Enough Time? ((Bryce))

[Ashley Hill]

Everything felt so unimportant lately to Ashley Hill. She hadn’t been able to concentrate in classes as well as she used too. Though, she still did her homework, it took forever just to get through any assignment. Just like the one she was doing that afternoon. Professor Tyler had given all her students a long unit to read about five rune aliments. Probably the fact that the text was boring and beginning to merge together kept Ashley from finishing. She hated it when that happened. Especially during a long study session, or when you were tired and still had assignments to complete. It was everything that had happened in the past year that occupied the Ashley’s thoughts. In just a couple of months she would be graduating and moving on to live in the wizarding world. If Ashley couldn’t even figure out her situation with Bryce, how on earth would she be able to live on her own? Would she and Bryce be together by then? It was all up to Ashley. She could forgive him, or she couldn’t. Ashley had a lot of time to ponder about the situation. Almost exactly two months. Deep down Ashley was hoping that Bryce would come up and ask, but he didn’t. They hadn’t even talked much since the train ride back to Hogwarts. It was mainly Ashley’s fault though. She was trying to avoid him, but Bryce was giving her space. It was exactly what Ashley needed; time away from him to put all the broken pieces back together. Though, the time that they were spending separated made Ashley even more confused. It was…difficult really. Ashley just wished she could forgive Bryce and be with him, but it was hard too. She had trusted him, but he went around and kissed his best friend. Now, Ashley and Bryce weren’t actually dating at the time, but there was still the deep level of connection between the two. When Bryce kissed Weetzie it was shattered, and now she was beginning to put everything together.

Sighing, Ashley rested the side of her head against the oak table top. Quiet. Well, there were some hoarse whispers near by, mixed with the shuffling of books, but other than that, the library held an unsure stillness. It was really only one of the places Ashley could come to think at Hogwarts. There was her dorm room, but some of the girls had been catching colds lately, so Ashley tied to avoid the seventh year dorms. She didn’t feel like getting sick, especially with Quidditch going on lately. After the loss of the last match, Ashley and Ivy had been working together to come up with a plan for the next game. The team has had a lot of practices since then, and Ashley could not just make a practice due to being sick. She was vice captain, which held a lot of respectabilities on her shoulders. Opening her eyes, Ashley stared down into the black and white page. She couldn’t finish this chapter. Luckily, Professor Tyler wouldn’t throw a pop quiz on them. Running her fingers through her hair, Ashley closed the book shut, leaning to the side to set it into her bag. Just the book slipped from her hands and into the bag, Ashley gasped as she noticed her elbow collide with the bottle of ink that sat opening in front of her. Before she could even straighten the wobbling ink can, it toppled over onto her, spilling out all over her uniform. “Great!” she groaned loudly picking the bottle up and setting it on the table top. This was just perfect. Rubbing her ink stained hands onto her dirty skirt, Ashley stood up from the table grabbing her backpack from the floor. At least it didn’t drip onto the carpet. Madam Pince would most definitely have a cow.

As Ashley headed down the corridors toward the Hufflepuff common room, she searched her pockets for her wand. She couldn’t remember the exact spell to take stains off from clothes, but she could at least try. Stopping as she heard her name being called, Ashley’s brown eyes fell upon the familiar face of Bryce Alexander. This wasn’t what she needed at the moment. Ignoring him, Ashley continued on, her hands nervously searching for her wand. Bryce called out her name again, but his voice was closer this time, almost right behind her. “Not now, Bryce!” Ashley firmly told him now fiddling around with the inside of her bag. Feeling a hand grab onto her wrist, Ashley sighed as she turned around to face Bryce, stopping in her tracks. Her eyes stared at his hand which covered her semi-blackened palm. He probably would get some ink on his hands, but it didn’t seem like it would bother him. Actually, his face looked quite determined. “What is it?”

