Darkness (Stefan)

[malfoygirl]

Ariande tightened the grip on her wand underneath her cloak as she approached the gloomy entrance to Diagon Alley. Her blonde tresses were tucked away, the hood of her cloak hiding her face in shadow... not that there was much light to light her features anyway. It was an unusually cloudy night, the new moon providing no light in the dark. Ariande passed under dimmed street lamps, the cobblestone street getting much more decayed and shambled the closer she got to the shady entrance. Pausing under the nearest street light, she gazed at the entrance. The dirty old sign signifying Knockturn Alley pointing to nothing short of a black hole. There was nothing but darkness moving forward.

That held true for Ariadne's life at that point as well. She went about, a fine student as always. Her escapade with Stefan those many months ago had ruined her. She barely saw or spoke to Stefan anymore. Sure, she still considered him her best friend, and was still in love with him. But, their last moment had been tainted. Ariadne had been drunk out of her mind when they had last seen each other, and both had succumbed to their affections... rather drastically, in fact. The whole incident had embarassed her, to say the least...

Footsteps broke Ariadne out of her reverie. "Shit," she breathed, clutching her wand until her knuckles turned white. Stepping backwards quickly, she muttered a silencing charm, cloaking herself further in the shadows, back against the wall of the nearest building. She was completely hidden from the person coming around the corner rather quickly.

[stefancartwright]

Stefan was in trouble again. It had become something of a nasty habit of his the last few months, he no longer made smart moves, in a way it was almost like he deliberatley went out looking for trouble. His life over the last few months had been his darkest yet, he just didn't care anymore, he'd lost the only true friend...oh who was he kidding, he'd wanted Ariadne as more than a friend but she'd made her feelings perfectly clear after that night together.

Ariadne had avoided him at every turn, ignored his owl's, pretty much just locked him out. The girl he loved wanted nothing to do with him at all, and that fact had sent him over the edge so to speak. He was drinking a bit more, skipping school, womanizing, spending more time than usual down Knockturn Alley, which is where he was now, laughing as he backed away from a group of nasty looking wizards.

Backing up around the corner he held his hands up, unable to stop laughing at the menacing looks they were giving him. Really he should have gotten out his wand, but in a way he was looking forward to this being settled in the good old fashioned muggle way. "Now guys can't we work this out like civilised men?" he asked mockingly, pausing just in front of a darkened building. When the men didn't answer, and instead surrounded him, some of them appearing the other side of the alley, Stefan shrugged and chuckled, "I guess not."

The next few minutes were a blur, he'd held his own pretty good for a guy singled out by seven other men, but they'd won. Gotten him on the floor, crippled him with kicks, punches and believing he could take no more had left him bloody and battered on the street. He'd watched them walk away, but not moved from where he lay on the floor, his face a bloody mess, he dreaded looking at his back and torso, and despite the pain he chuckled again and began to push himself up, grunting at the pain that coarsed through him. "Another succesful night..." he chuckled, though the pain did nothing to erase certain thoughts from his head.

[malfoygirl]

When Ariadne saw that it was Stefan, her body tensed and she pressed her back tighter up against the wall. Her heart tightened and her throat closed up, and all time seemed to slow down. He looked worse for wear, but it was still him, still that same cocky grin, the same gorgeous eyes... Suddenly, a gang of rowdy, angry looking me appeared from around the corner, heading directly for Stefan. Ariadne wanted desperately to move, knowing what was coming, but she couldn't. Fear was keeping her rooted to the spot. As they backed Stefan into a corner, her eyes began to water. The silencing charm would keep her from making any noise, but she wanted to scream, to frighten the men away, to direct their attention to her. The first man raised a fist, connecting with Stefan's jaw, and Ariadne's lips parted in a silent scream of terror. The men beat Stefan badly, and blood was everywhere. All the while, Ariadne was sobbing silently, watching, too afraid to move.

The men didn't stay long, and they didn't have to. If they would have stayed for another minute, Stefan could have been beaten to death. Ariadne stood frozen, her eyes never leaving Stefan's battered form. The men were taking their sweet time, cheering and slapping each other on the back's as they left. One even had the nerve to spit in Stefan's general direction, infuriating Ariadne. Her eyes narrowed and it took all her strength to keep her from cursing the lot of them. Her eyes traveled back to Stefan, watching his non-moving form, and the anger inside her grew. She'd find those men and hurt them worse than they'd hurt Stefan. Revenge tasted sweet on her tongue, and the very idea caused much of her anger to disappate into the back of her mind for later. Taking out her wand, Ariadne muttered the counter-charm, undoing the silencing charm and stepping into the street. Her hood still covered her face as she walked forward, heels clicking on the cobblestone.

