Rainy Saturday ((Phillip))

[Constance Day G6]

Constance Day looked at herself in her mirror – or rather the mirror that was in the sixth year Gyffindor girl’s dormitory. She didn’t know why she was worried much about her appearance considering she was just going to meet up with Phillip, but nonetheless she looked and like always she got some snide remark from the mirror she was looking into; “That shirt makes you look like a cow.” Constance sent a deep glare at the mirror even though all it did was reflect it back to her and she crossed her arms over her chest; “Now you look like a constipated cow.” The mirror told her with a snicker. Constance’s annoyance shone through her eyes as she reached down and pulled the shirt off over her head and pulled on another one; “Now you’re back to being just a cow. I suggest staying in tonight. I doubt anything you wear will look good.” If the mirror was a human being, Constance had no doubt she would have met her match – aside from Phillip. Though, he was a match in a different sense – she just didn’t know it yet. She pulled on a jacket and pulled her hair out of the collar before fixing the clasp of her necklace so it was behind her neck instead of showing against her chest with her cross. She made sure her rings were all in perfect position and then pulled her purse onto her shoulder and left the dormitory to head down to the common room. Perhaps if she had known that it would be rainy out, she wouldn’t have put so much thought into her outfit – but Constance wasn’t a weather woman and she wasn’t a psychic so she couldn’t predict the rainfall that she would experience the moment she stepped out onto the grounds to get into a carriage to head into Hogsmeade.

She looked up at the gray sky as rain fell on her face, no doubt smearing her make up, and she stood like that for a few moments before coming to her senses and rushing to the nearest carriage. She squeezed in with a bunch of third years (much to her dismay) and rested her cheek in her hand as she watched the rain gather in puddles along the road to Hogsmeade. Her mind was on the last time she and Phillip had spoken, really spoken. She was thinking about why she had always turned down the idea of being something more with Phillip than just best friends. It wasn’t like she did it because she wanted to – she was certain she could be happy with Phillip as a boyfriend; but there was just something inside of Constance that warned her away from dating Phillip. Maybe it was his usage of girls and then tossing them aside, but she knew deep down that he wouldn’t be like that with her. Maybe it was what she had told him; that she was afraid of getting hurt because he knew her better than anyone else ever did. Who really knew? Constance sure didn’t, and she didn’t really want to spend too much time dwelling on it either because it just made her unhappy. And no matter how tense things were between her and Phillip, she didn’t want today to be an unhappy day. At all. Constance liked when she and Phillip just spent time together with no one else around because it meant they could be themselves without all the pretenses they put up around people so people will think that they were invincible.

As much as Constance liked being invincible, she knew that she wasn’t and she knew that Phillip wasn’t and so together they were two people who were just people. She jarred herself from her thoughts as the carriage approached Hogsmeade and came to a complete stop. Letting the third years get out first because she didn’t much feel like getting trampled and screeched at, Constance sat in the carriage and looked at the welcome arch that was above the gate to the village. The rain poured down around it, almost not even touching the arch at all – no doubt a prevention spell so rust wouldn’t form on the wrought metal. She found it odd how it was a pretty good analogy of how she and Phillip thought of themselves as invincible. They really weren’t invincible, they just put on airs that they were. One strong person could break them down. Just like one strong spell could penetrate that prevention charm. She continued to look at the arch, finding it odd (and getting quite aggravated at the fact that she could be compared to an arch). Her eyes drifted down to her hands and then she sighed slightly and then moved her hand to push open the door and step out, only someone beat her to it. She looked up sharply and saw Phillip standing before her with an umbrella and a smile crossed her face; “Well at least one of us pays attention to the colour of the sky,” she told him in greeting as she moved to step out of the carriage.

[Phillip Smith]

It would really be impossible to say whether or not Phillip slept for a single minute the night before the Hogsmeade trip, because honestly he didn’t know. You know how sometimes you lay down in bed at night and then your mind just starts going and the next thing you know your alarm goes off? Yeah well Phillip laid down in bed, and before he even realized it, it was time to get up. He wasn’t really tired when he got out of bed and got going though, so he assumed he must have fallen asleep at some point. But the fact remained that he had done a lot of thinking the night before. What about you may ask? Well that ranges on many topics. The first and probably most important topic that he thought about was Constance, but he thought about her every night. Then of course there was the question of what he was going to wear the next morning. And by the time he was getting up in the morning, that question had still not been answered. He managed, however, to find something nice to wear, his typical button up shirt and blazer, before he had looked out the window. This was a wise decision for Phillip, seeing as he noticed the obvious storm clouds, but it was also just something he did every morning.

Phillip loved the rain. A lot. Other then the fact that it messed up his hair; it was definitely his favorite type of weather. So of course every morning he looked outside in the hopes it would be a rainy day, and today just happened to be one. So over his blazer, Phillip pulled on his rain coat. Of course, not the type that made that annoying swishing sound, nor a brightly colored one, no no, just his plain black, long, rain coat. Phillip was the kind of guy who got cold easily, and though he loved the rain, it tended to give him the chills, so he grabbed his scarf, hung it over his neck, and then pulled on his gloves before taking his umbrella from the end of his bed and heading out of the dorm room and down to where the students were to meet their carriages. Phillip’s was one of the first to leave the school, and much to his pleasure he was able to get into one all by himself, giving him time to think over how the day would go. He had hardly talked to Constance since the other day, when she had agreed to join him in Hogsmeade, and so of course things might have been a little awkward. Not on purpose, but because Phillip still had some hard feelings about the whole thing. Sure he had tried to push them aside...but that never really worked out too well.

When the carriage stopped, Phillip opened the door, stuck out and opened his umbrella, and then left the thing, off to look for a place to wait for Constance. Knowing her, she wouldn’t have realized it was going to rain, so Phillip knew it would be best of him to wait for her carriage. He waited as each carriage pulled up to the little town, deposited it’s bunch of kids, and then left. AT one point Phillip was surrounded by a group of girls who had somehow managed to fit into one cart- when they came out they looked like clowns – but that situation was quickly rectified when Phillip was asked whom he was waiting for. “Constance.” Just her named seemed to send the other obnoxious girls scattering. This, as odd as it might have been, made Phillip smile. He actually quite liked that the two of them wouldn’t be bothered when they were together. There wasn’t a single girl who would try to flirt with Phillip if he was obviously with Constance, and there wasn’t a single guy who would try to flirt with Constance if they noticed she was obviously with Phillip. Those were the benefits of being the kind of people the two of them were.

Finally a carriage pulled up, right when Phillip was beginning to wonder if Constance had stood him up. Out of it poured a group of third years, and Phillip almost just turned and headed into the town alone until he noticed that someone was still in the cart. He smiled and stepped out from under the archway, opening his umbrella as he walked into the rain, and then opened the carriage door right when Constance tried to do so herself. “Well of course Constance...” was his reply to her commenting on his preparation, “I’ve been looking out for the rain. It’s long overdue.” Phillip held out a hand to help Constance from the carriage, and once she was down he smiled and kissed the hand he held in his. “You look lovely as usual, my dear.”

