When's Lunch? ((Constance))

[Phillip Smith]

What time is it anyways? It should have been lunch time soon right? Well let’s see...breakfast was just a little bit ago, and after two classes already you’d think lunch time would be coming up fast right? I’m hungry. Phillip couldn’t help but think about lunch, he was hungry. And even though he was technically leaning against a wall, supposed to be talking to a group of three girls that he couldn’t even remember the names of, lunch was all he could think about. Of course he smiled and nodded, but in his head all he really wanted to do was roll his eyes. This game had been fun five minutes ago, but these girls were just starting to annoy him. As most girls did. See, Phillip had trouble staying with one girl, or even a group of three girls to get technical. Most girls (nearly all) annoyed him. They just... stopped being interesting. After the first few minutes of casual flirting, it just wasn’t fun anymore. Sure, they still giggled and blushed when he smiled at them or recognized their existence, but his mind was far from their petty conversations. What were they talking about anyways? Phillip refocused, seeing as he had been staring off into space, and found that he had in fact been staring at one of the girls (without realizing of course), who was severely red in the face, obviously mistaking Phillip’s lack of focus, for interest. Phillip had not been interested at all; he could assure you of that.

Phillip shifted his gaze to another one of the girls, who was flapping her mouth like no tomorrow, she looks like a bird and apparently squawking about how rude some Slytherin had been to her earlier. Ever consider that it was because you don’t know when to shut up? Phillip wanted out, but he was surrounded! They were on all sides of him, keeping him against that wall so that to leave, he’d have to push past them! And honestly Phillip was too lazy to move. Maybe if he just stopped talking to them they’d slowly file off. But they didn’t move! He stopped talking, even stopped smiling, and yet they continued to gossip. All they seemed to talk about was class and other girls like Phillip really cared about their sad, pathetic social lives! Lunch, lunch, lunch, that’s what Phillip needed. Food. Then he’d be back to flirting and jumping around from girl to girl. If there was one thing Phillip loved it was to see the look on a girls face when he totally blew them off. Yes, that was mean, but it was rather humorous. Oh and then there was the whole starting drama thing. Phillip suddenly smirked and looked up at the girl he had been staring at absentmindedly before. He looked from her, to the girl on his right, a confused expression taking its place on his face. Finally, he looked at the girl on his right (the one who had been blabbing) and mumbled but loud enough for all three girls to hear me of course, while pointing to the girl he had stared at before. “Is that the girl you were talking about earlier? The one who’s too dense to do anything by herself?” Of course, the faces on both the girls suddenly changed, the blabbermouth stuttering and shaking her head and the stared-at-girl looking completely shocked. It didn’t take more than two seconds for an entertaining argument girl fight! to ensue.

Unfortunately, the third girl (the one on Phillip’s left) took the fight as an opportunity to talk to Phillip, as if now it was her turn for his attention. She smiled brightly at him and Phillip rolled his eyes from the fighting girls to the previously silent but now all too talkative girl. “So Phillip, what’re you doing next Hogsmeade trip?” The girl looked far too excited, and as if Phillip’s prayers had been answered, over the girl’s shoulder he saw exactly what he wanted to see. “Actually, I’ve got a date. Hey Constance!” The girl had just left a classroom and was heading off in the opposite direction. Phillip pushed back the girl he had just shot down, and ran off in the direction Constance was heading, yeah but she didn’t slow down for me! In fact Constance didn’t even stop talking. And so when Phillip did catch up, he couldn’t help but jump in front of her to stop her, and slide his hands around her waist as if they belonged there. “How about that eh? Me, you, Hogsmeade, we’ll call it a date.”

[Constance Day G6]

“Come on, Constance,” a Ravenclaw boy was pleading with her as she twirled the silver charm bracelet around her wrist, giving off this air of disinterest. He continued to whine at her and Constance finally stopped fiddling with her bracelet and looked at the boy with fire in her eyes, “Why don’t you do us both a favour? Go jump off the astronomy tower.” Constance raised her eyebrows at him and then turned and moved away from the window she had been leaning against. She really didn’t like when people cornered her in the hall. She really didn’t like when they thought they had a right to speak to her, when no one really had the right to speak to her unless she granted them the right to speak to her. The only person she didn’t completely reprimand for talking to her without being warranted to, was Phillip and that was because he normally said something that irritated her to the point where she couldn’t not argue him. Phillip Smith was hard to ignore because he just threw himself out there in ways that made Constance want to whack him over the head with her book bag. Reactions like that weren’t easy to ignore on Constance’s part. Sure, she was easily irritated, but not to the extent that Phillip was able to irritate her. Those kinds of irritations weren’t common ones; at least not for Constance.

Anyway, because of her annoyance (not really an irritation, because only Phillip could really irritate her) Constance walked away from the Ravenclaw who had been pestering her about hanging out with him after class next hour. She probably shouldn’t have, because next thing she knew she was stopped in the hall by none other than Phillip. She looked at him with disgust as he wrapped his hands around her waist casually, as if she actually allowed him to do that, as if they were actually dating…ugh, God, please no… She raised an eyebrow at him before moving and grabbing his wrists, plucking his hands from her waist and shoving them away from her; “We’d call it hell if I consent, which I’m not. What makes you think I would want to go to Hogsmeade with you? I’d rather be tortured.” Constance could think of many things she’d rather do or be instead of going to Hogsmeade with Phillip. So, perhaps hanging out with Phillip wouldn’t be too bad…are you joking? It’d be terrible! Constance sighed heavily and crossed her arms over her chest so Phillip wouldn’t be given any opportunity to grab her hands like he usually did, and she continued to stare at him as if she were challenging him to do or say anything more.

She looked past him at the group of girls he had broken away from to stand in front of her and then smirked at him, “I’m sure one of your trash robots would love to accompany you in Hogsmeade this weekend, why don’t you ask one of them.” Constance wasn’t quite sure why she was suggesting he asked out another girl, because she always felt that familiar twang of jealousy whenever she knew he was going out on a date with some girl; but somehow deep down, Constance knew that they were just toys to him. He didn’t really feel anything for them. He probably became bored with them easily. If he started to focus on one specific girl, however, Constance knew she would then have a right to become worried. After a brief moment of silence, Constance rolled her eyes away to the corridor which was fast becoming empty; “I’m going to be late to my next class if you don’t move, Phillip.”Her tone was dead serious and her eyes drifted back to him as the pack of girls finally realized he wasn’t going to join them again and left.