Ariadne reached Stefan and knelt beside him, her face hidden in shadow. Her eyes looked over Stefan for a moment, before she sighed and removed her hood, letting her golden curls tumble down around her shoulders. Sitting back on her heels, she took Stefan's bloody hand and squeezed it lightly. "What did you do this time?" she asked, her voice gentle.

[stefancartwright]

Thankfully the alcohol he had consumed numbed the pain somewhat, though not completely, if anything it was beginning to wear off and he could feel every kick and every punch he'd endured, but again he welcomed the pain. It was a familiar feeling, one he was comfortable with as he knew how to deal with it. Love and all those other feelings were things that scared him, but thanks to Ariadne he'd need not worry about them anymore, his heart was locked away for good now.

Stefan could hear the clicking of heals as they drew closer, even felt a presence get down beside him but still he didn't move, instead he continued to look up at the sky. "What did you do this time?" That voice he knew it, now he thought about it, the scent was also familiar, painfully familiar to him, and he already knew before even looking who it was and he felt his chest give a painful jolt when she took his hand.

Pride stopped him from letting his happiness at seeing her, show. Instead he pulled his hand roughly from hers and proceeded to push himself up into a seated position, "What the hell do you care?" he asked not even looking at her, he knew the moment he did he'd cave. Grabbing hold of the wall he forced himself to stand up, grunting in pain as he did. "What are you even doing down here?" he asked, unable to even say her name.

[malfoygirl]

Ariadne stood up and dusted herself off, not the least bit offended. He had the right to be angry with her. "I still care about you," she replied indifferently, watching Stefan struggle. She shook her head slightly. She leaned up against the street light, watching him, her eyes piercing his face. She knew he wouldn't look at her, she knew he was angry. Still, her heart was thumping against her ribs at one hundred miles per hour, her knees going weak at the sight of his face. Even while bloody, her oldest and dearest friend was still excruciatingly handsome. Ariadne doubted he'd ever be beaten to the point of being unattractive in anyway. Ariadne lifted her hand to her face, pretending to examine her nails indifferently.

"As to what I'm doing here, that's complicated," she replied slowly, choosing her words carefully. Stefan had always known when she was lying, had always been able to read her like an open book somehow. So, she needed to disguise her motives and words carefully. No one needed to know that she was thinking about joining the Death Eaters, that she was starting to believe in their cause. Especially Stefan. She looked up from her nails and glanced at him. The silence between the two of them dragged on awkwardly, and she wanted desperately for him to say something. Ariadne wanted nothing more than to see his captivating eyes meet hers. However, the both of them were incredibly stubborn, and it was going to come down to someone either apologizing or asking for an apology, or the both of them being too stubborn or afraid to say anything, and they would go about their lives wondering what would be.

[stefancartwright]

"I still care about you,"

Stefan chuckled, wincing as his ribs gave a painful tug. They were extremely tender and he wanted to get back to the little flat his Father owned further up the road to check out the damage, he needed a moment to gather himself though, he wasn't exactly feeling to steady on his feet. "Care about me huh?" he replied sarcastically, chuckling again, he really doubted that was true, if it had been she wouldn't have shut him out for so long.

Lifting his arm, he used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the blood from under his nose and mouth. He was a mess, he didn't really need a mirror to tell him that much. He glanced at Ariadne, meeting her gaze head on when she continued to stare at him. She avoided his question about what she was doing here, and usually that would get him all the more curious. If they were still friends he'd be teasing her, doing anything he could to get the truth out of her, but now...

With a shrug he pushed up from the wall, "You keep your secrets blondie...though you might want to keep to the shadows a lot of bad men out tonight. Including Daddy dearest...I just left him in the pub down the road." he told her, usually knowing what went on down here, Stefan wouldn't even contemplate leaving Ariadne alone but he was beyond being made a fool of, he was going to move on. He was almost done with school, Malfoy insisted he stay on, saying his insight into the school may be needed one day, Stefan just couldn't wait to be out of that place. "I'll leave you to get on with, whatever complicated thing brought your pretty little self down here." he said, glad he was now steady on his feet, as he went to limp away.

[malfoygirl]

Ariadne was silently fuming as he raised his pompous attitude up to par with the asshole-esque air, especially once he brought up her father. She wasn't too fond of Draco, but he was still her father. "God dammit, Stefan!" she shouted after him, surprising herself for a moment. "Look," she said more quietly, stepping forward and facing him boldly. "I'm sorry. There, I said it. I'm sorry. I really am, I shouldn't have done that to you. I shouldn't have... done all that... Ignored you and what not. I deserve as much, but I just want to tell you that I'm sorry," she finished, her nerves stepping in and lowering her speech at the very end. She met his gaze and stared at him tearfully. Swallowing her pride, she turned away from him, wiping the tears on the back of her hand. She started to walk away, then paused. "Goodbye, love," she called over her shoulder, then stepped forward.