[Constance Day G6]

Constance didn’t pull back her hand when he took it to help her down; in fact she rather liked it. She wouldn’t tell him that, though. Once she had stepped down, he did something else that Constance might have normally reprimanded him for – he kissed her hand. She didn’t glare or anything, though, no; instead she smiled at him again and looped her arm through his. She stood close to him for two reasons, one he was holding up the umbrella and she didn’t feel like getting even wetter than she already was and two he was Phillip and Constance, for some reason this day, did not want to be far away from him. She looked up at him slightly as the carriage stole away from them the moment it was empty; “Since it’s raining,” she told him in a soft tone; it was easy to speak in a soft tone when it was just her and Phillip because she could be the Constance that no one else ever got to see- only Phillip did and he rarely did because they were rarely ever alone, “I don’t think I’ll do much shopping. There’s nothing worse than buying something and then having it become ruined within ten minutes of purchasing it because of the rain. How about we just get you something to eat and then figure out from there?” As she finished her question, she took the first step in the direction toward the Three Broomsticks. She knew that Phillip wouldn’t have any objections, but he probably would force her to eat once he realized that she had no intention of eating.

They walked down the street toward the Three Broomsticks and Constance took the opportunity to look at Phillip’s attire, “You know,” she told him with a small look that said she was mentally admonishing herself for something, “I never dress for the weather like you do. It’s rather bothersome.” She lifted her free hand and tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear as she moved closer to him underneath the umbrella. One little drop of rain on her head and Constance wasn’t going to be happy. Perhaps she was moving closer to him than she really needed to, but why would she do that? Easy answer; because there was something about Phillip that made Constance just melt, something about him that made her forget all fears dealing with a relationship between them. Again, these are things that Constance would never admit to Phillip – hell she doesn’t even admit them to herself. She had looked away by now, her eyes set on the Three Broomsticks as they drew nearer to the pub, but she couldn’t keep her eyes on the building. She let them wander back to Phillip, looking at him softly – memorizing his face like she often did before. She remembered one night she had been going through her box of memories and found pictures of them when they were really young. She had laughed at how stubborn they both looked, standing with their arms crossed and their backs to each other – a toy in the middle of them. Even when they were younger they argued over everything, but they had to – Phillip had treaded on her territory and Constance had no plans on letting him stay. Except, he had and that wasn’t as bad as Constance had thought it would be. And even then, Phillip had that look to him that made you just know he was going to grow up to be amazingly gorgeous. It was just something that no one could deny.

The Three Broomsticks loomed before them and Constance stepped inside as she pulled her arm from Phillip’s slowly. Immediately she wanted to loop it back through, but she didn’t. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked around the pub for a place to sit. Her eyes landed on a table in the back and then she looked up at Phillip and nodded toward it before grabbing his hand and gently yanking him in that direction. Once they reached the table, Constance took a seat and looked up at Phillip. Without a thought, she pulled him down beside her, close beside her and turned a bit so she could look at him without turning her head to the side completely. A small smile, a smile that didn’t give much explanation to her strange behavior (which was appearing more and more date like as she spoke and moved), crossed her face and she leaned back in her chair comfortably. They sat in silence for a moment and then a waitress came and asked if they wanted anything to drink. Constance ordered water and as Phillip ordered, she studied his face. When the waitress had gone, Constance reached over and gently traced the scar on his cheek with her forefinger, her voice was soft as she spoke to him, her finger tracing the scar still; “I told you not to pull the cat’s tail, but you didn’t listen to me – and now you’ve got this scar.” She tilted her head slightly, her gaze on his scar. When she felt him looking at her, she looked back up at him and smiled; “But when have you ever listened to me?” Constance let her hand drop and she looked over the menu without any intention of eating.

[Phillip Smith]

The day had hardly begun, and Constance already had Phillip’s emotions in a loop. I mean, what was a guy to think? He had expected her to get out of the carriage and more than likely be cold to him, or say something about how he was strange for liking the rain, or for being so prepared. Or something about the way he was dressed, or the way he held his umbrella – yes, they’re totally strange things to criticize someone about, but sometimes Constance gets really creative with her remarks. But she did no such thing. Phillip had expected her to shake her head at him and push his hand aside when he offered it to her. But she did no such thing. He expected to be told it was over kill or something to kiss her hand, but again, no such thing. Instead, all Constance seemed to do was smile at him and accept the things he did. It was completely not what he was expecting and to be honest he had no idea how to handle it. He really didn’t. All he could really think to do was to go with it, but at the same time he wanted to question it. He wanted to call her out about why she couldn’t be like this with him on a normal basis, obviously she had it in her, but he already knew the answer to that question. Phillip and Constance couldn’t be that way in front of other people. They just couldn’t. They had built up so many years of the negativity between them that trying to be like this with others watching them would be insanely difficult. Being around other people put them in that mode of having to look good to impress. It was pathetic how much their egos and their reputations guided their actions.

Phillip was speechless by the time Constance had looped her arm through his, given him a simple explanation, and suggested they go get something to eat. Phillip moved with her, letting her lead him towards the Three Broomsticks, just enjoying the peace he got from being with her like this. The fact of the matter was, this was going to be a very date like day. Phillip had no doubts about that. He knew that Constance’s mood would not change unless something caused her to change it, and since Phillip had no intentions of doing no such thing, and there wasn’t a single soul who would bother them today, he knew that it would be a nice day. As they walked, Phillip felt her eyes on him and he turned to her as she commented on his clothing. He smiled at her and shrugged. “You know me; I’m always on the lookout for rain. It is my favorite.” He made a mental note to give her his coat when they left after lunch. She was right; she wasn’t dressed for rain; chilly weather perhaps, but not rain. No, she’d need a raincoat and possibly a scarf. Good thing Phillip had both. He smiled softly as she moved closer to him. Being this close to Constance, with her consent, was a luxury that Phillip never got. Sure, he pushed himself into close proximity with her, but it was never something that she initiated. No, no, Phillip initiated it. He put himself close to her. Not the other way around. But now, now that they were alone, they could be the way they really wanted to be. There was no way to deny that both of them really did want to be like this, they just couldn’t. Once again, they just couldn’t get away from their egos and their reputations. Being sweet wasn’t something Phillip and Constance could allow the world to see. Only each other.

