Calamari (Mimosa, Squid Boy)

The rumours had started at dinner. Mercy wasn't sure where their point of origin was, only that by the time they reached dessert, it was all anyone would talk about.

"I heard Constance saw Mimosa snogging the headmaster's son in an empty classroom this afternoon."

Mercy listened intently, but refused to input anything of her own. This was news to her, and while a year ago she might have immediately jumped to Mimosa's defense, she had seen them kiss along with everybody else at the end of last year. She didn't want to believe what she was hearing, but she wasn't so sure.

"I heard he kissed her so hard she ended up in the hospital wing," someone giggled.

"Never would have pegged his scrawny ass for a top, but go off, I guess."

"I wonder what she sees in him."

"Maybe she likes it rough."

"Gross!" Mercy finally interjected. "Don't talk about her like that."

"Sorry. But Catherine said he had to take her to the nurse afterward 'cause she looked pretty hurt."

Mercy looked around, but her cursory glance only confirmed what she already knew. Mimosa wasn't in the Great Hall tonight, and neither was Squid Boy. Was she really in the hospital wing right now? Was she injured? Was he with her?

Mercy pushed aside the last of her trifle and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Mimosa," she replied, stepping over the bench she was seated on and sweeping out of the hall.

She pushed through the double doors and followed the familiar path to the hospital wing - something she could probably do in her sleep at this point. When she reached the heavy, wooden door, she knocked three times and waited. The nurse popped her head out.

"Mercy! Can I help you, dear?"

"I'm looking for Mimosa. Is she in here?"

"She's resting right now, I'm afraid. She should be out by morning though. Should I relay a message?"

"No, thanks. I'll see her tomorrow." Mercy had heard enough. Maybe not enough to confirm the whole story, but enough to give it some weight.

She returned to her own dormitory, thoughts swimming.

The next day, Mimosa had been back to normal. Mercy saw her at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and even attended DADA with her in the morning, but though the question was always on her lips, she couldn't bring herself to ask. What if Mimosa confirmed it? What if she and Squid Boy were actually...together? What would Mercy do then? Maybe she didn't really want to know.

She'd gone to bed that night once again tormented by the same thoughts, and she realized she needed to ask. If only to stop obsessing over it.

The next day was their first Hogsmeade weekend of the year, and as good a time as any. Mercy found Mimosa in the Great Hall at breakfast, and waited for the right time to slip it naturally into their conversation. It didn't come. As always, Mimosa had a lot to talk about, and apparently the topic of Squid Boy wasn't as interesting to her as it was to Mercy.

As they walked hand in hand out of the Great Hall and onto the grounds, Mercy finally found an opening.

"Hey, I heard you were in the hospital wing the other day. What was that all about? What happened?"

It wasn't a confrontation, just an invitation to discuss all the rumours that still floated about. Mercy hoped she wouldn't avoid the question.

Ever since her stint in the Hospital Wing, Mimosa couldn't help but feel people were talking about her behind her back.

Not that she minded of course. The witch was, after all, a celebrity. Of course people would talk about her all he time. In fact, she was probably the most interesting topic of conversation anywhere ever. What puzzled the teenager was why they stopped whenever she was near. And why on earth did they giggle whenever Squid Boy was around too. If they wanted to talk about her, they were more than welcome to continue doing so in her presence. Instead, whenever she showed up to whispered conversations, people stepdad or awkwardly giggles. Charles had taken to giving her looks and winks she really did not like, it almost felt as though he was touching her even when he was halfway across the room. Mimosa was not familiar with this feeling so disregarded it for the moment, blaming the weirdness of the last few days for its arrival.

Other than the whispers, things had been pretty much normal. Classes had resumed, there was no sign of her earlier bruising upon her person and the young brunette had mostly remained the center of attention as she liked it. The night before the first Hogsmeade weekend had found all the third, fourth and fifth year Slytheirns gathered around the cozy fireplace discussing plans in the Common Room.

"And I shall be taking one very lucky girl to Madam Pudifoot's," Charles had announced, winking n the general direction of both Catherine and Constance who blushed. Apparently he had not decided whom he would be bestowing that generosity upon though it went without saying that the one he didn't pick would end up with Ji Hyun.

"What about you and Squid Boy?" Stacey asked, glancing over at Mimosa. "You guys going anywhere nice?"

"I can't go anywhere nice with Squid Boy," Mimosa had replied offhandedly even as she sat curled up beside the tall male in question. 'His taste in places is awful. If I want to go somewhere nice, I'd go with my Jacques." Squid Boy had only grunted at that, his nose in a book but one arm comfortably around her, warming her up even more than the comfy fire.