((Ha Ha. Finally came up with something. ))

[Bryce Alexander]

Today would be the day. Bryce had made up his mind. Enough time had passed, and the feeling of everything being so unsure between he and Ashley was too much for him to handle. Lately, he felt as though they were more like enemies than friends. The way she seemed to avoid him, and the way that he purposely let her have her space was only making it harder and harder for him to keep hoping that everything would work out in the end. Time for them was literally running out whenever their approaching graduation was considered. At this point, Bryce was tired of waiting. He needed an answer, and as much as he hated to think that the answer might not be the one he was hoping for, he knew that dragging everything out would only make it worse in the end.

With a sort of determination set about him, Bryce found another of the seventh year Hufflepuff girls in the common room. "Have you seen Ashley lately?" he asked, hopeful to get a useful answer. "Last I knew, she was in the library," the girl replied. "Thanks," Bryce said, rushing out of the common room and heading straight for the library. The bell had just sounded, and many students exited from their classrooms, filling the halls with a chaos that Bryce had to maneuver his way through. As he approached the library, he was happy to see that Ashley was just then leaving. She was headed the opposite way though, and so he hurried toward her, shouting her name as he went. "Ash! Ashley! Hey, wait up!" Either she was ignoring him, or she hadn't heard him

He ran forward, getting closer as she hurried away from him. "Ash! Would you stop for just a second?" he asked, almost sounding a bit desperate for her to at least acknowledge his presence. When she finally did respond, it wasn't the type of reaction Bryce was hoping for or expecting. Still, he didn't let her negative reaction stop him. He took her wrist in his hand, feeling that it was wet, but he didn't care. He saw that she was covered in ink, as was his own hand by this point. "What is it?" he repeated her question, a bit shocked that she was being so brief with him. "It's... it's this!" he said with a tone of urgency. "It's the fact that we don't even talk any more. It's the fact that when we do talk, I feel as though I am walking on eggshells just so that I am sure that you are getting the space you need." He let out a sigh of frustration. He didn't want to make it sound like it was all Ashley's fault. In fact, it was his fault that things had to change in the first place. He was just afraid that things were changing too much and that they might not ever be the way that they were before.

"Look, Ash. I just need to know if we're ever going to be able to get over the past. I need to know if you've had enough time. I don't think I can wait any longer, and I just want to know if there is going to be an 'us' anymore." His eyes flashed a look of hope as he explained what he needed from her. He wished that he could do something to make it all better, but he was beyond the point where that was possible. The future seemed to lie in Ashley's hands. Bryce couldn't do anything to make her love him, to make her forgive him. In all reality, he sensed that she had already forgiven him, but it was the matter of forgetting that worried him. Would she be able to forget the past for the sake of the future? It was a lot to ask, but it was the only way that seemed to have any sort of happy ending for the two of them. "I don't mean to pressure you, Ash, but I can't go on anymore without an answer. So, is there an 'us'? Can we move past everything and just start to be happy again?"

[Ashley Hill]

Ashley could hear the hint of desperation in Bryce’s voice. It was the same tone that was projected on the train while he was asking for forgiveness. That had to mean something right? Well, it showed that he wanted to talk to her. This was the first time that he even came up to her to just talk. Well, there were other times, but Ashley wasn’t quite ready to talk. She still hadn’t sorted everything out, and just ignored him. It hurt to just walk away from someone she cared about so much. Ashley’s mind wondered back to that precise moment on the train; the moment she visited countless times afterwards. It was the last real time they actually talked. Ashley didn’t know why she couldn’t just forgive Bryce, moving past this hurdle. She finally came up with the conclusion that maybe she just didn’t want to get hurt again. Well, she was hurt when she found out about the news, but going into another relationship, and having it end abruptly like before scared her. Even though it was different with Bryce, Ashley was still terrified. He had to know that. They really hadn’t talk much about their past, but that was the thing. Bryce helped her forget about the pain and love again. When he kissed Weetzie she was afraid he was slipping from her. Even though he assured her that it meant nothing, it still meant everything to Ashley. Was he going to go around kissing random girls because he was afraid of losing them? Yes, Weetzie had been his best friend, but there were better things to do to deal with the situation. Ashley just wished they could go back to before the kiss; them being their carefree self. During this process Ashley felt like she lost herself ignoring Bryce. She couldn’t be her happy-go-lucky self anymore. It just wasn’t happening. Maybe it was Bryce who made Ashley into the person that she was. Cause without him, she was couldn’t be herself. This was sounding all so cliché in Ashley’s head. Almost like love written on paper. It had to mean that it was true.