Phillip didn’t have much to say as they walked, he just admired the weather and the girl on his arm. Well, at least he admired that until they reached the Three Broomsticks. Did I mention it was strange to see that there were very few people in Hogsmeade? But then again I suppose that makes sense, most kids must have stayed in on account of the rain. But that’s good for me and Constance, no fear of someone spotting us being all sweet and cutesy. We can just be us freely, that’s always nice. Phillip almost pulled Constance back to him when she pulled her arm from his, but she beat him to it when she grabbed his hand and tugged him to a table in the back, much to Phillip’s approval. He stood by the table, waiting for Constance to decide where she was going to sit, and he almost slid into the other side of the booth when she pulled him down next to her. Phillip smiled at her, raising and eyebrow slightly to let Constance know that she was most definitely being a total tease. Not in the sexual sense of the word, but in the emotional sense. And Constance knew that she was one. She knew that she would be giving him mixed signals, and as much as Phillip’s expression told her he saw through her, it most definitely did not say he was complaining. Today would be their day when they could be however they’d like to each other...with...virtually no strings attached. Yes, I know I’m lying to myself...thanks. Phillip ordered a water after Constance did and then turned to face her as she moved her finger to trace his scar. He let his eyes close and leaned his head slightly toward her touch, listening to her before chuckling and opening his eyes, smiling at her. “Oh come now...I’ve listened to you once or twice.” Phillip watched Constance open a menu, and pointlessly look through it, and instead of opening his own, he just leaned toward her and read off hers. They were already so close in the booth that it just made things easier for Phillip to let his arm rest on the seat, behind her back. So he pretty much had his arm around her. “There was that one time when you told me to take that piece of cake from that girl at that party our parents had? Remember that? You wanted the cake and the other little girl had it, so you made me go take it from her...and you didn’t even eat it.” He smirked at her playfully and looked at the menu again. “Kind of like you’re not going to eat anything you order from here either huh?”

[Constance Day G6]

((Warning: Mild, and I do mean mild, PG-13 moment in this post.))

“Once or twice,” Constance parroted as she let her hand drop and her eyes flicker to the menu, “You’re the only person I can’t boss around, you know.” Her tone suggested some form of sadness; not because she couldn’t boss him around, but because she had tried. The thought that she was so cruel to Phillip, just like she was to everyone else, made her sick. It wasn’t how she wanted to be. Not with Phillip anyway. Constance looked up slightly when he leaned toward her to read off her menu. She kept a smile back and tucked her hair behind her ear as she listened to him talk about stealing some girl’s cake for her when they were younger and then she hadn’t even eaten it. Just as she was about to reply to that, Phillip made a remark about her not eating at their lunch either. Constance looked at him silently. She always forgot how well Phillip understood her, how well he knew her and her thoughts about certain things.

Her eyes remained locked on him as she regained her composure. After a moment, Constance looked away and shrugged, “I’m not very hungry, and I know that’s no excuse. I honestly do not plan on eating. However, you should eat, because, to be perfectly honest, you get really mean when you’re hungry and I’ve very much like to keep my head after this da-y.” Constance smiled without falter even though she was wondering why she had almost said ‘date’ when she had been so adamant against it being a date prior. She looked at the menu again, trying to keep her gaze off Phillip. She wasn’t nervous or anything, because Constance didn’t get nervous (though, she was certain that if anyone could make her nervous, Phillip could), but her stomach was churning and she could feel herself starting to close off to Phillip and the emotions he provoked; which was something she didn’t want to happen.

“Besides, I’m picky and you know that. Why else do you think I didn’t eat the cake you stole from that girl? It was carrot cake and she had pissed me off a great deal.” Constance looked up at Phillip here with an innocent like smile. The smile could have fooled anyone, but she knew it wouldn’t fool Phillip. It all went back to him knowing her better than anyone else, sometimes better than she did. “And, you took great joy in taking that cake – don’t deny it, Phillip Waylon.” She was trying to lighten the mood again, taking back the almost annunciation of the date-that’s-not. In all honesty, Constance really did like the idea of a date with Phillip, but there was just the idea of getting hurt in some way by him that made Constance shrink away from the notion. She knew it was unfair to him to trail him along like she had always done; hell, it was unfair to her to do that. Constance was never fair, though, was she? (I can be fair, really, I can; I just rarely am.)

If it was one thing she hated most, though, more than being unfair to herself – it was when she was being unfair to Phillip. And that was nearly all the time. Constance stared at Phillip and opened her mouth to say something (perhaps to apologize about being unfair to him) when the waitress reappeared by Phillip’s side. Constance glared at the girl who had to be a year or so younger than her and who was clearly fawning over Phillip. Instead of just snapping at the girl to go away, though, Constance had a better idea. She knew it wouldn’t help with the whole teasing situation, but right at that particular moment – she didn’t care. All she cared about was the fact that this girl was fawning all over Phillip when she should have been taking their order and then leaving. (Ignorant girl!)

Constance, deciding it was time to shut the girl up, turned slightly in the booth to bury her face in Phillip’s neck. She heard the girl trail off in mid-sentence, but obviously, she hadn’t moved from where she was standing. This only annoyed Constance more, and so, Constance took it one step further (even though she probably shouldn’t have) and started to kiss his neck. Barely did she do that, barely – just to give the illusion that she was doing it a lot when her lips were really only barely touching his skin. Maybe she really wanted to, but even if she did – she wouldn’t let herself believe it. Then again, what did Constance ever let herself believe anything that came along with Phillip? She was always denying things. Anyway, the waitress had watched this spectacle with a blush on her face and Constance knew it without looking at her. She smirked and whispered in Phillip’s ear, “Order your meal, Smith, unless you enjoy me teasing you.”

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip chuckled as Constance mocked him and then he shrugged as she mentioned that he was the only one she couldn’t boss him around. It had been that way for ages. Even when they were kids it was nearly impossible for Constance to tell Phillip what to do. The only case in which Phillip would do what Constance told him to would be if Phillip wanted to. Phillip didn’t take in the sad tone of Constance’s voice; today he would not allow to be sad. Yes, it was raining outside but that didn’t mean his and Constance’s day had to be as grey as the sky was. No, if anything Phillip’s mood was raised by the rain. Just the smell of it put Phillip in a good mood. Even Constance stating that she had no intentions of eating could bring him down. Yes, of course Phillip was upset that Constance wouldn’t eat, but he wasn’t going to let it ruin his time with her. On the contrary, Phillip was going to make her eat anyways, so what was the problem eh? Phillip looked at Constance with a raised eyebrow as she told him he had to eat because if he didn’t he was mean. Yes, that was slightly true, Phillip had a bad habit of getting mean when he was hungry, but he hadn’t expected Constance to remember something like that.

When was the last night they had hung out anyway? Well they saw each other every day, but the last time they had actually talked must have been over the summer. It had been an interesting time actually, seeing as Phillip had been in Italy and had just happened to give Constance a random visit up at her villa. Just the look on her face had been priceless, and after she had stopped yelling at him, they had actually had a pretty nice time. “I should eat shouldn’t I?” He smiled and hummed to himself as he looked over her menu and she continued, bringing out a laugh from Phillip again. “Constance, you know the only time I let you boss me around is when I want to do something. So of course I wanted to take the cake...I have a bad bully streak in me.” It was true. Phillip had always been quite the bully. It wasn’t so much the beat-you-to-a-pulp bully streak, more the, I’m-better-than-you streak. And Phillip was definitely better then nearly all of his peers; with the exception of Constance. “You should eat too though you know, even if you say you’re not hungry.” Phillip didn’t look up from the menu until finally Constance turned to him. Phillip assumed that she was planning on arguing with him about eating, and he had a right to, seeing the glare on her face. But upon further inspection he noted that the glare was not directed at him, but at someone behind him.