Whatever she had been aiming to do in Knockturn Alley, whether it be find Death Eaters or just raise hell, would have to wait. She was in no state to continue, especially after what had just happened between her and her love. Holding her arms to her chest, she continued to walk, not looking back. She hoped that Stefan would do what he wanted. If that meant he never spoke to her again, she'd have to deal. After all, it was only a broken heart, and she was the only one to blame.

[stefancartwright]

Stefan rolled his eyes, Ariadne always had been on the dramatic side. He knew she meant it when she apoligised, saw it in the tears shining there. What upset him the most was not knowing what the hell he'd done to make her ignore him like that. He watched as she turned and began walking away, he could just leave her, go on like he had planned, shouldn't concern him what she does now, but damn it, that instinctive need to protect her was kicking in again.

Even in his battered state, even after all these months of trying to hate her for being like she had Stefan still found himself needing her. Sighing he closed his eyes, "Aria, wait..." he called out, opening his eyes to look at her once she'd turned back around. There was no way he could allow her to go off alone in this street, he knew only to well of the monsters that lived here, "We should talk but, preferably somewhere a little less exposed..." he said, looking around, limping forwards he waved for her to follow, "I know a place up here, come on."

[malfoygirl]

Ariadne turned at the sound of his voice, her heart melting as he called her his old nickname, the only person to ever call her that and get away with it. She tried to contain her joy while she hurried to his side, pausing slightly to remove her heels from her feet. They were cute, but not sensible for all the walking she was doing on the tattered cobblestone. She paced evenly with Stefan, watching him closely to make sure he wasn't going to fall. He was limping awfully bad, and the scent of blood was still fresh, black in the dark.

Ariadne kept silent for the duration of their walk, not wanting to ruin the moment. Still, she was full of questions, and explanations, and pointless words to let Stefan know that she still cared and that she hated herself for ignoring him. She couldn't help the fact that she had been terrified of facing him again. Hell, she was still afraid of talking over everything, even though she knew it was inevitable and needed. The pair approached the building in silence, and Ariadne looked at Stefan, standing back to give him room to get inside.

[stefancartwright]

Stefan hated the fact he didn't know what to say to Ariadne, for so many years it had been so easy to talk to her but now, after that night and the months of not talking, things were different between them. Something had shifted, snapped in Stefan and he wasn't sure how to get it back . Every step he took was more painful than the last, and it felt like forever before they finally reached their destination. Biting his tongue and closing his eyes, his bent down to retrieve his wand from the inside of his trousers, tucked down his boot.

Finally standing back up, he tapped the brick wall, watching as part of the wall gave way, turning into a door of sorts. "Ladies first." he said to Ariadne, before following her inside. The entrance closed behind them, encasing them both in darkness, but knowing this place as well as he did, Stefan made his way up the narrow stairway, pausing only once to make sure Ariadne was behind him.

Reaching another door he pushed it open, and muttered a spell which in turn turned on all the lights. It was similar to a small studio apartment, not much but just what he needed when he escaped Hogwarts. Closing the door behind Ariadne, he began limping over towards the kitchen area, "Drink?" he asked shortly, pulling his dark shirt over his head and discarding it into the fireplace now burning nicely. His entire back and torso where covered in fresh bruises, there was also a deep laceration on the lower left side of his back he hadn't been aware of, it was still bleeding a little bit not as much as it had been. Stefan though, he paid them no mind as he grabbed two glasses and the bottle of firewhiskey, placing them on the side he poured the drinks.

[malfoygirl]

Ariadne patiently followed Stefan up the stairs, surprised at the simplistic beauty of the place. Maybe she was only attracted to it because she was used to the Malfoy Manor and it's enormous size and stature. She started to remove her cloak when she noticed him pulling off his shirt. She stood mesmerized for a moment until she caught sight of his back. Her hands dropped the strings of her cloak immediately as she ran up towards Stefan. Half-untied, the cloak loosened and fell halfway down her arms, revealing her black low-cut dress. Taking her wand from the pocket in her cloak, she conjured up a rag and hurried to the sink to wet it with warm water.

Hurrying back, she stepped forward to press the rag to Stefan's wounds, but hesitated. Things weren't going to be like they used to be, and she didn't have the grounds to heal him without his permission. When she looked over and saw that he had poured two glasses of firewhiskey, she winced. "I'm not drinking," she replied quietly, stepping back again. Clearing her throat, she said sternly, "Sit, Stephen. On that barstool over there, let me clean this up."