They were the only two people in the corridor now and the bells tolled out in the distance. Constance was late. Phillip was late. She sighed and uncrossed her arms, ready to spit out a sarcastic remark about how if she failed Arithmancy it would be entirely his fault, but something kept her from it. She looked at him and her expression softened as it normally did when it was just her and Phillip. She stood her ground for a bit and then she nodded and offered him a small smile, “Alright, Phillip, we can meet up at Hogsmeade – but it’s not a date. Got it? It’s just…us…hanging out, like we used to. You can help me carry all the merchandise I plan on buying, make yourself useful.” With that, she kissed his cheek and stepped around him, hurrying down the corridor and out of sight.

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip cocked his head to the side with a smirk as Constance pulled his hands from her waist and shoved them away. Of course he had known that would happen, it always happened. Constance was definitely not like other girls. If she was any other girl she would have fainted the moment Phillip touched her. Girls always got all googly when they came in close contact with Phillip. He didn’t mind it, he could wink at a girl and the girl would just swoon. It was slightly odd, because any girl with a brain would know that Phillip was only playing them. He had no interest in a long term relationship with any of them, the only thing he ever did was have flings. Phillip had never once had a long lasting relationship, the only thing nearly close to that was that one girl he had ‘dated’ for three days last year, and he couldn’t even remember that girls name. All he knew is she had been a bad kisser. Gah it was terrible! But then again, Phillip had impossibly high standards. Honestly no one was ever good enough for him, well Constance was, but as you can see she’s a bit of a hard fish to catch. Ohhhh she’d kill me if she knew I just compared her to a fish...

“Well you can call it whatever you’d like, hell even if it floats your boat...s’long as you say you’ll come with me. Please? I’m sure if you really wanna be tortured that could be worked out but I don’t know how good I’d feel about setting that up...a gorgeous face like yours in pain? Oh goodness no!” Phillip was still smirking of course as he reached his hands out to take hers, as he usually did, but she anticipated his next movements and crossed her arms, leaving him to mimic her and cross his arms as well. “I just thought you’d be interested in going to Hogsmeade with me, instead of being followed around by brainless oaf’s of guys. I’m the better choice, I assure you.” He nodded matter-of-factly and then rolled his eyes as she told him to ask one of the girls he had just been talking to. He sighed heavily and shook his head “Oh please, the one talks and looks like a bird, the other doesn’t talk at all, and the third one stares too much. Plus...” Phillip’s usual smirk came onto his face again, “They’re trash because I throw them out when I’m done with them. I assure you I’m not one to go digging through garbage. I like pretty, shiney, new things.” Phillip didn’t move at all, even though he knew that the next class was going to be starting soon. What class did Phillip have next? Um...defense against the dark arts? Oh who cared, he’d meander till something struck his mind and he remembered.

Phillip stood quietly as Constance sighed and rolled her eyes around, trying to convince him without words to let her go, but of course he wouldn’t. Not until he got the answer he wanted of course. He was waiting for the bit of sarcasm he knew would be coming, and was surprised when no such thing came out of her mouth. Phillip’s own smirk softened to a smile as Constance smiled at him as well, and for a moment it was as if the two of them had no hard feelings between each other, and to be honest they didn’t. They were friends, really, just friends with attitude problems. Deep down they cared about each other. Phillip let his smile brighten as Constance finally agreed to the Hogsmeade trip and then even chuckled as she mentioned him making himself useful by carrying her stuff. It wasn’t a mean spirited comment, and so he felt no need to say something mean back. The kiss on his cheek was unexpected, but not unwanted, and as she moved and headed off down the corridor, he said to himself, “Like we used to” then nodded and made his way with a light skip in my step... off to whatever class he had. There was no way he remembered now.

[Constance Day G6]

Constance looked around the Arithmancy classroom as she waited for the class to be dismissed. She wasn’t hungry, Constance was never hungry, but she could only be in one place for so long before she felt like she was growing claustrophobic. No, Constance wasn’t really claustrophobic, but if she was in one place for too long she felt like she was claustrophobic. It was precisely why she never took a double class, because taking a double class meant staying in the same classroom for two hours straight. Constance couldn’t even think about that without shuddering. Arithmancy was running late as it was and she just wanted out of the class. She had been debating getting up and stalking out on Professor Vector’s lesson for the past ten minutes, and the moment she pushed back her chair to do just that the woman dismissed the class and everyone pushed back their chairs as she did. Now, Constance was aggravated because she seemed like a follower instead of a leader or individual. Great. She sighed and heavily and grabbed her book bag, slipping it over her shoulder, and then hurried out of the classroom and out into the corridor. Her eyes kept searching around her as she walked through the corridor, her head held high like always, for Phillip. It wasn’t like she wanted him to pop out of nowhere (undoubtedly sliding an arm around her waist as he did so) but it was more that she knew he might do just that. When she reached the main level without any sight of Phillip, Constance was feeling slightly pleased and relieved and slightly uneasy.

She headed into the Great Hall and over to the Gryffindor table with determination. Her eyes locked onto Phillip who was sitting in his usual seat, his arms on the table and looking rather down probably because he couldn’t get any food out of the house elves before everyone had sat down for lunch. Her uneasiness turned into irritation (notice how it skipped the annoyance level) as she neared him. She would sit by him, like she always did, but this time she wouldn’t be pleasant. Their relationship – or friendship, whatever you want to call it – was unique. It was sort of like a love hate relationship, but not even that. They just were so alike in so many ways that they constantly had little arguments or frustrated one another. Constance knew, though, that Phillip was the only person she trusted and the only person she’d ever trust. He knew her better than anyone else did and he was the only one who didn’t let her have her way. As much as that frustrated Constance, it made her feel like she meant more to him than she meant to anyone else. He actually tried with her and that was great. Of course, if asked this Constance would deny and accuse the person of being absolutely crazy. Why would she care about Phillip or how he felt toward her?

She slammed her book bag beside him, rather loudly and harshly, that it shook the bench he was sitting on. Phillip looked up at her but Constance didn’t offer any explanation to her sour mood. She just slid onto the bench beside him and reached for a goblet which had appeared in front of her. She took a sip, keeping her gaze away from Phillip for a bit before she turned to look at him, “Have you changed your mind about Hogsmeade? Or am I really going to be stuck with your presence for a whole day?”

[Phillip Smith]

As one could have guessed, Phillip had in fact, not made it to class. Not only because he honestly couldn’t remember what class he had, I need to look at my schedule again... But because the moment he left Constance those familiar hunger pains had reached him again. Phillip had instead, meandered around the halls until he had finally decided to go into the Great Hall and see if he could get some food. He had, without a doubt, avoided every single girl he had seen in the hallways, though of course they had all made an effort to say hi to him, he simply played deaf. He was good at playing deaf, he had lots of practice. Constance throws fits a lot. And so when he finally made it into the empty hall he had gone straight to his usual spot, seeing as Phillip Smith always sat in the same spot, and looked at the empty table. Now, when I say Phillip always sat in the same spot, I mean it. He did. Even if someone else was sitting in his spot, one way or another, they moved for him. Phillip was never pleased to see another person in his seat, or even too close to his seat to the point where it looked like he might have been uncomfortable. Constance was the only exception, she could sit however close she wanted.