Turning around, Phillip audibly sighed. Heavily. How could he not? If there was one thing he had not been wanting this whole day, it would be an interruption of his day with Constance. And Phillip knew without a doubt that this girl was going to be an interruption. Phillip didn’t hear a word the girl was saying, but he watched her mouth move a mile a minute. He caught a few words here and there about school, or her family, or about something about Phillip that had caught the girl’s attention. Clearly the girl was trying to make small talk with Phillip, and Phillip didn’t like it. He just wanted to order his salad. “Mmmmhmm...mmmhmm...mmmh-“ Phillip was cut off half way through his mmmhmmm when Constance’s face buried in his neck, he smiled, and the next thing he knew he was rather distracted. “Mmmmmmm” His attention completely shifted from wanting to order a salad so that the girl would go away, to the soft kisses that were being planted on his neck. Phillip let his eyes roll back slightly and then closed them, leaning his head back as Constance continued to well...mark her territory? Was that a good way of putting it? Because she was obviously showing the girl who was in control of the situation. That girl had no chance with Phillip if Constance was around. Not a one. Sure, Constance’s kisses were light, nearly not there at all, but they most definitely got Phillip’s attention.

He relaxed against the back of the booth, enjoying Constance’s almost kisses, a smile on his face. When Constance whispered in his ear, Phillip smirked and whispered back, “You know...I am enjoying them...but I really want to be alone.” Phillip sat up and without even looking at the waitress he leaned and kissed Constance, slowly and softly and with quite a bit of eagerness. He held it out for a while before breaking it and looking at the waitress for a second. “I want a salad.” That was all he said before he turned and gently pressed his lips back to Constance’s, ignoring the girl’s questions about what dressing Phillip wanted. Though, Phillip knew if the girl brought something back that Phillip didn’t want, he would be quite snippy with her about making him a new one with the right dressing. Right now however, all Phillip wanted to do was kiss Constance. And he did. While this was most definitely ripping up his emotions, he couldn’t help himself. This...as unusual as it might have been...wasn’t exactly knew. Since at least the last summer (Remember? When I visited her in Italy?) Constance and Phillip had made a...(I wouldn’t say bad.) habit of it. The friends with benefits thing had sort of just happened and it wasn’t exactly something Phillip questioned.

[Constance Day G6]

Constance kissed Phillip’s ear as she waited for a reply, which she got quite soon, and then smiled at his response. He was definitely enjoying the kisses and although it was tearing her apart, knowing it was ripping him to shreds or it would later, she just continued to kiss or nibble on his ear. Half of her was doing it to get that annoying girl to go away and the other half of her was doing it because well, she rather enjoyed it and they hadn’t done anything of the sort since he had stayed with her at her villa in Tuscany. Constance knew she would toss and turn later that night over her actions earlier on in the day, but at that particular moment, as I said previously, she didn’t care. When he sat up, Constance moved to sit back so Phillip could fire a barrage of insults at the server, but he didn’t. Instead, he kissed her. This was unexpected but very welcome and Constance kissed him back, trying to keep any emotion detached from it. It was hard, though, when she was slowly becoming so aware of how she felt toward Phillip. She just kept pushing the feelings down further and further until she didn’t think they were there anymore and then one day they just… pop up and surprise her. Phillip broke the kiss, ordered his salad, and then returned to kissing her.

All Constance could do was smile as she kissed him back, enjoying the speed and intensity in which Phillip kept the kisses. She had to hold back laughter at Phillip’s blatant ignoring of the waitress and continue to connect kisses to the kiss that Phillip had initiated. This might have seemed odd to you, considering Constance was just so adamant about being a couple with Phillip. While she might deny the fact that there were emotional attractions between them, she wouldn’t deny that she was physically attracted to Phillip. Who couldn’t be? I wasn’t exaggerating when I said he was gorgeous, and even gorgeous didn’t do justice. Constance would never deny that Phillip was gorgeous, amazingly good looking, or hot in any way. Because she’d be lying. Sure she lied on a daily basis about how she felt about him, but what was she supposed to do? Accept that she might actually have feelings for Phillip? Why on Earth would she do that? Nonetheless, Constance and Phillip were most definitely physically attracted to each other and, well, that physical attraction had led them into being friends with benefits. It wasn’t something that Constance had been totally against from the start, but it wasn’t something she had thought about doing until that summer in her villa in Tuscany.

She pulled away from the kiss as the waitress set down his salad with a ranch dressing on it, and she let her eyes slowly move to the waitress. With a piercing glare, Constance shoved the salad to the edge of the table so that it startled to topple over but the waitress caught it in time, looking quite shocked; “Balsamic vinaigrette not ranch.” Was the simple explanation she gave the waitress who looked near tears, and Constance turned back and kissed Phillip again. This kiss a bit firmer than the last one, just to emphasize that she was able to kiss him and the waitress wasn’t. Constance loved being able to do the things that other girls weren’t able to do. She didn’t know how far Phillip went with any other girl, and she didn’t want to know. She just wanted to be able to say that she could do things to Phillip (even if it was just his emotions…although she didn’t take too much joy in those) that other girls couldn’t do. Constance connected several kisses to the first one, each one a bit more intense than the previous; but not passion because passion meant she had emotions for Phillip and…she didn’t want to admit that to anyone, not even herself and especially not Phillip.

The kiss was broken once more when the waitress nearly slammed the dish of salad on their table and stalked off and Constance just had to laugh. She closed her eyes and hid her face behind her hands as she laughed quietly, trying to keep it from going into hysterics. When she had regained her composure once more, she picked up the fork, stabbed a piece of lettuce and handed the fork to Phillip; “Think she’s angry or jealous?” Constance didn’t know if she wanted it to be jealousy because the thought in her mind instantly turned to…she’s no real reason to be jealous…

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip held in a small growl as Constance continued to kiss and nibble his ear and he kept his eyes closed for a few minutes before opening them and kissing her, and as he knew she would do, she kissed him back. Phillip had noticed that Constance had sat back, obviously wanting him to insult the girl, but he really just wasn’t in the mood for it. To be completely straight forward, he wanted Constance. There was no time for silly girls. As much as Phillip tried to keep the kiss from going in a passionate direction, he found that the softness and slowness of it made that insanely difficult. Soft and slow kisses were supposed to be passionate. And Phillip wanted a passionate kiss from Constance...but Constance wasn’t dumb. He knew that she would deny him a passionate kiss...because that’s how things worked between them. Neither of them was dumb, and while at times it seemed like they were falling into a romantic relationship, the fact remained that they were friends with benefits.

