Escape (open)

[Amy Icefire]

Amy entered the library and headed straight for the novels in the back. What a way to start off the year... She scanned the shelves and finally chose a romance novel. A good book and some chocolate was all she needed to unwind.

Amy sat down at a table in the back corner and pulled out some chocolate she had picked up at Hogsmeade before the start of school. As she opened the book to the first page, her thoughts momentarily went back to Transfigurations class. As stupid as it sounded, she really had hoped that Sirius was being serious and not just flirting with her just for fun. He had been on her mind all week. But he had a girlfriend, she knew. She softly sighed and then took a large bite of the chocolate and began to read.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius walked into the library, intending to do some research for the idea that he and James and Remus had been talking about. He really liked the map idea, but he wasn't quite sure what kind of magic would be involved in creating it. He took a quick glance around, just to get his bearings, then headed down an aisle marked "magical objects." He wound his way down the aisle, grabbing books as he went. He levitated each one in front of him, and when he thought he had enough to start with, he led them along to search for a place to sit.

Spotting an empty table near the back, he headed in that direction, but nearly stopped short when he realized Amy was sitting in the table just past the one he was heading for. He hesitated for a minute. If Kris were to catch him talking to Amy, she would be furious, of course. And rightly so. But he still felt bad that he had put Amy in such an uncomfortable position, and he wanted to apologize to her.

After a moment, he decided to go and talk to her for just a minute. He levitated his books over to the empty table and dropped them down, then went over to her table. Clearing his throat, he said in a quiet voice, "Hey, Amy."

[Amy Icefire]

Amy had seen Sirius walk into the library, but she assumed he would simply get whatever he needed and leave. He didn’t exactly seem much of the library type. She once again became immersed in her book. A few minutes later, she heard footsteps coming up behind her. The librarian’s aide had already asked Amy to put her chocolate away twice, so she assumed it was her again.

Amy spun around in her chair with the intentions of finally asking the aide to just leave her alone. To her surprise though, Sirius stood there. It took her a couple of moments to decide whether he was really there or if her mind was just playing a trick on her.

She finally understood why he was talking to her and allowed a smile to cross her face, “Save it Black. No hard feelings.” She looked past him almost expecting his girlfriend to be standing there. A slight look of sadness entered her eyes as she looked back up at him and softly said, “You probably shouldn’t be talking to me...huh?”

[Sirius Black]

The librarian's aide walked by at that moment and cast him a dirty look as she put her finger to her lips. Sirius nodded, then slipped quietly into the chair across from Amy. He waited a minute, until he was sure the woman had gone, and he used that time to think about how he was going to say what he had come to say.

Once the woman's footsteps had faded away, Sirius turned to Amy again with a contrite expression on his face. "I suppose I shouldn't," he admitted. "Yeah... if Kris found out I was talking to you, she'd probably be pretty mad. But I just wanted to apologize. I didn't mean to put you in that kind of position."

[Amy Icefire]

Amy softly laughed as the aide walked by. She had been so intent on silencing Sirius that she had completely forgotten about Amy. That gave her another ten minutes before the aide would be on her back again.

Her gaze was once again fixed on Sirius. She smiled and responded, "Honestly, I think I've given you enough trouble with her for one day. And it's not a big deal. It certainly isn't the worst I've been through." Amy had an awful habit of dealing with her feelings through sarcasm. She wished she wouldn't have done that now though. She looked away for a moment and softly whispered, "It's okay."

[Sirius Black]

Sirius caught the hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Nah, it's OK. I think sometimes Kris and I need a little bit of tension between us. You know, to keep it interesting. Er... not that it's not already interesting. I mean..."

He sighed. "Never mind. Look, I want you to understand... what I said to you... I meant it, OK? I talked to you because I thought you were pretty and you looked like a nice person. I'm not too friendly with a lot of people... most people are just targets for pranks and stuff. So I started flirting. It doesn't mean I like my girlfriend any less. And I didn't mean to get you caught up in anything like that. I was just trying to be nice."

[Amy Icefire]

Amy initially raised her eyebrow at his first comment. She wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to it. Thankfully, he continued. After he finished, Amy’s expression smoothened, and she began to respond, “Sirius, I-” She was going to tell him that she didn’t blame him for what happened. True in her own little imaginary world, things might be just a little different, but they were living in reality. It had been an awkward situation for everyone. She had greatly appreciated Sirius’s kindness. Amy had needed someone to crack her out of her shell. She was going to tell him all of this, but for some reason she felt that it would be misinterpreted.

She paused and continued, “Don’t worry about it. I know. Thank you. But…I didn’t think anything else of it either.” Amy wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue the conversation or leave it at that, but she assumed that he probably didn’t have much more to say to her.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius nodded. He wasn't sure what else to say, and part of him knew he should leave before Kris found out he'd been talking to her in a dark corner of the library. But he didn't want to leave. What was wrong with him? What was he thinking?

I love Kris, he told himself. He'd spent the whole summer locked in his parent's dusty, moldy old house, getting cursed at by Kreacher and insulted by his mother, and during the entire time, he'd thought of Kris. Like she was a lifeline... the only thing for a desperate prisoner to cling to for comfort and support. So why was he suddenly intrigued by Amy? He didn't even know her. He knew nothing about her. The trouble was, he wanted to.

Things with Kris had been odd lately. It seemed like almost the only things she wanted to talk about were her problems with Remus and her father. And she'd changed, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different. But she seemed more secretive, more like Remus. It was odd.

But here was Amy, and there was something exciting and interesting about her. Maybe it was just the lure of the red hair, or maybe the way she answered back to his flirtations. She was able to play his game.

Sirius realized that he'd been silent far too long. Even worse, he was staring at her. He shook his head as if trying to clear his mind. "Um, I'm sorry. I really should get going. That... that was all I wanted to say. Just that... you know... you're cool with me." He stood up and started to leave, then, in a moment of utter insanity, he turned around and leaned in close to her.

Without a word, he pressed his lips to hers in a short, sweet kiss. For a split second, it was like he could see fireworks, but sanity soon set in and he pulled away. "I'm sorry," he said, and quickly ran away.

She tasted like chocolate.

[Amy Icefire]

Amy looked down at her book as she tried to find the page on which she had left off. She really needed to get herself a bookmark. She figured that he would just take his stuff and leave, and she didn’t want to make him stay if he didn’t want to be there. She read a paragraph or two and quickly glanced over at his seat. He was still there. She wondered what he was doing. He shouldn’t be there. If Kris found him, she might not forgive him as easily this time.

She turned back to her book, quite confused, but she couldn’t concentrate. She could feel his eyes on her. Not that she necessarily minded. She was extremely attracted to him, just like every other girl in the school. But she knew that he was out of her league. She had never had a boyfriend before. There was no way she could catch his attention.

Suddenly he broke the silence. His words made her smile. She was about to thank him, for she had been afraid that she was going to lose any potential of friendship with him because of what had happened in class. Before she knew it though, he had kissed her and then run off.

What had just happened? She had finally convinced herself that she was content with just being friends with him. She knew that he loved his girlfriend…or so she thought. Suddenly, a warm feeling set it as she realized what exactly had happened. Her heart melted. She quickly stood up and wanted to go run after him, but something told her that wasn’t a good idea.

She broke out in a huge smile and collapsed back into her chair with a light sigh. She looked down at the chocolate and her book and laughed softly. She tried to convince herself that she should feel guilty. After all, she had just kissed Kris’s boyfriend. But she couldn’t. She had just had a perfect first kiss.