling. I'm just worried about the wrong person overhearing it, discovering it. The more people who know, the more dangerous. It's logical." It was the best appeal he could make to her.