Phillip wasn’t stupid. He knew that it didn’t really mattered how he felt about her, because at that point in time? Honestly? Neither of them was ready for a romantic relationship. They just weren’t. Phillip wouldn’t say that Constance was the only one who denied her feelings, because he did it too sometimes. Sure, on certain days he would wake up knowing that she was the only girl for him, practically begging her to be his girlfriend...but on other mornings? He would wake up, and go his whole day denying his feelings for her...and sadly enough making them all physical. It was common knowledge that he was physically attracted to her...everyone was...but it wasn’t true that that was all Phillip saw in Constance. Phillip cared about Constance in far more ways than just physically...but sometimes? It was easier to just convince himself that that was all there was. If she wasn’t in the mood? It didn’t hurt as much as it did when it hit Phillip that maybe she didn’t care about him like he cared about her.

Phillip broke the kiss to order his salad and then was straight back to kissing Constance, smiling as she connected her own kisses to his. It had been awkward a bit at first, to be like this with Constance, his best friend. The first time they had gotten this way over the summer it had been slightly confusing, at least for Phillip. Sure he had kissed other girls before, but kissing Constance had always felt different. You could even say better. But Phillip, as awkward as it might have been the first time, would never deny that it was something he had gotten quite...Just say it...I’m an addict. Yeah, that’s true. Phillip had gotten addicted to it. It was different then being with other girls. Completely different. Constance was just...better. That’s all there was to it. Surely it had to do with the emotions he did feel towards her, but at the same time Constance did have a way of getting to him differently than other girls did. By differently, I mean, once again, better. Constance could work Phillip up easily, where as another girl would really have to work at it. Phillip got bored of other girls...but never with Constance.

Phillip didn’t break the kiss until he heard the waitress come down and set down his salad, and even then it wasn’t he who broke the kiss. It was Constance, and still Phillip didn’t take his eyes off her. He might have licked his lips at her, but it wasn’t until she glared at the waitress and moved a hand to shove the salad that Phillip turned around just a bit. He smirked at the waitress who caught the teetering salad bowl and then stormed off. Balsamic vinaigrette...wow what a lady Constance was. Yes, she was picky...but it didn’t matter because Phillip wasn’t. He’d eat anything she wanted. Phillip turned back to Constance as she pulled him into another kiss, firmer now, and Phillip happily kissed her back. Phillip heard the girl walk off, and a few minutes later – well it felt like a few minutes...it’s never enough time when you’re having kisses like the ones Constance and I have – she came back with a new salad and then stormed off again. Phillip licked his lips once more as Constance broke the kiss and then laughed. Phillip laughed too and watched as Constance stabbed his salad and handed him the fork. He took it and grinned at her. “Of course she’s jealous. How could she not be of a girl that’s as completely stunning as you?” He didn’t eat the salad right away; instead he leaned to kiss Constance’s neck softly, it being his turn now. He did that for a few minutes before pulling back and looking at the salad on his fork before holding it out to her. “Have a bite? For me?”

[Constance Day G6]

“Don’t flatter me, Phillip,” Constance said sharply as she glared at him slightly, “It doesn’t work on me and you know it. I’m immune to your so called ‘charm.’” That was true to an extent; Constance was immune to any charm Phillip used on her and any other girl. If he used a charm on her and her alone, it had an effect on her. A lot of the things he might have said to her he could have possibly just said to some other girl. And this was where Constance grew grey on the whole idea of being a couple with Phillip. The way he acted some days just told her he was purely into this whole thing for the benefits aspect, but there were other days that made Constance just stop and stare at him wondering if what he was saying was just him being Phillip or if he meant them in the way Constance was secretly hoping he was. That was the difficult part of their whatever-ship, she didn’t know where the true feelings began and where the false ones ended. She looked up from the dish when Phillip had started to kiss her neck, sending shivers down her spine – as if she wasn’t cold enough as it was. She tried to push down the feeling of his kisses on her neck leaving more of an effect than she was letting show, they made her heart pound and not because of the physical reaction. There were times when Phillip did something that just positively made her…well…melt.

She opened her eyes to find Phillip holding the fork to her again and nearly begging her to take a bite. She stared at him a moment and then rolled her eyes before leaning her head forward to take the salad from the fork. She chewed and swallowed, glowering at him before crossing her arms and resting them on the table and shoving the salad toward him, “One bite. No more.” Even as she said this, she knew that the balsamic vinaigrette dressing was just going to make her want more. It was one of those tastes that just made you crave more the moment you had it and the good thing with that was Constance did like salads – they were one thing she wasn’t so picky about – and if she was forced to eat, she requested a salad. Reaching in front of her, she picked up her water and took a sip to wash the flavour from her mouth before turning to Phillip again, pouncing a question on him; “Do you ever wonder why we do what we do, Phillip? Why we argue over the most trivial of things? Why we tear each other to shreds when all we really want to do is… be?” Her voice was soft as she spoke and she had turned to face him completely, her eyes staring directly into his to let him know just how serious she was being. Which, for the record, was completely serious. These questions were things she had wanted to talk with him about for awhile, when she started to realize that some of the things he said had actually had a negative effect on her.

“What happened to us? We grew up, but is that all? Is that really all that happened or did we grow apart as well?” She knew these questions might just bring around a dark cloud to the date-that’s-not, but she couldn’t help it. Who knew when they would be alone like this again? Who knew when she would ever be presented with the opportunity to clear her head of these questions? Sure, she mightn’t like the answers she received, but Constance just had to know. And if she didn’t like the answers she got – it was okay, because she was strong enough to deal with all that was going on.

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip rolled his eyes as he kissed Constance’s neck, choosing to ignore her reprimanding him. He knew it would come eventually. Phillip could not remember a time he had been able to be with Constance and her not getting onto him about something. He knew what her problem was; he knew she had trust issues when it came to him, but who was to say he didn’t either? He did. Who was to say that Constance didn’t tease all the other little boys that asked her out? It may have seemed that Phillip was always with Constance, but truth be told he wasn’t. Phillip could almost not stand to be with Constance on a regular basis. Too much time with her tore him apart. He could take her criticism to a degree, but past that he just had to walk away. And it always bothered him when another guy came around. Phillip knew that they were the same to her like other girls were to him, but still. Phillip didn’t follow Constance around if she went on dates, or if she was with another guy. Sure, if he spotted them he’d give the guy a death glare, but that was about it. Phillip had no clue whether Constance was the same with every other guy like she was with Phillip. It was a mutual thing between them. They’d be lying if they said there weren’t trust issues.

Phillip sat up and asked Constance if she’d have a bite of his salad, almost regretting that he had. Constance was slowly putting a damper on his mood. Only two seconds before Phillip had gotten his hopes up thinking that they would have a nice afternoon, but some switch had flicked inside Constance and she had started building up walls like she always did. And to counter her walls, Phillip was beginning to put up his own. Phillip shook his head as Constance finished the bit of salad and then pushed the dish toward him. He set down the fork and leaned back in the booth, laying his head back and looking up at the ceiling. “You know sometimes I’m not trying to charm you, sometimes I’m just being honest. You may not believe it but I have the ability to be honest.” Phillip closed his eyes and shrugged as he waited to see if Constance would change the subject. She did, but he wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not. It probably wasn’t. She might just have not been paying attention to him. Regardless, she asked him a few questions that just made him want to sigh. If it weren’t for her tone Phillip would have stood up, bid her goodbye, and left the place. He didn’t want to argue with her. Not today. He just wanted to be with her and enjoy himself. But somehow their relationship was always so strained. The more Phillip thought about it the more he blamed himself.