Phillip had, in knowledge that he was alone in the room, whined about how there was no food on the table, and begged the house elves I know they could hear me! to give him at least something little to tide him over. Of course they didn’t, which means they probably were far too busy cooking, or just ignored him, but either way it left Phillip rather frustrated. His frustration only got worse when other students began to join him in the hall, sitting down and talking loudly about their days, none of them knowing that Phillip Smith was rather unhappy. Shouldn’t everyone have known that? It was important. Don’t you dare compare me to Constan- He was rather like Constance in this way. The world revolved around Phillip Waylon Smith. That’s how it went. If you didn’t know Phillip was unhappy, you had better figure that out or you were in for it. Phillip had no problems ripping you a new one if he was hungry and you got in his way or bothered him. Even to ask the time. He’d shove that clock down your throat. Dinner is served.

Phillip didn’t notice Constance -don’t tell her I said that!- until she slammed her bookbag down, and even then he didn’t say anything, he just looked up at her. He was almost too hungry to speak. He waited as she sat down, happy to see her sitting with him, and then continued to stare at the table in front of him. Finally table settings appeared and shortly after there was food on the table. Phillip let out a loud sigh of relief and reached straight for a sandwich as Constance took a drink and then turned to look at him. Phillip didn’t speak back however, until he had eating half of his meal, and then he reached for his goblet as well, took a sip, and then looked thoughtful. It always was funny to him to see how much Constance changed when it was just them, or when they were in a group. “Well, seeing as you’ve already given me permission to spend the day with you, yes, you are stuck with me.” He smirked over at her. “Sure we can’t call it a date? I mean...maybe we could have lunch? That would be nice eh?”

[Constance Day G6]

Constance pulled a slice of bread apart with her fingers. She wasn’t hungry. Like I had said earlier, Constance was never hungry. If her mother was one of those mothers who become concerned about her daughter’s eating habits (and if she ever saw her), Constance had no doubt she would be nagged at. Not only was Constance never hungry, she was a picky eater; so she hardly ever ate except for in the morning. Phillip often bothered her about it, actually he bothered her about it a lot. Constance, deep down, knew he only did it because he cared – but she wished he wouldn’t worry about her. She would like me to say “at all” but I know she means “not as much.” No matter how adamant about her not caring what he thought Constance appeared, she really did like that he worried because it meant he cared. Anyway, Constance was tearing apart a slice of bread as Phillip devoured his food. She smirked at him, wondering just how agitated she could have gotten him before he had eaten. Phillip was just mean when he was hungry, and as long as he wasn’t being mean to her she was happy to see him tear someone apart. Maybe Constance was cruel, maybe not – maybe she’s just misunderstood. Who really knew? So, she smirked at him eating as she awaited his answer (rather impatiently, mind you) and took small sips of her pumpkin juice. After her slice of bread had been torn to sheds to Constance’s satisfaction, she shoved the platter away and pulled a roll to her. Looking at it a moment, Constance tore that in half and then nibbled at the roll, still waiting for Phillip to reply to her question (this time even more impatient and irritated).

She looked to her right when Phillip finally decided to grace her with an answer, again insisting they called it a date. Her eyes rolled of their own accord, it was that normal of a reaction, and she nibbled at her roll again before setting it down and shoving that platter away as well. A few moments later, Constance looked at Phillip again; “If I wanted it to be a date, Phillip, I’d be one of the little spineless, mindless trash robots that follow your every move and words.” She took a sip of her pumpkin juice again, looking away from him. Her eyes drifted to the main entrance and instantly locked on the inflow of gaggling girls. She followed them as they made their way down to where she and Phillip sat and took seats on his free side and then across from him. It was then that they all began talking at once. Constance sighed and rolled her eyes again, “Tell me, Phillip,” she said loudly over the chatter of girls so they all paused in what they were saying to look at her, “Do you know their names, or do you just have them numbered?” She smirked and turned, resting her arms on the table, her eyes locked on the girl diagonal from her, “Number forty five,” she looked at the girl next to her, “number forty six,” and then she continued to do that. She went in a circle, numbering all the girls. When she was finished she smirked again and then grabbed her book bag, “And that’s the shame girls…” she told them as she stood and shoved her bag onto her shoulders, “You’ll never be number one. Because that slot belongs to me.”

If she had really meant that (which she had) no one would believe her. Constance was just being conceited, she was just being herself. Why would anyone feel the need to believe any of the words she said? That’s why when she looked at Phillip one last time and then turned on her heel and walked off, the girls stared after her and then continued their conversation to try to get Phillip’s attention. She doubted they would succeed though, less than usual, and this pleased Constance because she loved taking his attention away from other girls. Of course, if asked why she would tell whoever asked because it meant that the attention was on her. She actually “technically” liked taking attention away from anyone, but that’s a lie. That’s what she would tell them, though. Constance lied about her emotions quite a bit, actually- too much. She smirked and headed toward her next class, maybe she could get some assignment done early. The only problem with that was, well, Phillip was in that class with her.

[Phillip Smith]

As Phillip shoved food into his welcoming mouth, he watched Constance out of the corner of his eye. Of course, she wasn’t eating...hardly anything at all. Often times Phillip wondered how that girl could possibly go on, Phillip loved food, and eating. And therefore, he ate at every meal. And he enjoyed it. Constance however, didn’t get the joys of food. She was one of those girls that ate like a bird. Phillip couldn’t give a single logical guess why, only that she was a snob like that...more than likely Hogwarts food isn’t good enough...oh poor pity Constance! Again...don’t tell her I said that... It wasn’t just that Constance was picky that bothered Phillip, it was the fact that Constance just didn’t eat that bothered him. If there was one time Phillip worried about Constance, oh please I worry about her constantly, every time she’s talking to one of those mindless oafs, or living by herself in Italy, gah!, it was when she didn’t eat. Not eating wasn’t the healthiest decisions, and as much as Phillip got a kick out of annoying Constance, he did care about her wellbeing. He just liked to keep that matter between the two of them. He knew however, that trying to get her to eat wouldn’t work out so well, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try.

