teddy's pov:

By nature, I wasn't a sound sleeper. I rarely rose later than eight, and constantly awoke in the middle of the night. And I was ashamed to say that near the full moon, I was arisen by night terrors.

Junie, on the other hand was the prettiest sleeper I'd ever seen. She had fallen asleep blissfully in my arms, and I watched the peaceful rise and fall of her chest until I too closed my eyes. I always slept better when she was with me. Every few minutes she had adjusted her body, nuzzling closer into my embrace. It was everything.

Now it was morning, the soft light framing Juniper's sleeping face. The sheets curved around her beautifully, bare form entangled with my own. I smiled, brushing a strand of her hair off her forehead. I took a moment to feel a little smug about the wayward curls springing out in various directions, a reminder of the previous night. She made a contented little sigh, shifting in my arms.

I'd never felt luckier.

A beam of sun spotlighted the skin of her delicate neck. I moved to kiss the space it had hit, and then realized- holy shit it was the morning!

I never slept over. Never. I always left before the sun rose over the lake. That was my thing. Stay too long and the girl gets attached, I risk getting attached. Leave and no one gets hurt. That had always been my rule. A rule I lived by, and one that worked up until now. A rule I'd forgotten the minute Juniper's lips met mine.

The thought of it scared me. I needed to get out of here. And fast. She couldn't know I'd stayed all night. How could I have been so stupid?

To be fair, last night I made a lot of stupid decisions. The moment I'd kissed her it was all over for me. All over. It was a bad idea. I knew it was. I'd been trying to talk myself out of it all year. If only I'd known she's respond like that.

I couldn't lose her. I was walking a precarious line. But I'd set guidelines, I'd told her that I couldn't be a boyfriend. She knew. I was clear. Very clear. She said she was fine with it, and that was all I needed. She was my best friend, I never wanted to hurt her.

I was dangerous. I knew that, even if she didn't. I was a bloody werewolf for crying out loud. I barely believed in love. At least not for me. Who could love a monster? Who could believe a monster was capable of love? No. Better to keep things separate. Junie my best friend. And Junie who I kissed sometimes. That was all. It wasn't serious, it was simple and no strings. No strings.

This was an unfortunate, and one time, mistake. I'd never let it happen again.

Carefully, I unwrapped my arms from Juniper, holding my breath when she stirred slightly. I slipped on my pants and t-shirt, taking my shoes in hand and tiptoeing out of the dorm as fast as I could. Once I was out in the open, past James, Charlie, and Leo, who were snoring in the common room, and out into the crisp air, I felt like I could breathe again. Thank god she hadn't woken up. I don't know what I would've done. I really don't.

My breath came in short white puffs as I fumbled in my pants pocket for a cigarette and my lighter. I wasn't cold. I never was, not even in the dead of winter. It was frosty out, bright sunlight melting the newly powdered snow from last night. Junie was perpetually cold, frequently shivering and all that. I couldn't count the number of times she'd nicked one of our jumpers. It was sort of adorable. She was adorable. And-

And I had to stop thinking about Juniper. Why was this happening to me? I'd wanted to kiss her for a while, do other things with her too, all of which had occurred last night. But usually, if I wanted to shag a girl, I did, and that was that. I didn't dwell on it. That was the part I was good at, none of that icky relationship stuff. So why was I still so focused on her? Thinking about her skin on mine, the way she bit her lip, her lovely laugh. Her eyelashes. God I lived for those eyelashes. It was very confusing. I didn't like it one bit.

I took drag of smoke, exhaling slowly.

"Teddy?" A high voice called from behind me.

I turned around, "Wood?" I saw Rory, bundled in a winter coat and scarf, and a very familiar looking jumper underneath. Where was that from?

"What are you doing out here so early?" Rory beckoned me over to where she was reading under a tree.

I sat beside her, shrugging, "You know..." I trailed off aimlessly. Rory was excellent at reading people, I couldn't give anything away or she'd know in an instant. When Vivian had burst in on us last night, I'd thought I was dead. Though Juniper swore Viv wouldn't tell, I saw the way she'd stared me down. I knew Viv had never been my biggest fan when it came to matter involving Junie, but I never knew why.

Rory was the complete opposite. She seemed to see something in me that I didn't even see in myself. I told you she was good at shit like that. It was the one of the reason James liked her so much. Hell, she would've understood without a second thought, last night.

"Where's Junie?" Rory frowned, looking around. "Didn't she stay the night with you?"

A bolt of fear shot through me. She knew? Did Vivian tell her? Oh god, what if they all knew? What if James knew? Oh I was so fucking screwed. My eyes widened, "She- what?"

"Yeah. Viv said you guys got back late and June didn't want to wake us so she just slept over in your guys' dorm like she used to."

I breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank the bloody gods Knox came through. "That's what Knox said." I murmured, a huge weight lifting off my chest. I was safe. No one knew. Viv would keep our secret.

"Yes." Rory peered at me strangely, gaze narrowing. "So where is she?"

"Asleep." I cleared my throat, "At least I assume so. Wasn't really paying attention, you know." I chuckled awkwardly, Rory growing more and more suspicious.

She nodded slowly, pursing her lips, "Right."

"Well, " I stood up, brushing off my pant legs, "I ought to head back up to the castle."