What the young model neglected to mention was that she and Squid Boy had made no plans. In fact, they had barely spoken since the incident of a few days ago. He had taken her to the mediwitch but hand't gone in. He had shown up dutifully outside the hospital wing to make her hand and lead her to breakfast and subsequent classes but the accident in the empty classroom had not been brought up and now they were here.

"I'm probably going to go walk around with Mercy, it's so pretty outside these days with all the leaves changing color." A serene smile decorated her lips as she pondered the notion. It would be nice to walk among the falling leaves with Mercy. With the Quidditch season fast approaching, they weren't going to hang out much due to practices so the Slytherin was really looking forwards to spending time with her best friend.

Her words had proven prophetic the next day as she hadn't found Squid Boy in the Common Room before breakfast. In the absence of her usual walking buddy, Mimosa had made her way to breakfast with Karan who - upon further inquiry - was planning to sit out the trip. "Too many yucky couples," he'd grimaced, making the brunette giggle. "Think I'll stay here, maybe check in on Gaspard, he's staying back too. Nerd's catching up with work he isn't behind on."

Upon reaching the Great Hall, Mimosa had automatically scanned the tables and found Mercy, deciding immediately that she wanted to eat with the Gryffindors today. Jogging over to the older with in her new pink skirt and jersey set courtesy of Clara, the teen slide into the seat beside Mercy, her arms slipping around the Chaser in a warm hug.

Breakfast was full of chatter and fun, as was the walk down to the main doors. Mimosa was busy catching Mercy up on the letters she had received from the palace, the new dress Clara had sent over because all the young witch's buttoned shirts were suddenly either too tight or awkward over her chest and an offer to work in a movie over the summer. Mercy listened to everything intently as they walked hand in in into the front lawns, the beautiful autumn day only adding to Mimosa's cheer as she skipped along in her pristine white trainers embellished with light pink shoelaces.

"Hey, I heard you were in the hospital wing the other day. What was that all about? What happened?"

The brunette stopped mid stride, a confused expression on her face. Then it clicked. 'Oh," she spoke, continuing the walk but wrapping her arm more comfortably around Mercy's, effectively pulling the other witch slightly closer to her. "I fell in the classroom, it was Squid Boy's fault. He has the worst balance in the world." Her tiny, symmetrical nose wrinkled at the reminder. "It hurt a lot but the nurse made it all better."

Really, she would have to teach the boy how to kneel next time. It seemed as though there was no end to the amount of things she would have to teach Squid Boy over the next three years. Of course, it would have helped if he wasn't such a slow learner but there wasn't much Mimosa could do about that. "Anyway, that's not important, I want ice cream. Do you want ice cream too? or we can share?"

Mercy considered Mimosa's response thoughtfully, despite the quick change of topic. She looked down at their joined hands and took a moment to process the information, finding herself really no closer to confirming or rejecting anything she'd heard before. Yes, Mimosa had been with Squid Boy in a classroom when she'd gotten hurt, but that didn't mean they were necessarily doing anything romantic. They might have been practicing spells for all Mercy knew.

"Sure, ice cream sounds good," she responded slowly, attention still on the previous topic. "We can get a sundae and share it if you want."

After a few more steps, she opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, reconsidering her phrasing. She didn't normally put this much thought into what she said, but she didn't want to come across as intrusive. What if Mimosa didn't want to talk about it? What if she got defensive? What if whatever she revealed ended up ruining what could have been a perfectly nice Hogsmeade outing?

But she had to know. And it was better to do it now and get it over with, right? At least then it wouldn't sit at the back of her mind and bug her all day.

She took a deep breath, brow furrowed as if in deep thought. "What were you doing with Squid Boy that made him lose his balance?"

She tried to just sound mildly curious, as if it didn't really matter. Because it didn't. Mercy shouldn't care that much about Mimosa's love life. They were just friends. Even if Mimosa was kissing Squid Boy, she had every right to do so.

Except she did care. A lot. And if Squid Boy was making moves on Mimosa, Mercy wanted him to stop immediately.

Squid Boy had been dismissed form her mind almost the moment his name had been brought up. Truth be told, he wasn't very interesting to think about which was why Mimosa didn't. Sure they held hands now and then and they had kissed twice but that was only interesting to the extent how she felt about it. Why everyone else wanted to talk about him around her, behind ehr back or even with her genuinely escaped Mimosa. Even when Mercy brought him up, the American brunette had simply given a cursory explanation, moving on to the far more interesting topic of ice cream.

"Yes, a sundae sounds great!" she chirped as they walked further, now about halfway to the main gates. lots of students were out today in their non uniform apparel. Mimosa waved to Seema and Jennifer walking a few steps behind them. A group of Hufflepuff boys were a few steps ahead, talking about a drinking game at the Three Broomsticks. Everyone was happy to get out of school for the day.