However, Phillip had to answer Constance’s question first, and she of course had a quick answer. No. As usual. When did Constance say yes? Oh yeah, this morning. Goodness was she moody. Phillip could honestly say he didn’t know when Constance was going to change her mind about something. Of course, of course, Constance couldn’t help but throw in a remark about the girls that Phillip was often surrounded by. Phillip didn’t bother arguing about her on this, because the fact was that she was right, and he had no problem with that. If Phillip wanted a date just to have a date, he could have one with a word and a snap of his fingers, actually, not even a snap. He could have it with a word. Sometimes he didn’t even need a word. No one was exaggerating when they said girls had a habit of throwing themselves at Phillip’s feet. On many, various occasions. Phillip finished up the food on his plate by the time the other girls had joined him and Constance, but as usual he didn’t really pay them any attention. Anytime Constance was in the vicinity she was all he could really focus on. And so he nodded to the girl’s gossip, but continuously looked at Constance out of the corner of his eye.

It didn’t take Phillip long to realize Constance was about to say something that would totally disrupt lunch, she always got a glimmer in her eyes when she got one of those bright ideas. And so, when she addressed him, he was ready. “Hmmm?” Was all he could manage in response, knowing that Constance was about to...well...well she might have been about to start a riot for all Phillip knew. The next words had barely left her mouth when Phillip realized he was about to bust out in laughter. He buried his face in his hands and shook his head, trying not to laugh too hard at Constance’s commentary. When she had finished counting, she left them with one final quip that brought Phillip out of his humorous state. He looked up at Constance, his eyes locking on hers as she looked at him, and then he watched her turn and walk away, a small smile on his face. Unfortunately...the smile didn’t last because it didn’t take long for the other girls to start talking again, they were gossiping about my Constance...and I don’t know about you? But I don’t like hearing about what other guys were crazy for liking her...I’m the only crazy one allowed to like her!. Phillip layed his arms on the table and then his head on them, spending the next ten minutes just thinking about...well...how crazy I am for liking that girl...before he finally stood, bid the girls farewell, and headed off for his next class. This one he knew for sure where it was, it was the class he had with Constance.

[Constance Day G6]

Constance slid into her seat in the back, mumbling a hello to the professor, and pulled her book bag to her side. The class (Ancient Runes) wasn’t one that Constance really paid attention to. The only reason she took it was because if she had to take one more year of Herbology, she’d kill herself. Constance believed that the class was a ridiculous one, and Ancient Runes was nearly as ridiculous but she figured it was at least entertaining. Why? Because Phillip was in the class with her. Today, though, Constance wasn’t quite sure how good of a thing that was; considering how he kept pressuring her to make their trip to Hogsmeade a date and all. She wondered if he’d pester her to make it a date all through class, then she started to wonder how long she’d be able to tolerate him if he did that. Constance loved to test limits, hers and other peoples’ – especially Phillip’s. It gave her a sense of control. Constance liked control, in everything. Everything.

With a sigh, Constance took out her Transfiguration essay that was assigned that morning She looked over it and then began working on it. Constance was a good student. She never missed an assignment or a day of classes. She received top marks in all her classes last year (with the exception of potions, though you would think she would get top marks in that as well) and she was rather proud about it. “Rather” being an understatement. She was very proud. Very. Very proud. But what was expected? Constance was amazing at everything. For example, about 15 minutes after she had started her Transfiguration essay, she had it finished. It was 2 feet of parchment and about 7 paragraphs. Constance wasn’t pleased with the length and she would have continued to write if the bells hadn’t tolled for next hour to begin. People didn’t start arriving until about a minute later and the second or third person to walk through the door was Phillip. Constance made sure her parchment was dry before she rolled it up and put it in her book bag as Phillip took his seat beside her. Before he could say a word, Constance beat him to it; “It’s not a date, Phillip. It’s just…” she looked at him softly, “us being us. Not being…this.” She motioned between them to indicate the bickering they always did, the arguing that wore her out, the insults they flung at each other, the things that were entertaining for awhile but then just made her feel pretty crummy.

She looked at him a moment longer and then turned her attention to the front of the class as the professor began teaching. Constance tapped her quill tip on the table for a moment before tearing off a piece of parchment and then dipping her quill into the ink pot; ”I will go to lunch with you, though, just as long as you don’t nag me about not eating. Deal?” Lifting her gaze to the teacher again as if she had just started to take notes, Constance slid the scrap piece of paper to Phillip. Then she actually started to take notes on the class, waiting for Phillip’s reply.

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip left the lunch table and headed off for Ancient Runes, probably his least favorite class. Runes was not a Phillip class. It just wasn’t. It involved too much thought, and too much translating. It was pretty much learning another language and Phillip wasn’t any good with languages. Except for Italian. But the only reason Phillip could speak some Italian was because he had grown up around it. Both his parents spoke numerous languages; Italian, French, German, and if Phillip knew correctly his mum might have known a little Celtic. But not much. The fact was, that growing up in mostly Italy had left Phillip with a need to understand Italian, though he didn’t speak it on a regular basis. The real problem he had with Runes, though was that it wasn’t spoken. It was written. Kind of like Latin. Phillip could get it to a degree if he could speak it, but with Latin and Runes? All he could do was memorize the things he needed to write or read. And so, you may be wondering why on earth Phillip was taking that class? Why else? Constance. As usual. Apparently I’d do anything for her. He would. He’d like people to think he wasn’t totally head over heels for her, he’d like them to think she didn’t have him at the snap of her fingers, but honestly she did.

That didn’t mean that he still had a mind of his own. Therefore, to prove that, he did in fact go into Runes with the plan to convince Constance to call it a date. He really did want it to be a date, but he knew she probably wouldn’t agree to it. It wouldn’t be like Constance to agree to a date with Phillip. The second he sat down in his seat, he took off his backpack and turned in his seat to protest to her, but she beat him to it. And Phillip let out an audible sigh. He looked back at her sadly as she motioned between them, knowing exactly what she meant. Phillip didn’t...he didn’t like the way they were to each other. He just was that way to her because he felt like if he wasn’t then she’d just get bored with him. Constance had always appeared to Phillip to be the kind of person who needed constant fuel. She always needed something to go on, and Phillip had always felt like if he wasn’t just as quick and witty as she was that she wouldn’t have any use of him anymore. And Phillip knew how quickly Constance could throw a guy away, Phillip did the same thing to girls. It wasn’t like he totally wanted to be a jerk to her all the time, but as they always say ‘nice guys finish last’. He went to argue with her...yeah yeah, I’m a hypocrite...about how they could technically always ‘them’ if she didn’t constantly get on his case about everything, but the professor decided that was a good time to begin for the day. Phillip rolled his eyes from Constance down to his backpack, pulling out his things, talking himself through the fact that honestly he was being a hypocrite. He was a terrible hypocrite. Phillip knew it was just as much his fault as Constance’s, but he always hated to admit it.

