Long Time No See ((Closed))

[Padme Rendel S2]

Padme rushed on to the bus that would take her home. She couldn't believe what was happening. So fast. She had to catch her breath. She had almost been late to this bus and would have been late for dinner. Mother had said in her letter that she would have a special person over for dinner. Who? Wait...what? Padme's mind buzzed as she watched the people on the side-walk move slowly toward one destination. Home. Everyone was going home for the holidays. The roads were like-wise busy and the bus moved so slow it was nearly in inch per minute. Padme struggled to not fidget in her seat. Who could be coming? She was so excited she gripped her luggage hard and her knuckles turned white. Time to go home. Time to go home. Home? What was home? Hogwarts, or Tessa's house? She couldn't decide. She had actually missed Tessa over the long period of time at school, so know she was unsure where she belonged. This brought her back in time to painful memories. Padme refused to let herself think about those though. No time for ugly thoughts. It was Christmas!

The bus finally halted in front of Tessa Rendel's house. Finally. Even though Padme had rushed to catch this early bus, she was still a little late for the five o'clock dinner. She rolled her luggage on to the side-walk and up to the door. She paused. Should she knock or just.... go in? She ended up raising her fist and knocking. It vibrated through the house and then fell silent. They better be home...or Tessa. Who was they? She glared at the peep hole that was too high for her to peep through. Why were they that high anyway? She tapped her foot on the concrete when the door was flung open and Tessa stood in the doorway. She looked bright, lively, happy, fresh, and excited at the same time. She wore jeans that hugged her figure and a t-shirt. Snow was starting to drift from the sky and she was wearing a tight t-shirt? What next? "Padme!" Her mother cried and threw her arms around her. "Oh my gosh! You've grown!" Padme unlatched her mother's arms around her neck to avoid suffocation. "Thanks," she said, taking it as a compliment. She really did need to grow.

"Come on, darling. Your friend arrived just a while ago," Tessa smiled and took Padme's shoulders, steering them toward the kitchen. Friend? What friend? "Does it have to be a surprise?" Padme complained loudly. "I don't like surprises, Mother. You should know that much." Yep. She had said it. Possibly, she had ruined everything. Tessa's face wilted like a dying flower and her eyes flashed with tears. "I don't want to talk about that," Tessa said roughly, defying her appearance. She wiped her tears away before the could flow and brought a smile back to her lips again. Padme didn't say anything. She continued to walk forward until the reached the kitchen. The kitchen had always been smaller then the other room. A small circular table was to the left side and a counter at the right. The sink, pots, pans, glasses, fridge, oven, microwave, plates, bowels... everything needed was around the counters. A window was near the table so everyone could see the sun set. A kid with long brown hair and green eyes turned in one of the chairs to look at her. Padme's eyes brightened considerably.

"Danny!?"

[Padme Rendel S2]

"So, I ended up here." Danny concluded with a grin. He took a bite out of the peanut butter and jelly that had been placed in front of him. Padme watched with a smirk. It had taken her by surprise at first, but as Danny had told how he had come to this place, she slowly began to realize that he wasn't the same Danny she had known before. She had fidgeted toward the end, growing bored and tired. "Hungry?" She asked when he stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth, which was quite a lot. He nodded, tried to talk, and ended up almost spitting out the P.B. and J. Padme's stomach convulsed at the sight of the chewed sandwich re-entering Danny's mouth. Disgusting. He laughed when he swallowed it and stood up. "I'm dead tired and it's almost nine o'clock. I better get going before my mother finds that I'm missing." He shot a furtive glance at Padme before gathering his small bundle of things. "Thank you Mrs. Rendel, for the wonderful dinner and your hospitality." He nodded at Padme with a tight smile. Had he noticed she wasn't responding to him like before?

"Nice to see you again," he turned and walked away, exiting the building without another word. Silence covered the room like the thick snow falling down but Padme didn't break it. She stood up as well, her chair legs sliding across the rough kitchen floor. "Are you feeling alright, dear?" Mother asked. She looked timid almost of approaching her daughter. Mother wasn't half the woman she could be, Padme thought with pity. She could have been so much more, but instead let other people rule her life. "I'm perfectly fine," she replied, spitting it out like something bitter. She turned and walked up the stairs. Her bedroom looked almost exactly as she had left it. In fact, dust had collected on the floor and the bed looked dirty from no washing. Mother must have thought it would bring up bad memories to come in here. No wonder. Padme stepped out of the room only to back into Mother, who must have followed her up. "I wanted to leave it like it was," Mother said softly. Padme turned around to face her, an eyebrow arched. "Oh?" She said in a loud voice that destroyed Mother's soft one. "It was almost like a shrine to me. I didn't know what to do when you were gone, Padme. I felt so alone and everything was so... quiet...." Tessa sounded like she was shattering. Padme watched, an amused smile flickering on her lips.

