Everyone needs a study buddy

Mikey had could feel it even before she looked away. The way her voice had trailed off, the way her shoulders had tensed, and the way she had suddenly seemed a million miles away even though she was right next to him. Mikey put his quill down and had not bothered to continue writing. He had no idea what was going through her mind. That was obvious. However, Mikey had known Olivia long enough to know when something was off.

Mikey had said nothing for a moment. The silence was so quiet in the study hall that even the flickering of the candle between them had seemed too loud. Mikey had leaned back slightly, and said in a calm voice, “Hey… you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.” His eyes had flicked to her essay and then back to her, more to break the tension than anything else. “I know something’s bothering you.”

He shifted in his seat, putting his forearms on the table. “And I’m not going to pry. I promise.” There was a small, uncertain smile playing on his face, but he wasn’t trying to lighten the mood too much. Mikey looked around the room at the other students, and then back at her. “I just don’t want you to think you need to sit here and like everything’s fine if something’s wrong.” His hands tapped against the wood for a moment in a nervous gesture he tried to hide.”

He paused for a moment, and then added quietly, “And if you want to tell me something someday, you know. No pressure.” He looked at her for a moment, and then away again. He nudged the parchment back towards her with a gentle motion. “For now, we can just concentrate on getting through this page. And maybe sone day this whole class”

When Mikey spoke, Olivia's quill fell out of her hand. She really wanted to tell him, oh how she wanted to. But when she opened her mouth, no sound came out, so she closed her mouth again and pulled the sleeves of her slightly too-large Gryffindor sweater over her hands. Then she looked down at the table.

She was silent for a long moment. But then she said, still with her eyes fixed on the table, in a voice very close to breaking point: "Mikey, I really want to tell you but... then you have to promise me one thing." She took a deep breath and continued, her voice a little louder: "Promise that you won't completely freak out, scream or... leave me. Because I couldn't handle that. You're one of my best friends in the whole world." She still had her eyes stubbornly fixed on the table, not moving them an inch while she waited for his decisive answer.

This could change everything between them. Olivia saw in her mind what would happen if Mikey took it so badly that he left her. All the lessons they had paired up for a project, all the little conversations in the hallways or in the library, all that… gone. Olivia shook her head slightly, it couldn't happen. Because if it did, she didn't know how she would cope.

Mikey saw her quill fall from her hand, the sound it made on the table seeming much louder than it should have been. He watched as she rolled up her sleeves over her hands, and how her eyes fell to look at the table between them. Whatever she had to tell him, he could see it wasn't easy. He waited for her to continue, saying nothing, not even breathing too loudly, his eyes sympathetic as he saw her struggle to get her words out. When she finished speaking, he didn't respond immediately. Not because he had no idea what to say to her, but because he wanted to get it right.

"Olivia,” he said softly, leaning forward but still leaving a space between them. “I'm promising you right now I'm not going to freak out, or scream, or walk away from you." He sounded steady enough, even if his hand wasn't, curling around the edge of the table. “You're my friend. And friends don't just stop being friends because you tell me something difficult to hear." He took a breath, intending to ask her what was going on, or to tell her she could start telling him wherever she needed to when a sharp chime cut through the air, echoing faintly from beyond the study hall. Mikey straightened, his eyes flying to look at the door. “Oh no,” he muttered to himself.

He glanced back at Olivia, and there was a look of apologetic panic on his face. “It’s almost curfew,” he said quietly, already reaching for his bag. “I didn’t even realize how late it got.” He stuffed his parchment into his bag with far less care than usual, almost knocking the ink bottle over in the process before catching it at the very last second. He stopped in mid-motion and looked back at her, more seriously now. “I’m not avoiding this,” he said firmly, “I want to hear what you were going to say, just not with another detention hanging over our heads.” He looked at her apologetically. “Come on, we can still make it back to our common rooms in time if we hurry!”

Olivia looked at Mikey as he promised and she felt warm inside. He wouldn't leave her, he would stay. But then the sharp chime echoed through the air and the warm feeling died as quickly as it had come. Olivia hadn't even gotten up when Mikey had packed everything into his bag and was getting ready to leave.

When he said he wasn't avoiding it and that they should hurry, Olivia nodded once. "Yeah," she just said softly and quickly stuffed her books, parchment and quill into her bag. It had been so close. She didn't know if she should be relieved or not. But at least he had promised. They hurried out of the room together and took the stairs up a bit.

"I'm going left," Olivia said when they reached a landing. "Good night, Mikey," she said before hurrying away. She made sure to put several corridors between her and Mikey before slowing down. Oh why did there have to be a curfew right then! Worst timing ever!

She kicked a suit of armor, making a clanking sound that echoed through the deserted corridor. She heard footsteps and thought it must be a prefect, so she took the stairs the last way to Gryffindor tower at a brisk pace. Mikey had been right about one thing, she really didn't need detention right now.

Mikey slowed down as Olivia turned off at the landing, the soft good night lingering in his mind for longer than it should have. “Night,” he called out finally, even though she was no longer in sight. He stood there for a moment, his fingers tightly wrapped around the strap of his bag. Finally, he turned to go back to the stairs that would take him back to Ravenclaw Tower.

She had been about to tell him something. He was certain of that. It wasnt something trivial, either. It had hovered in the air between them, heavy with unspoken meaning. Part of him was angry at the timing, at the curfew bell ringing in the distance, at the unyielding rules that Hogwarts seemed to have in place at the most inopportune moments. Moments that were important. Moments that mattered to him. Moments that were interrupted by the very rules that were meant to teach them and help them learn. There was something else at work here, though. Something that didn’t have as much to do with the frustration that had taken hold of him as with the knowledge that she had trusted him enough to try.

He didn’t know what that meant or what to make of it. He didn’t know what to make of the way that that knowledge had settled quietly in his chest. Finally, with a long sigh, Mikey began to move again. Tomorrow. Next time. Another chance would come. Next time would be somewhere where there would be no clock ticking away beside them. He meant what he’d said. He wouldn’t judge her. He wouldn’t walk away. Turning towards the stairs that would take him back to Ravenclaw Tower, he quickened his pace slightly, listening for the sound of approaching prefects.