“I always wonder why we do the things we do.” His voice was just as soft as he continued to stare up at the ceiling. There was a tug from the inside of his chest and Phillip knew that his breathing was about to become slightly labored. Phillip never talked about it, and never admitted it, but he had always been quite...well...emotional? Oh goodness that’s a lame word for a guy to use. But that was probably the best way to put it. Phillip got upset very easily. He had never cried in public though, and he assured himself he never would. But that didn’t mean he occasionally skipped class because he was feeling slightly down about himself. Phillip was invincible. He just was. He had to be. That’s who he was. Phillip didn’t get upset. But he knew that a conversation like the one he was about to have with Constance was going to upset him. He just hoped anger didn’t step in to block out the sadness. That was what normally happened. It was his blockade against being upset. Against breaking down. Against looking weak. Phillip lowered his head, taking a deep breath, to find Constance looking him straight in the eye. It was the last thing he needed. Phillip looked at Constance for a while and then closed his eyes in thought. What had happened to them? “We came to school...we built up reputations...we created a wall around us. We are perfect Constance. We’ve made ourselves perfect. To the outside world at least...” Phillip opened his eyes, looked at Constance for a second, and then sighed and slumped slightly. He glanced around the room, decided it was safe, and then sunk back in the booth, fiddling with his hands.

“I suppose we grew apart. Or pushed each other apart. One of the two. All for the sake of our reputations.” He said mocking himself, shaking his head. “We’ve done it to ourselves I think. Or at least I have. I don’t know about you. I know for me it’s not how I want to be. It’s just...how I feel I should be...or have to be...I don’t know.” He sighed heavily again and then looked at her. “What do you think?”

[Constance Day G6]

Constance shrank slightly and closed her eyes, “I knew you can be honest, Phillip, you’re the only one that has always been honest with me. You aren’t afraid to let me know how everything really is.” She opened her eyes again and looked at Phillip with honest eyes that still held sadness. After she had asked all of her questions with that tone, she immediately regretted doing it because she knew exactly what Phillip would do she waited for him to stand from the booth, say goodbye, and leave her in her sorrows. He didn’t, though, and that surprised Constance. She looked at him as he replied with a tone just as soft as hers. She turned around in her seat so she was sitting sideways and facing Phillip. It took all her will-power to not reach out and stroke his cheek. She couldn’t do that, because it wouldn’t be appropriate. At that moment, though, Constance just wanted to say, “screw appropriateness.”

She listened to Phillip explain what he thought on the subject, but she really didn’t take in all he was saying because in all honesty, she was too busy taking in his body language. She had never seen Phillip this way, not like he was about to just completely break down at any moment. She watched him sink lower in the booth and fiddle with his hands and she listened to him as much as she could as she watched him with worry. He finished talking and looked up at her, asking her what she thought. Before she said anything, though, Constance did something quite unlike her. She sank down in the booth beside him and reached over for him, pulling him into her arms. Holding Phillip was something she hadn’t ever done before because it meant there was more to their relationship than just benefits. And maybe there was. Constance did care about Phillip, but she just wouldn’t allow it to be more than friendship, she just couldn’t allow it.

Regardless, Constance couldn’t help but reach out for him and pull him into her arms. She didn’t want Phillip to really break down and, well, she knew she mightn’t be helping but she didn’t know what else to do. Constance just held Phillip in her arms, resting her head against his as she thought about her answer to her own question. She was starting to regret asking even more. Constance didn’t like to see Phillip upset like this, and she knew that was all it was going to bring. Why couldn’t she have just enjoyed the day? No matter how much she now regretted bringing up, she had and now she had to answer her own question. Would she answer it honestly? She was talking to Phillip, of course she would, “I think we’re both always so frightened,” she said softly in his ear as she moved a hand to play with his hair, “We’re frightened of a lot of things. We’re frightened of getting hurt, of hurting each other, of losing what we believe is ours. Phillip, we let our selfishness and our greed control our friendship to a degree that makes it difficult to ever return to any normal state of friendship. Yes, I do believe our reputations play a tiny role in it, but over all? If we weren’t so frightened of what change would bring to us, we would be able to be the people that we want to be, regardless of our reputations.” As she finished what she was saying, Constance did another thing that was quite unlike her. She turned her head slightly to kiss the side of his.

“We’re both used to having things a certain way, our way, and we both understand that any change might be a threat to how things are done. I’m not justifying our actions, but this is where I believe our problems lie. In the greed and spoilt bits of our hearts. It’s not any fix, but you know what? I know damn well that it’d be something I’m willing to work on,” Constance looked down at him, “If you are, that is.”

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip’s eyes were closed, and he was trying to take deep breaths. His task at hand was to keep from shaking, and to keep his breathing stable. To keep all signs of wheezing out of it. It was funny to think of how many ‘imperfections’ Phillip actually had. There was his bit about getting easily upset, there was his jealousy, his guilt, and then there were the physical imperfections. There was his scar, and then there was his asthma. It wasn’t the type of asthma that kicked in whenever it felt like it however; it was the kind that only got to him when he started to stress himself out. You would also never find Phillip running anywhere, because that might bring about the wheezing. Phillip always moved at a relatively slow pace, he preferred the term easy. When he was younger, Phillip could remember his mother always telling his father that Phillip was a ‘fragile child’. Phillip’s father of course had never stood for that, so if Phillip cried, there was punishment. Phillip was the miracle child; he was spoiled, but primarily by his mother. His father had always had sense about him enough to keep Phillip in line. But, Phillip’s father was also insanely in love with his wife, and so whatever Phillip’s mother said was law. When she was around. So as a child, Phillip had grown up with two mindsets. The first was that he was fragile, and that he was perfect. The second was that he was perfect, and could not be weak. Being fragile was being weak. As big a momma’s boy as Phillip was what son doesn’t want to please his father?

Phillip nodded slightly when Constance mentioned that she knew he could be honest. Of course he could be honest to her, he always had been. If there was ever a time when he wasn’t honest, it was when he was talking to other girls. Phillip always meant the things he said to Constance. With other girls, Phillip just threw words out there in hopes of gaining a girl’s favor. But with Constance, every word out of Phillip’s mouth was sincere. He couldn’t lie to her; he never had been able to. Constance meant far too much to him for him to lie to her. He would have told her all of this, but instead he had begun to answer her question, and the more he spoke the more upset he became. Often, voicing your thoughts is harder then thinking them. Actually saying something is harder then thinking it. Why do you think people write in journals rather than talk about their problems? It’s harder to say things. Hearing it for yourself, from yourself, breaks you down. At least, that’s how it was with Phillip. He spoke and his breathing became all the worse, a slight wheeze starting up. Phillip never thought Constance would see this side of him, he never thought anyone would see this side of him. He had put it in a box since his childhood. He wasn’t supposed to be this way in public, ever. But the thoughts he had, and the feelings he felt had just consumed him. There was no keeping back the emotion that came with the thoughts. They were a pair. Phillip’s thoughts depended on his feelings and his feelings on his thoughts. Talking about his thoughts meant talking about his feelings, or at least showing them. Perhaps it was the fact that he trusted Constance, he truly did. He trusted her enough to allow her to see him that way.