"Mother, you've always been alone, haven't you?" She sneered, feeling guilty she was taking out old pain on her mother. "I'm proud of you." Said Mother, ignoring Padme's question. "You made it to Slytherin. I wanted to say congratulations but... but," Padme stepped past Mother, looking annoyed. "There are no buts, Mother. You can regret it, but you cannot change it." Padme walked down the steps, thinking she heard a small sob but continued down. Mother needed to learn what strong meant. She was weak, a beggar in the street, begging for her daughter to forgive her, love her like she used to. Padme refused to do that and always would, most likely. Mother deserved refusal. Maybe as a child she had gotten everything she wanted. Now, she had ignored the denial Roger had given her, Jack had given her, Cameron had given her, but she couldn't handle Padme? What made her so different then the others? Padme sat down in the couch and picked up a random book on the dresser. She flipped through it, not looking at the title or taking in the words. It all flashed before her eyes and she couldn't take it. Suddenly, she snapped the book shut and threw it across the way to a chair, just as the phone rang. Padme turned to stare at it. It rang again. Mother hadn't come down yet. It rang again. Padme reached over subtly and picked it up, placing it to her right ear.

"Hello?" She asked into the phone. It was silent for a moment before a deeper voice answered. It was a man. "Is Tessa there?" The person asked. "Who is this?" Padme replied, thinking with horror that Tessa may have gained a boyfriend or two since her absence. "Who is this?" The voice replied obnoxiously. Padme smirked. "Padme Rendel. You know what, never mind. I don't care who you are. Hang on," she set down the phone on the table, pushing the button for hold and turned toward the stairs. "Tessa!" She shouted. "Someone's on the phone for you!" At first, there was no response and then heavy footsteps echoed down the stairs. Padme looked up to see her Mother's pale face. She looked like she had been crying after Padme had left. Without looking at her, Padme handed her the phone. "Hello?" Mother asked quietly. There was a pause and her face suddenly paled even worse. She looked like a ghost of her former self three hours ago. Her hand trembled on the phone and suddenly she slammed it back down on the receiver. Padme looked back, her eyes wide and eyebrows raised. She hadn't seen this much fright in Tessa before. With wild eyes herself, Tessa sat down on the couch. "Who was it?" Padme asked immediately, sitting across from her. "He... didn't say." Tessa said between the fingers that covered her mouth. She closed her eyes for a moment, resting, before snapping them open. "I knew who it was though, right away. His voice is still too familiar for me to forget..."

[Padme Rendel S2]

"Who was it?" Padme demanded, feeling clueless. "Jack? Why did he call?" It seemed strange. Why Jack? Why would he call in the first place? To invite her to some party or something? Padme suddenly felt herself get cold. Or maybe something happened to him...? With all this Death Eater activity lately, one could never be sure.. "No, not my son. Not my Jack who never calls me." Tessa moaned, sounding pitiful. Padme somehow found herself standing and ready to pounce. Sitting down stiffly, she ignored the true comment on Jack. He hadn't called for a long time and he never wrote to his mother. Padme soon started to feel sorry for her ugly family. Things always went wrong, no matter how many people dreamed of things going right. Again, it was action that counted and the Rendel's seemed incapable of grasping that concept.

"Who was it?" Padme asked again when Mother didn't answer. She looked up, color returning to her perfectly shaped face. Padme had often envied her Mother for looking so pretty all the time. How did she do it? As young as Padme still was, her looks were extremely important anymore, but Tessa hardly could take care of herself and still she shone like a star every single time someone laid eyes on her. Amazing, really. "I... should call him back. It was wrong to hang up on him. Yes, call back. I should do that. Now." Padme raised an eyebrow. Tessa was talking to herself now. Wonderful. That only meant she was going to become a lunatic. Her amazing electric blue eyes that Jack shared along with her hair landed on Padme's face. It looked like she had just realized her daughter was there. "Go upstairs, Padme." She ordered, suddenly sounding so strong that Padme backed down. What was happening around here? People were going crazy everywhere... Padme paused at the stairs, deciding with a shrug that it didn't matter where she was, there was a good chance she would manage to hear the conversation.

