Fix this, idiot! (Mercy)

The class had gone over okay. She had hated the lesson of course, much too cold for her liking. So as it ended she was still shivering, certain she'd never, ever be warm again. But, that didn't stop her from pulling Mercy aside immediately after they were dismissed.

She didn't have the whole story, but she could tell there was something going on between Mary-Kate and Mercy. They both had been very much subdued during the class, which she had already come to find was unusual for them both. So, there was quite obviously a problem. And as Mary-Kate's friends it was her job to fix it.

"What did you do to Mimosa?" She asked accusingly as soon as she had the girl aside. "Or... what did she do to you?" She wasn't sure what had happened, so she resolved not to assume things, though she was quite certain it must have been Mercy's fault. "Neither of you seem like yourselves. I mean, Mimosa convinced half the class to ditch with her, and then showed up anyways? I feel like that has something to do with the two of you, but I can't imagine why. So, what happened, cause I need my bestie back."

As soon as class ended, Mercy started to head back towards the castle. While the lesson itself would have been fun, it was just too hard to ignore Mimosa's presence, and every time she caught sight of the younger witch out of the corner of her eye, she felt a pang of guilt inside her chest. So she had tried her hardest not to look.

It was so hard. Even though she had tried to stand as far away as possible, tried to focus entirely on the lesson, she was constantly aware of Mimosa standing just out of reach. She wanted nothing more than to run to the other girl and pull her close and make everything go back to normal, but she just couldn't. Because the closer she got to Mimosa, the higher the risk of hurting her again, and no matter how hard it was, Mercy wouldn't let that happen. She couldn't. No matter how much it hurt to admit, Mimosa was better off without her. And Mercy would take this pain a thousand times over if it meant Mimosa was safe.

So when the class ended, Mercy began to stride purposefully back inside, forcing her eyes not to linger on Mimosa as she passed. The farther away she got, the easier it would be. She just needed to distract herself from how much she missed the other girl, how much she wanted to be near her....

A voice stopped her. She turned, coming face to face with Lyra, the new transfer student from America. They hadn't really spoken before, so Mercy blinked in surprise as the accusation.

"I..." It took her a second to process the question, and everything that followed. "She...what?"

She had no idea what Lyra meant about Mimosa convincing people to ditch class, and she had no idea why Mimosa would do such a thing, but that wasn't what stuck out to her about Lyra's line of questioning. She finally managed to wrap her head around one of the questions, and shook her head, indignant at the thought of it.

"She didn't do anything to me," she responded defensively. No, Mimosa would never do anything to hurt her. Why would Lyra think that? The suggestion was ridiculous.

As she finally caught up to the rest of Lyra's explanation, she only grew more confused.

"What are you talking about?" What did she mean Mimosa wasn't acting like herself? Mimosa was supposed to be happy now that she was out of harm's way. Had something else happened that she didn't know about?

The confusion from the girl was not the answer Lyra had been wanting, and sparked her annoyance. Did she really not know, or was she just playing dumb? She couldn't tell, as she didn't know the girl, but she did seem legitimately confused...

"I'm talking about today's lesson! All she talks about is you. I mean, don't get me wrong, it makes me jealous cause I love her like a sister and would much rather it be me she's talking about, but that's not the point. You were her number one friend first after all..." She trailed off before focusing back on her point. "But she talks about you all the time, which is strange, because as soon as she got around you today you ignored her. So, either you're being an idiot, or she did something to hurt you. All I know is that one of you need to fix it because she obviously doesn't function correctly when you're ignoring and avoiding her."

Mercy froze as Lyra's words pelted her like blows. All she talks about is you. What? Either you're being an idiot, or she did something to hurt you. No no no, that was all backwards, Mimosa hadn't hurt her, Mercy had been the one at fault. Mercy was to blame. That was why she was trying to make things right. You need to fix it. That's what she was doing! She was trying to fix it by keeping Mimosa safe, by making sure she couldn't hurt her anymore!

She doesn't function correctly when you're ignoring her.

That wasn't right. She was supposed to be helping Mimosa by distancing herself. Mimosa was supposed to be okay now. Why wasn't she okay?

She thought back through everything that had happened, remembering the initial incident, remembering the way Mimosa had tried to hide her tears, to hide her injured fingers. She thought back to the way things were before that. How Mimosa had greeted her cheerfully when she'd walked into the room.

She remembered how Mimosa had kissed her cheek.

Something clicked. Mercy's eyes widened.

What if Mimosa hadn't blamed her after all?

All this time, the only thing she could think about was how much it hurt to be apart from Mimosa. But what if Mimosa felt the same way about her?

What if, all this time, Mercy was actually being selfish?

Nonono, surely Mimosa understood what she was trying to do, right? Surely, she must know it was for her own good?

But if she didn't...what must she be thinking right now?

Mercy was ignoring her. Mercy was avoiding her. Mercy had stopped liking her.

Mercy was an idiot.

She stared at Lyra for a long moment as the gears spun wildly in her head.

"Fuck," she finally whispered. "I have to go."

And then she turned around and ran.

The girl didn't seem to understand for a moment. Mercy stared at Lyra, as if trying to process what she'd said. She was about to say something else when she saw a glimmer of recognition in her eyes. A moment later and the girl was spouting a cuss word Lyra had only used by herself and in her diary. Of course, it was fitting for the situation, and she nodded more to herself than to Mercy as the girl said she had to go.

Then she was running. Lyra watched her go for a moment, proud of herself for fixing the situation. Mercy would apologize for whatever she'd done to Mimosa, and everything would be better. At least that was one thing good that came from Lyra being at Hogwarts. After all, if she hadn't been there who would have known what would have happened between Mercy and Mimosa?! It only took a second for her to register that she was cold, and that she was still shivering, and she hurried off after Mercy, ready to warm up in her common rooms.