"I'll join you." Rory packed her books away, rising. "I need more books anyways."

I blinked at her. "It's the weekend." She could be insane about grades, even worse than Leo. Me, I just didn't care at all. Everyone always told me how smart my dad had been, but look where the got him. Besides, I could do most classes without trying. Just like James. Which obviously annoyed Rory to no end. We put absolute zero effort Into school and still sometimes got higher marks than her. It drove her insane. Although, James had actually been working hard for school lately. Like actually studying and all that shit. It was very disconcerting.

"We have exams." She retorted simply, walking beside me. She was even shorter than Junie.

"I know." I teased, "I'm looking forward to beating you in Potions."

Rory punched me in the arm, rolling her eyes, "In your dreams, Lupin."

We arrived at the common room, swinging open the portrait hole. I held the door open for her, but she refused, in typical Rory fashion. The boys were still asleep on the couches. I noticed Rory gazing off into the distance, a slightly dreamy expression on her face that I didn't recognize. Her cheeks looked rosy, and not just from the cold. Was she- was she looking at who I thought she was looking at?

"I should probably go wake James up, right? So..."Rory stopped when she saw the face of mild amusement and disbelief I was sporting. "What?"

I folded my arms smugly, suddenly remembering where I knew that jumper from. "You said James."

"I- what- no-" Rory blanched, stammering and immediately drawing her eyes to the floor. "I didn't- I said I should probably go wake Potter up because- ."

"No, you said James." I repeated, raising my eyebrows.

"I did not!" She cried, agitated. Her face was bright red

"Oh my god you like him!" I exclaimed, jaw dropping.

Rory stomped her foot, "I do not!" She said, shaking her head vehemently.

"You like him a lot." I replied, reverently. I could not believe this. After all this time.

"Shut up!" Rory whacked me with her heavy book bag, completely flustered. James was going to freak. Rory spun on her heel, turning her nose up at me as she headed up the stone staircase. Adamant on ignoring James and stubbornly avoiding any of the revelations I'd just discovered.

However, I couldn't resist adding one parting comment. "Nice jumper!" I called out after her, grinning wide as can be. And despite the fact I couldn't see her, I knew she'd flipped me off.

The guys were beginning to wake up. Leo left to meet Henry somewhere, and Charlie mumbled something about the Quidditch pitch. James began to head up to our dorm, me following. Then I remembered- Junie. Shit. Shit. Shit. How would I explain this? James was nearing our door. I raced up to block the entrance.

"Oi! What the bloody hell are you doing mate?" James furrowed his brow, trying to get past me

I scrambled for a plausible lie, "You know, we've never really spent time in the hall. I think we should take a moment and appreciate the hall and-" I babbled aimlessly, digging myself into a deeper and deeper hole.

"What the fuck are you on about?" James attempted to move past me again, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "I'm tired you wanker, let me through!"

He shoved me out of the way, and turned the doorknob. Dread filled my soul, "James-! Just- just know the whatever you see in there- I can explain. It's not what you think, it's-" The door swung open, and I screwed my eyes shut, bracing myself for what was about to come.

Silence.

I peeked at the room, astonished. Junie was gone, and there was no trace she'd ever been there. Well, props to Potter. I wonder when she woke up. An unpleasant prickly feeling settled in my gut when I thought abut her waking up to find me gone, but I quickly shook it off. I shouldn't- and couldn't be concerning myself with that.

"Are you high, Teddy?" James asked, flopping down on his bed with a groan. "You're acting weirder than normal." He paused, as I hopped on my bed as well. "And if you have weed, at least share, mate. It's only polite."

I chuckled, "Not high, sorry James."

"Mmmmhh." James grunted noncomitally, staring up at the ceiling. "You think Wood's up yet?

"You've got a one track mind, you know that?" I said, silently debating whether or not to tell him about my interaction with Rory. I decided against it. Rory deserved some discretion, and I knew things would work out in the end anyways.

I'd pretty much always known James and Rory were going to end up together somehow. No matter how many times she called him an idiot and told him no. They were meant to be. Even I'd always recognized that.

"I just-" James started, glancing over at me, "Look, I know you don't like this kind of mushy shit, but Rory-"

I interrupted, smirking, "Oh it's Rory now?"

"It's like- everything about her." James continued, more to himself than me. "I mean- you know that feeling of just simultaneous exhilaration, fear, insanity, and just pure happiness? When you're with that one person who makes you feel safe, that you constantly think about. The one who your mind drifts to at every possible moment. That one person who you'd do anything- anything for." There was a serious moment of quiet as James trailed off, shaking his head. "I know, I know, you think I'm a blithering hopeless romantic. You have no idea what I'm talking about." James joked, like we'd always done. He'd always been the sappy one and I was the emotionally unattached. It was a whole bit.

"Right." I agreed faintly, my heart racing.

Because, the truth was, when James had been saying all that stuff I usually would have given him crap for...I pictured someone. I was thinking about that specific person, just like James said. And that terrified the hell out of me.

um can we talk about how much we love the rory teddy dynamic? because i think it's adorable

short teddy pov (bc ik how much y'all love em)

long chap next where we'll get into the nitty gritty of this casual relationship

thoughts? hopes? dreams? ranting?

any and all questions for me——————————>
i will answer, promise

-coco