"Umm... Roger?" Tessa's voice said a few minutes later. Padme was perched on the top stair, away from view but in hearing range. This was an unexpected turn of events. Calling her ex-husband? But then again, they hadn't really gotten a legal divorce or anything... Padme struggled to reach a clearing in her mind. The possibility Jack was hurt was still up in the air. Why else would Roger be calling the woman he hated? "Oh.... uh... hello, I guess. You called here earlier righ - " Tessa seemed to be moving around. She was out of hearing. Padme scowled and moved down a few steps, hoping she would be able to hear better. At step five, her wish was granted. "Oh... well...." She laughed a tinkling sound that sounded very girlish to Padme. Was this a different Roger? Bloody hell. "Of course. Two o'clock tomorrow? Oh, tell Jack I said happy birthday. Is he upset you're missing it because... Alright then. Make sure you tell him, Roger. Tell him I send my love and... Fine. I already said okay. Alright. Bye." The phone hit the receiver just as Padme dashed down the stairs. "I think you have some explaining to do." Padme huffed, her hands on her hips. "Oh, darling, it's nothing. Roger just wants to meet me for lunch tomorrow." She laughed that laugh again. "I don't know why, but I better get ready, right?" She smiled and drifted away, looking like she had her head stuck in the clouds. Padme glared at her back and then sat down on the couch, pondering over what she had just heard.

[Padme Rendel S2]

Padme blew hot air through her clenched teeth, crumbling the note in her hands. "No," she mumbled under her breath, walking quickly to the garage to see if the car was missing. Yep. Gone. Empty space stood in front of Padme as she considered ripping the note into shreds and then flushing it down the toilet. Tessa was gone. Gone on a rendezvous with Roger Rendel, her ex-husband. What a moron. Padme looked back down at the hasty note written out to her, before closing the garage door with a snap and spun around. She was still in her lounging clothes and her hair was a mess. There was nothing to do but stay here. She turned to the living room and sat down stiffly on the edge of the couch.

"I don't want to say good bye. I don't want to pass the time. What to do when you feel the urge? What to do when the time emerges? Why won't you listen to me? Is it hard to do after hearing about that. Did I deserve to be left alone. Should I be missing you now?" Padme sang along with the radio as she leaned against the arm rest. One o'clock in the afternoon, ticked the clock. The car still wasn't in it's place in the garage, and Tessa wasn't sitting in the chair she was supposed to occupy. Padme curled up closer to the pillows and leaned her head against them. She was still in her lounging clothes, bed clothes, whatever you want to call them. Comfy, yes, but unacceptable.

After changing into something more acceptable in the social world, Padme ventured outside by herself, feeling suddenly timid. What would happen when Tessa did come home? Would she... be...? The thoughts rattled Padme and she shivered although it was a warmer winter day then normal. Pulling on her leather gloves, Padme welcomed the warmth instead of the bitterness in the air. The only problem that greeted her stopped her; where was she going? There was no where to go, no where to go ever. Why had she left Hogwarts in the first place? Padme tried to remember, but nothing came to her. In a miserable sniffle, she changed her mind and hustled back into the house. She was safe there. Safe. From what, she didn't know.

Ten o'clock. At night. Padme had just gone to investigate the clock, and had found that it was an unnerving time of night. Ten! Where the hell was she? Padme was now not only annoyed, but scared. Frightened. What if Roger had done something to her? What an idiot to go on her own. She should have brought Padme in the first place. Padme moved restlessly through the house, flicking on the T.V. before moving to the kitchen and then going back to her bedroom to sit on the bed. She would then go back down to the living room and sit near the window on the couch. Wait for a few moments, go back to the T.V., check the kitchen, go to the garage, back up to her room, down to the living room, so on. Padme felt her eyes droop and her stomach rumble. Even through her frequent visits to the kitchen, she had eaten nothing. Eleven o'clock. There was nothing else to do. Padme shuffled upstairs and laid down in bed, clothes unchanged, waiting. Twelve o'clock. Padme couldn't stand it. Her eyelids wavered, drooped, and dropped.