Phillip was trying to just convince himself to give up when Constance pushed a bit of parchment to him. This surprised Phillip, because, while he was not exactly the best student, Constance was his opposite. She was an amazing student and if any note passing happened in class, it was mostly Phillip’s doing. So just the fact that Constance had passed him a note and not the other way around caught Phillip off guard. With a quick glance up to make sure he wouldn’t be conspicuous, Phillip pulled the parchment onto his own notes and read it. A small smile crossed his face and he picked up his quick to respond with a ‘sounds nice’ when he changed his mind and scratched something different onto it, ”Can you tell me why you’re so adamant about not letting me take you on a date? You’ve never even given me a chance, Constance.” Sure, he might have been pushing it, but the thought really did bother him. He had probably asked her a million times and she had always said no. Phillip had hoped that this year maybe she would lighten up and mature about it, but had she? Not exactly.

[Constance Day G6]

Constance had quickly caught up with all the notes. She had an amazing ability to write everything word for word without being held behind. Perhaps it was because she could write incredibly fast and still be able to read it, who knew? She didn’t question it. It was something that she had always been able to do. Constance’s eyes followed the teacher as she walked around the room, explaining something about some rune or another. Thankfully, they weren’t going to be doing anything hands on today (Constance hated hands on activities, she was much more the textbook essay writer type of student) and it meant that when Phillip slid the note back to her, she could reply easily. He hadn’t replied just yet, though, and Constance bit her lip as she looked back down at her notes (which were now nearing a fifth of the parchment) before adding one more note to it. It was then that Phillip slid the piece of parchment to her. She took it into her slender fingers and placed it on her notes, reading over it once, and then twice, and then thrice, and then once more. She let a small sigh escape her and she closed her eyes before she dipped her quill in the ink again and started to reply; ”Phillip…I… it’s complicated? I’m…dating…isn’t… What good would it do, Phillip? We both know how we are to each other. Do you really think we’d be able to get through a date without arguing over something completely absurd?”

As she slid the parchment back to him, her fingers trembled slightly before she could take a deep enough breath and continue on with the notes. Writing down everything she had remembered hearing Professor Tyler go on about whilst Constance had been writing Phillip. She scratched out the wrong word on her parchment and then looked at her notes, not really reading them – seeing past them. Why was she always so adamant about going on a date with Phillip? Constance wasn’t sure. She didn’t know why she always said no when any other girl would die to be in her shoes, having him pursue her as much as he did. Perhaps she was afraid that he knew too much about her, perhaps she didn’t just want to be like every other girl who was tripping over him. Maybe both of those were the issue, but the point remained the same – Constance couldn’t say yes, no matter how bad she wanted to. And there were times when she really wanted to. Of course, she wouldn’t tell him that and she wouldn’t tell anyone else that; the only reason I know is because I’m the narrator…so I know everything. But if you asked Constance if she had any romantic feelings toward Phillip, her answer would be an easily flat no. Constance jarred herself from her thoughts just fast enough to catch what Professor Tyler had been saying so she could jot it down. She was slipping, and for this she mentally admonished herself.

Then a thought occurred to her. She reached over and plucked the note from Phillip just as he was about to respond and hurriedly wrote down; ”Why are you so adamant about calling it a date, anyway? So you can just grow bored with me like you do with every other girl?” She looked at it, satisfied that now it covered any sign of true feeling and shoved it back to him. Sending off an air of anger and annoyance, although technically she rather was. She was annoyed and angry because the moment she had written it down, she had actually started to believe it. Phillip only wanted a date with her because she was “unconquered territory” to him and that made him angry. That arrogant jerk!” Constance fumed inside her head as she scribbled down notes furiously.

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip rarely paid attention in this class. When he did the homework, it was a jumble of stuff he copied from anyone else he could find that was taking the class. His argument was ‘How can you possibly focus in a class with Constance next to you? She’s so bothersome!’ but he really meant She’s so freaking...ahhhh I just can’t focus when she’s around...I mean, she’s really pretty...and smart, and to be honest she has a great personality...when she’s not using it to break me down... And so, instead of really taking notes, or listening to the teacher, he was watching Constance out of the corner of his eye. Now, it’s an unspoken rule of note passing that you are technically not supposed to read the note as someone’s writing it, but when Phillip was passing notes with Constance, he always broke that rule. And so he sat, watching Constance write, and then watching her scratch out her first thought. Of course she would be the one to scratch out her first thoughts, her gut feelings. Constance wasn’t one to go with her gut. Because it was possible that her gut would tell her to do something that wasn’t exactly ‘proper’ for her to do. No matter how proper Phillip could be, he knew how to go with his gut. As strange as it might be to do it, it was normally the right thing to do.

By the time Phillip had gotten the note, read it, and grabbed his quill, the parchment was snatched back out of his hands. Phillip looked over at Constance with a glare, shaking his head and turning back to his ‘notes’, thinking about what he had just read. What good would it do? Constance had a point, the two bickered a lot, but why did they bicker? Well they fought because they tried to fight...really and truthfully Phillip agreed with Constance on a lot of things, he just found things to fight with her about because he thought it kept her entertained. Phillip wanted more than anything Constance’s attention, and that in and of itself was a strange thought. Phillip was fawned over, he never fawned. People fought for Phillip’s attention, not the other way around. But Phillip had always strived for her attention. She was the one person that didn’t ever pay him much attention. Even from when they were children she would find some reason to look past him and do something that didn’t involve him. Constance and Phillip of course had been childhood friends, but at the same time they had always been one of those ‘today I’m your friend, tomorrow I’m not’ kind of friendships. What good would it do them? Well maybe we’d actually try and be mature about the whole situation and work through our differences. Wow Phillip, deep.

When the note came back to Phillip, it was all Phillip could do not to turn and begin outright arguing with Constance about what on earth her problem was. She always had to find some negative to a positive situation. Phillip could very well have argued that a date could have done them good, but now she was just pushing it. He shook his head and frowned as he picked his quill up and wrote on the note, “Yeah Constance, sure, because you’re just like every other girl right? You act like I think you’re a possession or something, please. If I ever planned on getting bored with you it would have happened years ago when you started getting all snobbish at me. You know, the one guy who ever listens to you?” He pushed the note back to her, telling himself that if she wrote back and just kept arguing, he wouldn’t write back. He’d let her win...yeah right, like I have that in me.

