'cause they were all yellow {HAZELLE}

Kiki was curling up on the couch, trying to hide his tears. Yes, it was in the Common Room and not his own bed, but it was around midnight, so he could sulk in peace. His bright blue eyes weren't shining with hope and happiness, for once; just the opposite.

He didn't want to think about much anymore. His sister... how dare they diagnose her with such a disease! She looks and feels perfectly fine! She said so herself. But ever since she went to Durmstrang, he had to admit, she hid a lot more from him that she ever would.

That just made him cry more.

Haze was sleepy again tonight, but she didn't want sleep. Urgh. She hated this. Walking form the girls' dorm to the common room was always hard work.

She heard sulking from somewhere, and a part of her wanted to go comfort them. She bit her lip. She can't. And her lips moevd without a second thought.

"You alright?"

Kieran tried to blink his tears away. Was it... Hazelle? Damn, he was going to be in so much trouble. She was practically his sister's best friend. She was a mean, ruthless bitch to everyone but the popular girls in her year and a bunch of other assorted people.

He knew it was clichéd, but he had a crush on his sister's best friend. She was pretty, after all, and at the best of times, she was actually nice to him. Not like he'd tell anyone, of course.

"I'm fine," he croaked, trying to get the sadness out of his voice. "Leave me alone!"

Haze shook her head. It was Kieran. She knew him from being BFFUGS with Dommi, and he was sweet. She couldn't taunt him because he'd tell Dommi and their friendship would crumble.

Also, she had to admit, her eyes would widen every time she saw him.

"Hey, dude, it's just me," she announced, hoping she didn't wake anyone. "I won't tell, promise."

Kieran's sobs finally halted, or as halted as they could possibly be. He still sniffled, but the tears stopped streaming down his cheeks like a waterfall. He bit his lips so he couldn't cry for much longer, but instead he felt it bleeding. It hurt.

"You sure?" he asked, his voice finally sounding somewhat stable. He coughed loudly, trying to clear his throat. He took a deep breath, and the sadness sort of... oozed out of him.

A part of him didn't particularly trust Haze, but another part of him - yes, the one that has a crush on her - told him to go ahead and take the risk. "You know what?" he added, forgetting that he had asked her a question. "Never mind. I trust you. Come over, Haze."

As Haze was about to open her mouth, she noticed that Kieran had told her to come over. She did, slowly, since it was kind of dark and she didn't want to bump into him by accident, though it did sound lovely.

She was near the couch by the time she stopped, and she asked him, "Where should I sit?"

Kieran could feel Hazelle coming closer towards him, just by the way the air moved. He tried his hardest not to squeal in excitement. Never had he imagined that Hazelle Bass would be this... approachable. She had imagined her to be more hostile, which she was most of the time.

"Sit next to me," Kieran replied, patting the empty space next to him. He then shuffled to his right so Haze can sit comfortably on that space. Never in his life did he expect to have a heart-to-heart with Hazelle.

Hazelle plopped down on the seat next to him, crossing her legs. Well, what should she say? How was he? Why was he sulking? A lot of things she could ask, but one thing told her she only had the time for one.

"Why are you crying?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

Kieran bit his lip. He didn't want to tell her everything that had happened to Dommi, 'cause being her gossip buddy and being as much of a gossiper as his sister once was, Haze would probably tell everyone about Dommi's situation, and everyone would just start scrutinizing him. That... that was bad. He didn't want to be scrutinized for his sister's condition, but for his Quidditch skills.

"I have my reasons," he replied, his voice going deeper down than he ever thought possible.

Haze sighed. "I told you, Kiki, I won't tell, and if I can keep my word to Dommi, I'm sure you'r no different," she replied sternly. She reached out for his hand in the dark. She wanted to comfort him, and properly.

Kieran bit his lip once again. Merlin, how many times had he done that in these past few minutes? He felt something reach out for him in the dark, and grabbed it.

It was so soft. Oh, very soft.

Haze felt her hand being jerked by something in the dark. It had a soft touch to it. She was thankful it was dark, because she was blushing.She'd held hands with a guy before, but not Kieran.

"What is it, Kieran?" she asked. "What is so bad you have to drag me like that?"

Kieran sighed loudly, and he drew his head towards Haze's. It was particularly hard to track one's head in the dark. Well, it wasn't complete darkness; there was a light somewhere in the back, but the light didn't reach far enough for Kieran to see where his hand was reaching. He could feel his hand running through her hair in the dark, trying to find her ear in the pitch black. Her hair... oh, it was wonderful. It was wonderful: so naturally smooth, the waves looking like the ones belonging to a princess in a fairytale book.