[stefancartwright]

Stefan shrugged, and after downing his drink he grabbed the one he'd poured for Ariadne and drank that to, before grabbing the bottle and sitting down on the stool like instructed. Lifting his arm, he glanced down at the wound on his back, "It's just a little cut Aria, no need to panic," he told her, he'd had worse over the last few months, worse from his Father he'd bet too. Though he couldn't be bothered arguing with her so he'd settled down like instructed, taking a long sip from the bottle and glancing over at the fire where his shirt slowly burned.

"So since your not going to bring it up I think I will...mainly because I'm tired and not in the mood for anymore games..." he started, not looking at her but keeping his focus on the fire, barely flinching when she began to clean the but on his back, the firewhiskey was numbing the pain somewhat, "Care to explain why you've been ignoring me the last couple months? Why after that night together you decided I wasn't worth knowing anymore?" he asked, his tone was a little harsh, he didn't mean to sound that way but he was still bitter over what had happened and how it had. That night with Ariadne had been one of his best, they'd shared something he hadn't thought he'd ever experience with someone, but now it was tainted and he hated that.

[malfoygirl]

Ariadne sat on the barstool beside him and began to clean his wounds. "It's a lot worse from my perspective, Stefan," she replied gently, her hands careful and gentle on his back. The two sat in silence as she cleaned the blood gently from his back and sides. Suddenly, the silence was broken by his harsh, cold words. Her heart seized up, and she bit her lip, not answering for a moment. She had never imagined that Stefan could be capable of being cold and spiteful to her, and she certainly had never imagined that he would be doing so because of her.

"Alright," she said finally, her voice surprisingly soft and steady. "That night was absolutely wonderful. The best I've ever had, and I was so happy that I got the opportunity to share it with you. But, I was... tainted. I should have stopped drinking after the first firewhiskey, I shouldn't have gotten completely wasted. I didn't talk to you for all these months because I was so... ashamed," she replied softly, her voice cracking slightly at the last word. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"I was ashamed of what I had done, and I was afraid of what you would think. I didn't have the courage needed to face you after I had foolishly done that. Stefan, I want you to know that everything that happened that night was not a mistake. I don't regret anything but the fact that I was almost to wasted to remember it. It could have been so much better, it could have been so much more loving and meaningful if I were sober. I was also afraid that I had ruined our friendship..." Ariadne finished, cleaning out the last cut on his back. Taking her wand, she retrieved some bandages and began wrapping him up.

[stefancartwright]

Stefan listened intently as she spoke, he felt his walls crumble just that little bit with every heart felt word she spoke. He didn't need to be looking at her to know how sorry she was, and that she meant everything she was saying, he could hear it in her voice, feel it in the slight tremble of her hands against his back. The fact that she thought that night was as wonderful as he did warmed his cold heart, he agreed with her though they were both wasted, their first time together shouldn't have been tainted by alcohol.

"You should have known better than to think it would have ruined anything between us Aria...what happened...wouldn't have happened if neither of us had wanted it to...don't you see?" he asked, turning his head to the side to look at her just that little bit better. "I agree with you, it shouldn't have happened the way it did. Whenever I imagined the two of us...it was supposed to have happened because we were both ready...I don't regret it though, any of it...how could I?" he said, though he wasn't asking. Looking at her, his hardened mask slipped away and he smiled softly, reaching out he took her hand stopping it in place as she'd been bandaging him, "I've missed you..." he admitted, not caring if it made him weak, he'd been a mess the last few months.

[malfoygirl]

Ariadne listened intently as he spoke, hearing the walls crumble as his voice softened and smoothed over. Her heart leaped when she heard him repeat how much it had meant to her. When he mentioned imagining them together, she smiled softly. So he confirmed it, he thought of her as more than a friend all along, like she had thought of him in the same way. When Stefan turned to look at her, taking her hand and whispering that he had missed her, Ariadne couldn't help but smile back, tears clouding her vision.

Ariadne brought his hand to her cheek, her eyes closing as his skin graced hers. Her smile widened and she placed her other hand on his cheek, opening her eyes and meeting his gaze. "I've missed you too," she replied softly, rubbing some dried blood gently with her thumb. She pulled her hand back and finished wrapping his back, then moved up with the wet cloth to clean his face. With each stroke, the blood washed away. His face wasn't too bad, his nose was slightly bruised and he had a black eye forming. The only cut was a large one that graced from the peak of his hair on his forehead down to his left ear. She pulled back, setting the cloth on the table. "You should be good, to go, love."