[Constance Day G6]

Constance’s eyes remained on the professor as Phillip wrote back. She knew he wasn’t happy with what she had written, but that was what she had planned – wasn’t it? She didn’t want too much emotion to show, no matter how true the emotion was; so she had done what she always did – she had put up this wall that kept everyone out. Even Phillip. Sometimes, especially Phillip. Constance Day wasn’t afraid of anything, she really wasn’t, except Phillip. Not in the sense that you’re probably thinking, not in the sense that most people would think. She was afraid because he knew so much about her, he knew her completely. He might not see it, and he might not understand her, but he did know her and that was something that most people didn’t have the luxury to do. It was frightening to think that someone knew her that well. It was probably her greatest fear, that Phillip could see through her completely. That Phillip could look at her and see that she was lying or that she wasn’t being completely honest. Constance’s stomach churned and she dipped her quill into the ink again as she started another line of notes. She hadn’t realized that she had skipped a whole lot of notes not listening to the professor at all. Constance scowled and slammed her quill down, now completely agitated with everything around her. She wasn’t going to be able to focus in class now. Ancient Runes had just gone down the drain.

It was at that precise moment, when she had thrown her quill down (leaving an ink blob on her notes), that Phillip passed back the scrap piece of parchment. She read over it quickly and then sighed heavily and turned to look at him. She spoke in a hushed whisper, a hurried whisper, and a harsh whisper; “If you’re so sick of me being snobbish, then maybe we should just not hang out anymore. This is me, Phillip, and if you haven’t noticed you aren’t exactly the nicest guy on the planet, either. I don’t know where you get off making me feel bad about my personality when yours is the mirror image of mine!” Her voice had risen enough for people to hear her now. The class paused and turned to look at the two students, but Constance didn’t care. She continued to stare at Phillip and then shook her head and grabbed her book bag and stood to leave. The professor started to say something, but Constance didn’t listen. She turned on her heel and walked out of the classroom in a huff. She was doing what she always did. Walking away from the problems that she felt she couldn’t face, that she feared she couldn’t face. Walking away from Phillip, from the one person she really cared about. Constance didn’t stop when she had exited the classroom, she kept walking, she kept going. Her legs kept carrying her, farther and father away from her problem, from Phillip.

She didn’t know where she was going. She had no idea what she would do. She had never walked out on a class, no matter how angry she became. Constance was first and foremost a top mark student, and then a temperamental 17 year old. Not today, though; no, Phillip had made her angry enough to make her walk out of the class early. Or had he made her realize something she had been trying not to realize for the past 6 or 7 years? Perhaps he had only opened her eyes to something that Constance had been trying to condone, and perhaps that Constance really hadn’t liked that. She folded her arms over her chest as she walked down the empty corridor, trying to decide through the muddle of her thoughts where she would go and what she would do for 45 more minutes. Her eyes remained downcast and for the first time in awhile, she walked with her head hung. She had never felt so defeated, so torn down. Was this how everyone else felt when she tore them down? Or was it worse because she did it directly instead of indirectly as Phillip had? Or was it better for that same reason? If he had meant to hurt her, would it have hurt less or at all? Or would it have hurt the same or more? These were the questions that plagued Constance as she walked through the empty school.

[Phillip Smith]

By the time Phillip passed back the note, Constance must have lost her place in the notes, because there was a definite change in her attitude. Normally, Constance could argue with Phillip and remain relatively calm, so therefore the anger he felt waving off of her must have been from something more than just their little fight. Phillip passed back the note, and he didn’t look at Constance, but she surely looked at him. Phillip could feel her eyes on him and so what did he do? Well of course he turned to face her, regardless of the fact that they would be insanely obvious now. Phillip frowned even more as Constance whispered at him, and he shook his head as she spoke, as if to deny everything she said. Of course, Phillip knew there was a truth to her words. Phillip was just as bad as she was. If he did anything, he encouraged her to be rude to him, by being rude to her. He bit back. Tit for tat. He never let her win, and he never just let her say something without having a counter-argument. Even if he really did agree with her. Which was often the case. Phillip was just as snobbish as Constance was, he just liked to throw that in her face because he knew that it would hit a chord. Is that what he wanted?

No, and he realized that as Constance stood, grabbed her things, and left the room. The whole class was silent, even the professor and Phillip for a heartbeat thought about shaking his head and just apologizing, but he couldn’t. Instead, he shook his head and stood as well, grabbing his things and rushing out of the room after Constance, despite the professor’s second attempt at stopping a fleeing student. As he hurried after Constance, realizing that she must have practically ran –which makes me wonder how she possibly runs in heels...- out of that classroom and away from the corridor, in desperate attempt to avoid Phillip. Had he wanted that? Had he wanted to hit a chord? Had he meant to possibly hurt her? No. Phillip never wanted to hurt Constance, and yet, what had he done? He had hurt her. He had found a way to break his number one personal Constance rule; never hurt her. No matter how rude she got, no matter how obnoxious she could be, Phillip really did care about Constance more then he’d ever cared about a girl, and there he had gone, hurting her. It was strange to think that Constance was one of the only girls he was capable of hurting. In a way...you could look at that positively. It meant that Phillip only ever cared to know Constance enough to know what to say to strike a chord. He could never have done that with another girl, because he had never taken the time to know a girl to that depth.

No matter how fast Constance must have moved, Phillip found a way to catch up to her, and when he saw her back he hurried to make up the little bit of distance. For once in his whole life, he saw her head bowed. He had seen her sad before, but seen her head drop? Never. Maybe it was something she had just never wanted him to see before. Anyways, Phillip hurried right up behind Constance, took her hand, and turned her around to face him. Before she had a chance to take her hand back, Phillip took her other as well and held her facing him. “Constance...come on...I...I didn’t mean it like that...” He looked her in the eyes, apologetically for the first time in a long time. Phillip never got like this with Constance, ever. He never really let her see how much he cared. He was fun and flirty and easy going...but sweet? Phillip sweet? “I’m sorry, Constance.” Phillip sorry? Wow. This was new. I can have feelings thanks. He didn’t let go of her hands as he continued to look at her, knowing she would turn away from him. “Look I just...I took that too far and I said something I didn’t mean. You know me...I lose my head sometimes and say things that are totally hypocritical and crazy. Just...I don’t want you to stop talking to me...more than we already don’t talk...” He sighed and looked up for a minute before looking down at her again. “I...you know I’d much rather spend more time being ‘us’ and not...us.”