It took him a while to find her ear and drew his head as close as he could towards it without bumping into any other part of her head. After he was sure his lips would reach her ear and not her neck or some other part, he drew it closer, and started whispering his words.

Kieran could feel himself shaking as he told Haze about what had happened to his sister. His lips were quivering at every word, because if he told her that story... it felt as if he were betraying Dommi, and he would never do that for the life of him. Once he finished, he drew his face away from the side of Haze's, and sat a little further apart from her than he did before he drew near.

Haze could feel Kieran's hand poking all over her head in the dark. She didn't mind, actually. She did think they were soft, so why wouldn't she mind? No one would see, and no one would have to know, since there was no possible way she was going to go up to half the school and tell everyone about this. An unknown fact about her was that she did know how to keep secrets.

As Kieran went on with his story, her eyes widened. Well... if she knew that would happen to Dommi, who knows who it could happen to? But she had to admit: unlike him, she knew this was coming. The signs were all there... of course she knew it was coming. Just not this soon.

"Shit, Kieran," she muttered, turning to her right, hoping she was facing the right way. "If I have to be honest... I knew this was happening. But... not like this. I didn't tell you 'cause I didn't know it'd happen like this. Fuck, Kieran. I'm sorry."

Her arms opened wide for him to hug her.

Kieran shook his head, staring down at the floor. "No, Hazelle," he replied, trying not to cry again. "It is not your fault. She wasn't your sister, she was mine. I should have watched out for her more..." He knew he couldn't have, though. For an entire year, they were apart. He couldn't have watched her even with Sneakoscopes for their range wasn't wide enough to reach within their home in Bulgaria and Durmstrang. There was no way he could have known the signs. At least, there was someone like Hazelle to help watch her. It was too late now, for anything. It was all too late.

He could tell Haze's arms were wide open, and he leaped into them like an antelope and held her there.

Haze smiled when Kieran leaped into her arms. A real smile, for a fact. She had never smiled in a long time, not like this to anyone. Of course she smirked; who didn't around here?

"I'm sure she'll turn out alright," she whispered, tilting her head towards his ear. "She will be okay. We both know she's a fighter. She can do it." She ran her fingers through his hair, and found an urge to tilt his head towards hers.

She gently pressed his lips towards his.

Kieran nodded. Haze was right. Of course Dommi was going to be alright; she can get out of a pit of fire alive and unscathed, so why can't she get out of... this alive and well? Perhaps, it was just his crush on her that made him feel that way. After all, people did say love was blind.

He felt his head being turned up towards hers and he immediately blushed. His mental shock was deepened when he felt a pair of soft lips pressing against his own. Wait - whoa - what - wait a second - was he kissing Hazelle Bass? Third Year's biggest bitch? Merlin... this must be a dream. Mentally, he was hyperventilating and having a heart attack. He couldn't breathe any longer... but he wanted this to last as long as it could.

Kieran ran his head through Haze's hair, holding her head close to his. He took a brief breath before pressing his lips on hers again. They tasted like chocolate. Good, creamy chocolate.

Haze tried her best not to smirk as Kieran responded to her kiss. He was wonderful for a first year. Was this his first kiss, though? She had no clue. All she could do was respond back to his movements.

As he ran his fingers through her hair, Haze held his head closer to hers, trying to keep him close. When he took a breath, she was scared it was over, but thankfully, it wasn't. She leaned in enthusiastically as he kissed her again.

After a little while, Kieran finally had the courage to pull away and actually not respond with another kiss. He needed that long, deep breath anyway; he was sure he would have suffocated if he held his breath for any longer.

"W-Why?" he asked suddenly, not realizing what came out of his mouth. Honestly, he was so breathless - and mindless - after his first kiss that he didn't even check to see if he was making sense. He wasn't exactly why he was asking why either. Why what?

Haze almost returned back with a kiss until she realized Kieran couldn't take anymore of this just yet. She was breathless too, but she wanted this a lot.

"I-I don't know, Kieran," she replied hastily. "I don't know! Gut instinct?" She sighed and shook her head. "Well... I don't know, Kieran, honestly! I don't mean to yell at you, but things like these can be difficult to understand."

"Gut instinct?" asked Kieran. "I never knew you'd be the sort to act on gut instinct." He then laughed lightly at the thought to release some of the stress this conversation had.

"What is so difficult to understand about this?" he whispered softly. tilting his head to one side, as if trying to understand her. "I kissed you, you kissed me. It was out of nowhere It's that simple. Hazelle... really. Isn't it at all simple for you?"

Haze shook her head. "Well, you don't know what it's like to be me. I'm Bitch of the Year twice in a row, so me kissing her best friend's brother is definitely up there." She was going to cry. "B-But... if you know me, Kieran, I-I like you. I like you a lot."