"What were you doing with Squid Boy that made him lose his balance?"

Once again, it took a minute for the question to register, and then Mimosa frowned again. Why were they back on this tpic of conversation? Did Mercy like Squid Boy or soemthing? "I was teaching him of course," she replied nonchalantly, tossing her dark chocolate locks over a shoulder. "You know how rubbish he is at everything. I was trying to help him, but he could't stand straight, he was so close to me I think he was using me to prop himself up." Actually, now that she mentioned it, that was probably it. That was why the tall boy had been pressed flushed against her.

"And then he lost his balance and we both fell, and he even poked me with his elbow because he doesn't know how to properly fall either." Mimosa shook her head, dismissing the boy and his unrefined antics once more.

"We are not doing that again," she insisted, having already made up her mind that if he wanted to learn to kiss again, her fellow Slytherin would need to think of a far more comfortable place to practice in.

Mimosa's responses continued to be vague and noncommittal. Mercy had never known her to hide anything before, but the way she kept avoiding specifics was beginning to get a little frustrating. She couldn't tell if Mimosa was doing it on purpose or not. What had she been teaching Squid Boy? Could there be another reason he was so close to her that didn't involve them kissing?

The way Mimosa spoke of the incident almost sounded like she was...annoyed? Whatever they'd been doing, it didn't sound like she'd enjoyed it very much. It certainly didn't sound like she was in love with Squid Boy. If anything, she spoke of him like a liability. And Mercy couldn't help the satisfied flash that overcame her when she heard Mimosa say she wouldn't be doing that again - whatever 'that' may be.

But the uncertainty of the whole situation still bothered her, especially when the whole school was still whispering about it. She decided to switch tactics as they approached the gates, affecting what she hoped was a disinterested air.

"Some people think you guys are dating," she commented as casually as possible, watching Mimosa's face out of the corner of her eye to see if she would give anything away. For a brief moment, a pang of fear struck her as it occurred to her that Mimosa might actually admit that they were, in fact, dating - she had no idea what she'd do if that were true. Would it hurt more to know Mimosa had chosen Squid Boy over her, or to know that Mimosa had kept it a secret from her? But as soon as the thought occurred to her, she shoved it aside. Of course they weren't dating. There was no way Mimosa would agree to that, especially given the way she'd spoken about Squid Boy earlier. It was just a confusing situation that needed to be cleared up before the rumours got out of hand.

"Some people think you guys are dating,"

A small giggle fell from the young model's lips at the information. Mercy had just proven what Mimosa always knew, that people were stupid. But then again, no one could be clever all the time like she was, Mimosa reasoned as she straightened her features once more. "How can they think that when we haven't even gone out a single time?' she asked, light blue grey eyes trained on the Gryffindor with genuine curiosity. "In fact, the girls were asking last night if we were going out to Hogsmeade together and I said I was going with you."

An idea struck her, making the girl giggle more. "So by that definition, I guess you and I are dating." It made sense, she and Mercy went lots of places together so it would at least be reasonable for people to assume they were dating. Not that they were, Mimosa didn't think Mercy liked dating anyone. But at least that rumor would have some merit behind it.

"Oh but you know who are dating?" she began, a conspiratory note in her voice as she dropped her octave to a whisper, leaning close to Mercy so the other witch could hear. "Charles, with both Constance and Catherine. He goes out with whoever he wants to that day... I really don't understand how that works but the three of them are always talking about it." In fact, Mimosa had noticed some kind of competition brewing between the two girls which made even less sense to her than wanting to date Charles. If he couldn't make up his mind, why was it the girls who had to fight? But Catherine and Constance were under the impression that a date with Charles was a win, and that was truly soemthing Mimosa would never fathom.

Dating was strange, and the brunette wasn't even sure if she liked it from what she had seen of it. No kissing was easier. It was simple, she was good at it and it made her have that kind of soft feeling she had just realized she always missed when she was at school.

She wondered if Mercy had ever kissed anyone. Flushing pink at the very thought, the witch looked away from erh friend. Should she ask? Would Mercy even tell anyone? Even her?

"Are you dating someone?" she finally mumbled, face half hidden behind the curtain of shining brown hair that had fallen over her shoulder. "It's okay if you are, you can do whatever you want. Lots of fifth years date someone."

Mercy's relief at Mimosa's dismissal of the rumour was quickly replaced by a fierce blush as the next statement caught her off guard. Her heart fluttered a little at the thought. She'd imagined dating Mimosa before, of course, but to hear her say it out loud...she became distinctly aware of the way their hands were linked and she stuttered a little, forcing a laugh to match Mimosa's giggle. It was just a joke, stupid.