[Constance Day G6]

She lifted her head and looked ahead of her as she continued walking down the empty corridor. Her eyes pierced the wall that she faced and if you looked into them you would see a haunted glaze behind the golden brown complexity. Her face was smooth, because she never kept a constant frown on simply for the fact that she knew it caused wrinkles. Okay, so perhaps Constance was a bit vain, but could you blame her? You would be rather vain, too, if you looked as Constance did. Even when she was upset she was gorgeous. She didn’t need to be told that she was gorgeous; though, it was extremely nice to hear. Constance tucked her hair behind her ear and then folded her arms over her chest again, she still hadn’t the foggiest idea as to where she would be heading. Her legs continued to carry her, farther and farther away (or so she thought) from Phillip, and deeper and further down the corridor with a pace that was quite unlike her – quite different and quite new. She wasn’t a slow walker, no; quite the contrary, Constance had a pace that most could not keep up with, but at this precise moment in time, she was walking faster than she often did and she hardly realized she was doing it at all. The more distance she put between herself and her problem, she figured, was better. She did not want to and could not face the problem with the ease that she would have initially been able. If only she hadn’t let her worries get the best (or worst) of her, she would not be in this particular predicament with a knot in her stomach and a haunted gaze in her eyes.

Apparently, however, she was not distancing herself from her problem as much as she had thought she had been. In fact, her problem was catching up with her at quite a shocking speed. Startled, Constance turned when someone grabbed her hand. She hadn’t any need to question who had turned her around to face them, it was Phillip. Constance said nothing and did nothing, not even taking her hand back as she would have normally, as she would have if she hadn’t been feeling so destroyed and so terrible, as she would have if she wasn’t craving for Phillip’s attention and his words, as he spoke. Phillip spoke; he spoke about not meaning what he had said in the way she had taken his words. Constance looked at him, her eyes darkened with sadness as she tried to fight that particular emotion down, and waited for him to continue with whatever he had been saying. He apologized and Constance had to do a double take. She looked at him, a strong gaze, a gaze that would make anyone else but Phillip fidget and squirm underneath, and whispered; “You’re sorry?” It was a strange concept, a foreign concept that Constance had never dealt with before. Her mind worked as she tried to think of what to say, how to act, what Phillip would be looking for in her response. Luckily, she was saved from having to think for a moment when Phillip continued talking.

It was in that moment that Constance snapped back into herself, into her normal personality. She yanked her hands away from Phillip gently, ever so gently – almost so gently that she didn’t yank them as much as tug them away slowly; “It’s fine, Phillip, don’t fret over it. I wouldn’t stop talking to you over that.” She did not say anything on the subject of them not speaking much anymore because she knew it would dive into a subject she would not want to explore too thoroughly. There were things that Constance believed needed to remain shallow and unexplored – this was one of them. “Being Constance and Phillip from when we were younger is difficult. We clash quite a lot when we’re together. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to try to be the ‘us’ that we enjoyed being so long ago, although…” she looked at him seriously, “a date, a romantic ‘us’ is out of the question.” Her words had a ring to them, a ring that let the thought of a ‘but’ to the sentence being added hang in the air. She did not add a ‘but,’ though, because she did not feel it necessary to add a ‘but.’ The ‘but’ she might have added on would be along the lines of ‘but it is susceptible to change’ and Constance did not quite believe that that particular ‘but’ was appropriate at this moment in time.

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip rambled on about how he was sorry, and about how he had said things he hadn’t meant, and about how he was hypocritical and that he didn’t want her to stop talking to him, and all the while he supposed that he kind of expected...well...a different reaction. Constance not taking her hands from Phillip’s right away had led him to develop a sense of hope that maybe he’d see that sweet Constance he’d seen earlier, the sweet Constance that kissed his cheek and told him they could meet up. The Constance that had written that note about how they could go to lunch. The Constance that Constance tried to hide. Phillip knew that that Constance existed, it was just bringing her out that was hard. Phillip had thought for hours on how to possible tune into the things that he could say or do that might bring out that girl, but he’d finally decided that he had no choice in the matter. That Constance only came when Constance felt like it. It was all about Constance, 24/7. All the time. Always had been. Always would be. Phillip knew that, but he didn’t remember it until Constance pulled her hands from his, and her usual tone came back to her.

It was almost as if seeing Phillip sorry brought back Constance’s confidence, her self-assuredness, and her arrogance. Phillip half wanted to say that was a good thing, and half wanted to hate it. But the truth of the matter was that he didn’t have the option of hating anything about Constance. He couldn’t bring himself to. When everyone else was talking badly about her, he could never see eye to eye with them. Maybe it was because Phillip saw the good in Constance, or maybe it was because Phillip wanted to see the good in her, but either way, he couldn’t hate her. He could never hate anything about her. She could hate him, and probably would someday, but even then he doubted his feelings would change. He had felt the same way since he was a child. Constance had always been something special, and more so then just the fact that she was the rich neighbors’ daughter. Constance wasn’t special to Phillip just because she had nice things or just because she was gorgeous. Constance was special to Phillip because she had it all. No one else had it all. No one else had the personality Phillip could understand, the smarts Phillip could adore, nor the face that he could fall over himself for. No one else ever made Phillip fall.

Phillip looked at Constance, still no brighter, but he wasn’t anger either. Just the same, nearly dull, but really just sad eyes, looking into her piercing ones. He shook his head slightly and rubbed his forehead before sighing and closing his eyes. “You always put a negative spin on things Constance. That would have been a lovely thing to hear if you hadn’t just sounded so disgusted by the idea of a romance with me.” He opened his eyes and looked up at her. “You don’t have to like the idea. But at the same time you really don’t have to make me seem like the last man on earth you’d ever be with.” Phillip turned to walk away, but instead he just walked to the wall and leaned against it. “I mean...honestly, I’ve seen some of the guys you’ve toyed with, and you can’t honestly say any of them have what I do.” Phillip looked at her again. “What do you see in them that you don’t see in me? Be honest.”

[Constance Day G6]

Constance shifted her book bag on her shoulder and looked down at her feet as Phillip spoke again. She tried not to let that feeling of defeat return to her. It was harder than she had expected it to be, but what did she really expect anyway? Phillip wasn’t the type of guy to let her have her way, to let their problem lie and be forgotten. He had never been that type of guy. Constance knew this, and yet she had expected him to do something along the lines of letting everything just slide; perhaps this once? No, of course not. What a foolish notion that would be, what a foolish hope, even. She watched Phillip walk away from her and lean against the wall, suddenly very agitated at how cool and comfortable he seemed to be. It was as if he knew he would get something out of her, some form of a response, even if it wasn’t something great or something he had wanted to hear. The question that he asked, though, was not an easy one to answer. She eyed him warily, unsure of what to say as he continued to lean against the wall and stare at her. Constance looked away for a moment and then spoke, in a quiet tone but a tone that showed her agitation toward him; “They don’t,” she paused here and closed her eyes before turning to look at Phillip again, “they don’t have the ability to hurt me like you do, Phillip. You know me. You know what things to say to get me to feel defeated. They don’t. I don’t let them know me. Not like I’ve let you know me.” Constance breathed in deeply, hating herself for being honest. Perhaps it wasn’t a hate but more of a disappointment. Yes, she was disappointed in herself for being honest. What a peculiar concept that was.