Phillip may have trusted her to see him that way, but he never guessed she would actually act on it. The fact that she had pulled him into her arms was so completely surprising, it was shocking. But, Phillip would have to think about the shocking aspect later, because in the moment all he was was thankful for her comfort. Phillip leaned back against Constance, and let his head rest back on her shoulder, closing his eyes and trying to steady his breathing again. He rested his arms over hers, a small smile on his face. Constance had never held him before, but it was something he could easily get used to. Phillip listened to Constance breath as he waited for her reply, trying to match his to hers. When she spoke in his ear he relaxed even further, her voice soothing him more so then it usually did. This was such a new experience for Phillip. Phillip had...well to be honest; Phillip had never been held by anyone but his mother. He had never been comforted. And the last time even his mother had done it he had been just a boy. Phillip’s breathing calmed further as Constance moved a hand to play with his hair and he listened to her explanation. Phillip waited until Constance finished, and then smiled more as she kissed the side of his head. When she looked down at him, he opened his eyes, and turned his head to look up at her, smiling softly at her. Phillip nodded slightly and nearly whispered, “I want to be able to just be...with you. To enjoy our time. To be like we want to be. There’s...honestly nothing I want more.” He smiled and then turned slightly in her arms, resting his head against her chest and wrapping his arms around her. He was going to enjoy the time he had in her arms. It was the greatest feeling he’d had in a while. And what was stopping him?

[Constance Day G6]

Constance had never held Phillip before. She had never had him in her arms and she could honestly say that she liked it. She liked comforting him. She didn’t like that he was breathing irregularly or that she was the one who got him this way with her questions, but if she could fix it by holding him, she would. Constance held him and played with his hair as she spoke to him, her head rested against his. She could definitely get used to being this way with Phillip, but would she allow herself? No. That would be bad. Wouldn’t it? Constance couldn’t really think about why that would be bad, but she somehow knew deep down that it would be. Perhaps she was just afraid, well, yes, she was afraid because that’s what she was preaching to Phillip, but perhaps she was afraid and so her fear controlled her actions. She wouldn’t allow herself to think that being this way with Phillip would be a good thing because she was afraid that it wouldn’t. It might not make any sense to you, but it made perfect sense to Constance as she held her best-friend and comforted him as he calmed his breathing. When she had finished speaking and looked down at him, Phillip looked up at her and Constance resisted the urge to kiss him – that passionate, tender kiss that she would never let him have.

She listened to him speak and then nodded, looking quite sad, but her sadness evaporated when he turned and wrapped his arms around her, his face against her chest. Constance smiled softly and held him tighter as she kissed the top of his head. “I’m sorry I always put this negative spin on things, Phillip. I’m sorry I tend to ruin even the better days we spend together,” she whispered against his head before moving her hand and picking up the fork to get some more salad, “So, what do you say we finish your salad and then we go and find some place and just be?” She looked down at him with a small smile before putting the bite of salad in her mouth and chewing. Constance didn’t know why she couldn’t be like this with Phillip on a daily basis, she didn’t know why she couldn’t be like this with Phillip in public. It just didn’t make sense to her and she wanted to know why. Constance knew she loved being this way, she knew she loved showing this side to Phillip and she knew she loved seeing this side of Phillip, so why couldn’t she allow herself to just be this way normally? Constance set the fork on the table beside the plate and looked down at Phillip again.

Constance kissed his forehead and then reached behind her and took his hands, unwrapping his arms from around her so she could slide out of the booth and stand, pulling him up with her gently. She didn’t want to stay in the Three Broomsticks and she knew that Phillip wouldn’t mind relocating, as long as she held him wherever they went, she was sure. And she would have no issues holding him again, but for now Constance wanted out of the Three Broomsticks and into somewhere else. She couldn’t think of where to go, though, because it was raining and she did get cold easily; but she would find some place. After they had gathered everything and the salad and waters had been paid for, they left the Three Broomsticks and stepped under the umbrella, heading into the village. Constance didn’t know where they were heading, but she could seriously walk aimlessly with Phillip and be alright. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye as she looped her arm through his again, “Did I tell you I might be selling my villa?”

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip had sufficiently calmed down in Constance’s arms now, at least, he wasn’t on the brink of tears...or so he thought. Phillip had found when he was young that sometimes when he was upset anything at all could tip him off. His mood was just easy to have spiraled downwards, and so that was why he avoided people when he was upset. They really didn’t have to do much at all and he would go completely cold to someone. Phillip had always been very temperamental. Whether he was sad, mad, or just hungry, he was always pretty much easily agitated. But Phillip also never had anyone to calm him down. Normally if Phillip was in a bad mood that was it. He was in a bad mood all day or until something made him feel better. But that something was rarely ever a person. Today though, now, it was Constance who was making Phillip feel better. A whole lot better indeed.

Phillip had turned around in Constance’s arm and wrapped his around her, resting his head against her chest comfortably, and closed his eyes by now. Phillip began to shake his head as Constance was apologizing, he didn’t want to hear apologies, and there was no time for apologies if you really thought about it. In truth they were spending time being upset that they should have been using to enjoy themselves. But really, they’re upset mood was slowly turning into them enjoying themselves, at least, Phillip was enjoying being held. But by the way Constance was behaving he had a feeling that she was enjoying herself too. Phillip looked up at Constance as she asked if he wanted to just finish his salad and go someplace else, but Phillip really wasn’t hungry anymore. He did smile softly though when Constance took a bite of his salad. He always loved when she ate. Even if it was only a bite of salad, it was still food and that made Phillip not so completely worried about her. Even though he did worry about her quite a bit.

Phillip let Constance pull him out of the booth, though slightly reluctant to be out of her arms, and then paid for the food before they left. He pushed open his umbrella and the two of them walked out into Hogsmeade, which seemed even emptier of students then it was before. Phillip smiled and walked with Constance for a bit before she asked him if she had told him she might be selling her villa. He shook his head at her and then moved his arm, out of loop with hers, to wrap it around her waist. It was rather cold outside, but that wasn’t the only reason he did it. He sure liked to be this close to Constance. “Why would you do that Constance? You know that place has good memories.” Phillip grinned over at Constance, his mood completely lightened again, though he was dying to get back in her arms. “And besides, I won’t be able to visit you if you’re not in Italy over the summer.”