As Bryce spoke again, Ashley was finally pulled from her swarming thoughts circling around endlessly in her subconscious. Her brown eyes started into his desperate pool of blue ones. Ashley kept silent as Bryce spoke, looking away from his gaze. What he was saying was absolutely true. She had been giving him the cold shoulder, acting almost as the ice queen. Would most other girls forgive their significant other in this situation? It wasn’t as if Bryce had done another more. After all, he said that the kiss meant nothing, but it meant so much to Ashley. They hadn’t even kissed after the little peck that one afternoon on the grounds. A small smile turned on the corners of her lips at the memory. It was the first time Ashley had ever done anything like that, but Bryce gave her the confidence to do almost anything. Shaking the memory away, Ashley looked up from the ground at Bryce’s next words. She could see the flicker of hope reflecting across the surface. The look almost moved Ashley in tears, but she kept them back, her own eyes sparkling into his. She could tell that Bryce wanted them to work just as much as she did. Closing her eyes, Ashley kept silent, her mind swirling around over everything he head. She could forgive him. They could be happy. Ashley really truly believed that Bryce was the only man on the face of the planet that she could really be with. He made mistakes, but what if she did the same? Would he forgive her if this ever happened? “I’m so stubborn,” she finally began letting out an airy laugh as tears rolled down her face. Her eyes were wide open, staring contently into the seventh year’s face. She could loose him forever. Ashley couldn’t go through her day without him. “I was also afraid. I trusted you, but you went around and broke that trust. I know that the kiss meant nothing, but it meant everything to me.” Feeling more tears slide down her face, Ashley wiped them away with her free hand.

“I don’t want to be hurt again, Bryce,” Ashley whispered soft, staring sadly back into Bryce’s bright, blue eyes. She didn’t want to lose him. She wanted to be with him. Closing the space between them, Ashley stood up on the tips of her toes, leaning her forehead gently against the crock of his neck. Her lips were tenderly pressed against his smooth skin, her eyes lightly shut. Entangling her arms around his neck, Ashley leaned her weight into him. It was the first close contact they had since the Ball. That was their last happy night together before everything went into a downward spiral of chaos. “I’m sorry,” she whispered lightly into his neck, pressing her forehead closer against him. “I’m sorry for ignoring you….I’m sorry for making you wait for so long.” It was strange. She was the one apologizing now. It should have been Bryce, but Ashley was also the cause of this disaster. She kept silent for a moment, enjoying the safe, protective feeling being in his arms. Ashley couldn’t even describe how wonderful it felt. It just felt like…home. Taking a deep breath, Ashley lifted her head from his shoulder, until she was facing him. She smiled, laughing lightly at the ink stains that were beginning to gather on his robes. “I’m also sorry about that,” she said her hand resting tenderly against the front of his chest where a large blob of blue stained his white shirt. Hopefully he didn’t care, but most of all, Ashley hoped he wouldn’t push her away. She didn’t want to leave his arms. Not quite yet. Leaning her forehead against his, Ashley closed her eyes. “I want us to work,” she whispered again opening her eyes again to stare into his. “I’ve missed you so much.”

((*Shuffles feet around* I'm sorry I posted to this so fast....but take your time on a reply! *gives you cookie for me add anther post in you mountain*))