Her breathing was shallow as she stared at Phillip. She had this unnerving feeling that if she didn’t get away soon, she was just going to burst into tears. Constance never cried, at least not in public. Crying in public showed weakness and weakness was something that Constance wasn’t able to have. Her brown eyes watered as she stared at Phillip so intensely that she ended up having to look away. She didn’t know where she’d look to, but she had to look away. The floor, the wall, that portrait with a maiden in a yellow lace gown, or even the ghost, which was gliding across seemingly oblivious to all that was going on around it. Constance’s eyes could not stay on one object for too long and they could not stay on Phillip at all. She felt her cheeks grow hot from not being able to look at him. Constance never felt shame. She was not a girl who became ashamed of things easily. She was proud of everything she did, because there was no reason for her to be ashamed of anything. If someone could make her feel ashamed, though, it was Phillip; “I’m not disgusted by it, Phillip. And I know I put a negative spin on things, but it’s the best way to do things. I don’t get hurt this way.” It was true. She didn’t. Constance didn’t get hurt when she always expected the worse. Sure, it tore her up as she was thinking about the worse possible scenario, but afterward when that scenario wasn’t the case at all? No pain. Only relief.

Constance continued to look at Phillip, her eyes still that same shade of brown that they had been previously. She looked stubborn, as always, but there was something behind the stubbornness that oftener wasn’t there. It was a mixture of sadness, shame, and regret – three things that Constance never let anyone see. She didn’t want to allow herself to believe that she was feeling those things at that precise moment or that Phillip was causing her to feel them, but she was indeed feeling them and that was something she couldn’t deny to an extent. She eyed him a moment longer and then tucked her brown hair behind her ear with a timidity that was quite unlike her. Her eyes were downcast, looking away from Phillip once more, and she slowly took a step toward him. She lifted her haunted eyes and looked straight into his, “I would still really like to go to Hogsmeade with you, but a date is just too much. I’m sorry.” She stared at him, her eyes searching his and then she leaned up and kissed his cheek; letting her lips linger a moment before turning swiftly and walking down the corridor away from him once more.

[Phillip Smith]

Phillip didn’t take his eyes off Constance as he leaned against the wall. He knew his question was making her uncomfortable, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Constance was always trying to make people think that nothing affected her the same way it affected other people, but Phillip knew better than anyone that Constance was human too. As Robotic in her emotions as she liked to say she was - ohhhh she’ll hurt you for calling her a robot- Phillip knew that deep down, she was just like anyone else, and she still did the same things everyone else did. She still got sad, she still got uncomfortable, heck, Phillip was convinced that sometimes Constance even got nervous. Though that was a hard one to prove. Almost as hard as proving that Phillip got nervous. Sure, sometimes Phillip didn’t know when to say– only when I’m around Constance -but he rarely ever got nervous. And I mean ever. It just didn’t happen. And it didn’t happen with Constance either, at least not to a degree where one could see it on the surface. When Constance refused to look up at Phillip he knew he had said something to get her attention. Constance could look Phillip straight in the eye if he hadn’t said anything important, but the second he did Constance lost her standing when it came to eye contact. Phillip had the same problem sometimes, so he recognized it in Constance easily. He didn’t break however, he knew he was right, he knew what he was saying had a point, so why would he break?

Of course, when Constance spoke, she addressed the second question first; hopefully working backward, for Phillip really wanted to know her response to his first statement. See, he already knew what Constance’s excuse would be before it was out of her mouth. She had said it at least once before it passing. It was just about the same reason that turned Phillip off to the idea of being with Constance sometimes. The idea that she knew him, she got him, she understood what made him tick. And because of that, she could break him. She was the only one who could break him. It was the thought that scared Phillip away from trying too hard to get Constance into a relationship sometimes. No matter how bad he might have really wanted it, the concept of her having the ability to demolish him if she wanted was frightening. The fact that she could break his heart so easily if she tried was the one thing that kept him wary. Then again, most of the time even that didn’t stop him, but sure, it was in the back of his mind. The risks he was facing. But even so he still wanted her. He wanted to be able to say that she was his, that Phillip Smith had in fact been the right one for Constance Day, and she for him. He wanted her because he knew she was the only one who could ever make him happy. As big the probability of Constance breaking his heart was, Phillip knew that Constance was the only one who could ever make him happy, the only one with the ability to do that. Phillip knew it, and for that reason he couldn’t let her go. She was what he needed. Not to mention wanted.

Phillip waited as Constance finished speaking, and then took her eyes off him once again. Phillip, however, had nothing to say to what she had just told him, and so he just stood there, in silence, waiting for her to run again, or speak again. Finally she spoke, but her eyes didn’t return to Phillip just yet. He shook his head and finally looked away from her. She wasn’t disgusted, but yeah, she put a negative spin on it, and why? So that she didn’t hurt. Phillip was torn between understanding Constance’s words, and being offended by them. On one hand, Phillip knew exactly what Constance meant, and on the other hand, Phillip was upset because obviously, Constance had a thought in her mind that being romantic with Phillip might cause her to be hurt in some way. Which in Phillip’s mind translated to -she thinks I’ll hurt her. Of course, there might have been logic behind that, I mean, a lot of girls did refer to Phillip as a heartbreaker, which was stupid because Phillip never really thought of himself as a heartbreaker, did girls actually put their whole hearts into their relationships with him? That wasn’t intelligent. Finally Phillip resorted to being understanding, and so he nodded and continued to look down, having nothing to say. He assumed Constance would throw out something to leave him burned for the rest of the night, but instead she took a step toward him, causing him to look up at her. Phillip smiled weakly as Constance looked him in the eye and told him she’d still want to go to Hogsmeade with him and then closed his eyes as she kissed his cheek for the second time that night. He watched her walk away and then took a deep breath, mumbling to himself; “It’s just fine Constance...I’m only killing myself to get your attention...but sure...no problem...we’ll just be friends and I’ll continue to wonder why I’m not good enough.” He shook his head and headed off to his dorm. He’d clean up, go to dinner, and act like nothing was wrong, but more than likely that night he’d stay up well into the morning, debating what he could possibly do better to get Constance’s approval.