Fortunately, they didn't dwell on the topic long, and Mimosa's next revelation provided an adequate distraction. Mercy laughed for real this time, albeit incredulously. "Why would anyone want to date Charles?"

Charles had started out okay, but he seemed to get grosser and grosser every year. She couldn't believe one person would want to date him, let alone two. What did Catherine and Constance see in him? Maybe they just liked the attention? A lot of the things they did baffled her, so she guessed it wasn't as surprising as it could have been.

She paused and glanced at Mimosa, once again caught slightly off guard by her next question. "Er, no, not really. I mean, unless you count yourself," she chuckled nervously, hoping that came across as a joke. "You know, by your earlier definition," she clarified, fumbling a little bit.

"If I ever did start dating someone, I'd tell you," she went on, hoping the promise was mutual. Not that she had any desire to date anyone besides Mimosa, but she didn't need to know that. And obviously, if they ever did start dating, Mimosa would know anyway, so the promise held true.

Mercy felt her ears flush as she tried to banish the thought. She shouldn't get her own hopes up by imagining things that would probably never happen.

"But I mean, I've never even kissed anyone," she admitted, suddenly realizing that, regardless of whether or not the current rumours were true, Mimosa still had more experience on that front than she did after Squid Boy kissed her last year. Was it weird that she hadn't had her first kiss yet? It seemed like most people had had theirs already. Janine even had a proper boyfriend, and Mimosa suddenly felt like she might be missing out on something. How was it so easy for everyone else?

Mimosa had known Mercy would agree with her about Charles, even if some of the other girls didn't. Though that had never stopped the American from saying the thugs he felt like saying, it was just better with Mercy because she actually understood where the younger witch was coming from. "I know right? He and I used to be friends before I came to Hogwarts, then he became really weird and now he's just gross." It was hard to remember how she and the Beaumont heir had once exchanged letters and promised to stay in touch. Then when she had arrived at Hogwarts, he had pretended they didn't know each other, a game Mimosa was fine with playing. In fact, most days she pretended not to know him despite four years of having classes with the male.

When the Gryffindor Chaser confirmed she wasn't dating anyone, Mimosa dared look up at her, only to look down again almost immediately when faced with her own definition from earlier. Was Mercy making fun of her? Was she saying she would never date Mimosa or just that she didn't date in general? Or that she didn't date girls? Or maybe she didn't date Americans, or models, or brunette's or Clement wards? It was confusing and the teen didn't want to think about it.

"But I mean, I've never even kissed anyone,"

There, that was something she could hold on to. Sweeping her fringe aside, the girl stood taller once more, her eyes on Mercy's. "Well... I can teach you... If you want..." she offered hesitantly. She was really good at it as evidenced by Squid Boy only two days ago. Not that Mercy didn't know, but she wouldn't know until she tried and as her best friend, Mimosa had to help her. She was helping Squid Boy and he wasn't even her best friend.

"I mean, you don't have to learn if you don't want to. It's not a big deal, and I'm sure lots of people can teach you." but no one could teach it like Mimosa, she was the best at kissing, she knew that beyond a doubt. Just like she knew she was the best at everything.

"But don't learn from Squid Boy, he isn't good at all," she hastily added, not wanting her friend to study a sub par technique.

It took Mercy a moment to process Mimosa's words. When she finally did, she stopped in her tracks, a funny feeling coiling in her stomach. It wasn't a bad feeling; it was almost like excitement, but not quite. She couldn't place it, but that wasn't her main concern at the moment. She met Mimosa's eyes, trying to ascertain how serious she was being. She didn't sound like she was joking this time.

As Mimosa hurriedly continued, Mercy barely caught the words, though some part of her brain latched onto the fact that Mimosa thought Squid Boy was a bad kisser. She felt good about that for some reason, and she'd definitely come back to that thought later.

But first, Mercy had to make sure she had understood correctly what Mimosa was offering.

"Y-you mean, like...you want to be...my first kiss?"

Mimosa wanted to kiss her? Was that what that meant? Or, no. Maybe she was just offering in a friendly way? Was that a thing? Did friends teach each other how to kiss properly in preparation for romance with other people later on? Mercy had never heard of such a thing, but she supposed it might be possible.

Still, her heart pounded wildly as she glanced briefly at Mimosa's lips, wondering not for the first time what kissing them would feel like. Would she soon find out? She felt so nervous now that it was a real possibility. But if Mimosa just meant it in a friendly way, would it be right for her to accept the offer when she wanted it to mean something else? That felt almost dishonest, in a way. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Surely if it was Mimosa's idea, that meant it was okay, right?