[Constance Day G6]

Constance smiled when Phillip pulled his arm from hers and wrapped it around her waist instead. She leaned against him as they walked, completely serene in the way they were. She didn’t care that there were a few people out on the street. They were just people. She was with Phillip and she was going to be Constance, the Constance Day that Phillip knew, not the Constance Day that everyone in Hogwarts knew. It was the Constance that Constance liked being, but hardly ever allowed herself to be. She looked up at Phillip when he mentioned the villa having good memories and she nodded before looking thoughtfully at the ground as they walked, “It’s got some bad ones too, Phillip.” Her voice was quiet as she spoke, her mind wandering back to why she had even been given the villa. Her parents didn’t want her. Her parents had never wanted her, for as long as she could remember, her parents had shoved her aside like some diseased rodent. Constance wasn’t what they wanted, so they tried to get rid of her. They sent her away. They bought her a villa in Tuscany and they sent her away. Constance had never been wanted in a familial sort of sense, and she would never feel wanted by her parents no matter if they suddenly appeared and begged her to move back into the manor with them. Constance had never known her parents. Her parents were strangers.

“Do you remember the time when I was adamant about cooking dinner instead of the cook and I ended up nearly burning the kitchen down?” Constance asked with a small smile as she looked back up at Phillip, “You tried to tell me beforehand that it was dangerous, that I shouldn’t even be allowed near a kitchen, but I didn’t listen to you. I wanted to cook.” She laughed and looked at him with a bright smile, “I haven’t cooked, or tried to cook, since.” Constance in the kitchen was dangerous. It was like a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. She was a disaster waiting to happen everywhere she went. She didn’t know how Phillip could put up with her for as long as he did, she was always destroying something or other or getting on his nerves. He stuck by her, though, loyally and she really loved him for that. She loved the fact that they could argue but in the end they’d still go back to each other and lapse back into that friendship stage where they aren’t afraid to tell each other the brutal and honest truth. The one thing that Constance didn’t love about their relationship, though, was the fact that it was all a façade for their true feelings. Or at least, for her it was that way. She couldn’t speak for Phillip.

“I don’t know,” Constance told him as she started to lead him toward some tea shop or another, there really was no where to go during the rainy season of the year at Hogsmeade, “I could buy a new villa, I’m sure. I guess I’m just getting tired of Tuscany. I’ve been there every year of my life for the past 5 or so years, you know. You know me, Phillip, I get annoyed of being in one place for too long. I tend to get antsy. I don’t know how I stayed in that villa for so long.” She looked at him and stopped walking for a moment, just staring at him; “I think I held onto it for so long because it was in Italy and you are there every summer and I knew that you’d be stopping by throughout the summer at least once.”

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip smiled as he and Constance walked, just enjoying the weather and being this close to Constance. Phillip always wished that he and Constance could just be this way all the time, just enjoying themselves. But for one reason or another they were constantly pushing each other away. As children had they been that way to each other? Surely, but not like they were now. They had always been slightly mean towards each other, and they had always liked to argue, but they had never pushed each other away like they did now that they were older. Like Constance said, it was a fear. On both of their parts. They were, in one way or another, afraid of each other. Not directly of course. But afraid of what one might do to the other. Phillip and Constance both knew that they knew each other better than anyone else did. And when they really got down to thinking, they realized that if anyone wanted to break their hearts, the other would be the best for the job.

Phillip looked over at Constance as she told him that her villa had bad memories too and he waited until she told him about one. As soon as she started the story Phillip began to laugh. He and Constance had quite a few funny stories in their past, I mean, what else but comedy happens when you shove to spoiled kids into a villa all on their own. Phillip shook his head and grinned at Constance. “See now? Sometimes you should really listen to me Constance.” He shook his head and then leaned over and kissed the side of Constance’s. He didn’t really think much of it. Today, from now on, he was just going to let it happen. Constance was always making Phillip laugh with her antics. Most people looked at Constance and asked Phillip how he could stand someone who was so full of themselves, but then Phillip would look at the person, and soon enough it would become obvious that Phillip and Constance were one in the same.

Phillip looked over at Constance as she said she didn’t know why she stayed in the villa, and that she was probably just getting bored. And when she stopped them and looked up at him, he smiled softly back at her. He replied softly, keeping their conversation between them, as if they were in some intimate setting and not just standing on a rainy street. “you know, if that’s why you go to Italy, you should just come stay with me...my parents have started doing more traveling over the summer, so I’m home alone nearly all the time. And summers in Italy aren’t the same without you Constance.” Phillip still had his arm around Constance’s waist and he pulled her closer to him gently.

[Constance Day G6]

Constance smiled and shook her head, “Now now Phillip, if I listened to you we wouldn’t have thrills like me burning the kitchen down or breaking etiquette dinner glasses or something equally riveting.” She looked at him and then looked at the ground. They had a lot of good memories, even though most of them ended with Constance breaking something or burning something or just destroying something in general. She was accident prone, she couldn’t help it. She was graceful, yes, but she was always destroying something. Constance rarely let anyone else see that side of her, but Phillip had seen her break as many dinner plates as a house elf might. Phillip had seen a lot of sides of her that no one else would ever see. He saw the caring side, he saw the happy side, he saw the nice side, he even saw the side that was afraid of things. No one else would see that from Constance. Constance had to be this unbreakable wall around everyone else, but Phillip was an exception. Phillip was the exception to most things that concerned Constance. It was mainly because they had grown up together and he knew her better than she knew herself, and it was partially because…he was Phillip and she couldn’t not be Constance around him.

She looked at Phillip when he spoke softly, she had to really listen to hear him as well as she wanted to. She didn’t have bad hearing and he wasn’t speaking too quietly, but over the rain it was a bit more difficult than usual to hear him. She liked when he spoke softly, though, and so she didn’t say anything about it. Constance listened to him and then allowed him to pull her closer to him when he had finished speaking. The idea that she could stay with Phillip over the summer in his place was one that hadn’t ever crossed her mind. Ever. Simply because she had never thought about what it would be like to see Phillip every morning when she woke up and every night when she went to bed. She did it nearly all the time now, but he wasn’t the first thing she saw in the morning and he wasn’t the last thing she saw before bed. He had a fair point, though. If she was only going to Italy because of him, there was no reason for her to own her own villa when she could easily stay with him especially now that his parents were rarely ever there. When they would be there wouldn’t be a huge problem either, Constance liked Phillip’s parents, more than she liked her own anyway.

Finally, after a moment of thought, Constance nodded slowly and spoke back to him in a soft tone of her own; “Okay,” she looked up at him and smiled, “I’ll stay with you over the summer hols. As long as you don’t mind me burning your kitchen down, because I think I might take another crack at the whole cooking thing.” She looked serious for a moment and then let out a laugh and buried her face against Phillip’s chest, moving her arms and wrapping them around him while she breathed in his scent. It was one of her favourites, and she would admit at that moment – but she wasn’t going to say anything. She was just content standing in his arms.