Chapter Text
Steam rose from my coffee as I stared out the window, cars streaming by as people walked with their faces glued to their phones. Blowing lightly on the liquid, my eyes flicked to the guy across from me. Ryan droned on, not realizing I wasn’t listening to a word he said. I think he was talking about football now. Or maybe it was basketball. I lost track about an hour ago. Buzz cut, meaty hands, questionable IQ which was probably due to concussions from football. Emmy and I were going to need to have a talk when I saw her next. She wasn’t going to be allowed to set me up if this is what she thought I was into. Just because her boyfriend was captain of the football team didn’t mean I had to date a football player too. Now, if said football player had a motorcycle then maybe -
“Sydney?” I looked back over at Ryan who looked at me expectantly with washed out blue eyes.
“Sorry, what did you say?” Crap. Focus, Syd.
“You’re coming to the game tonight, right? Emmy said you two were going to go then come to Pat’s party after,” He took a sip of his Smoked Butterscotch Creme Frappuccino. I’m still in shock that that was what he ordered. I mean no judgement but...ok a little judgement. It can’t even be called coffee. It’s a milkshake. My black coffee soul winced as he placed it back on the table.
“Yes, we’re planning on going. She didn’t mention the party though,” I said hesitantly. I had a feeling I knew where this was going.
“I can give you a ride after the game. We can grab ice cream,” He winked at me. Bleh. “Before going.”
“Can’t.” I shrugged, playing off my internal panic attack at the thought of ‘grabbing ice cream’ with him. “I have to drop back home to let my dog out. Parents are out of town.”
Ryan’s eyes lit up at this news. Shit. “Really? Well maybe we-”
I cut him off before he could even suggest coming over. “I have to take care of my sisters and dog all weekend. It’s a full time job. Speaking of, I need to get home before the game. Make sure no one burned the house down.”
“I’ll see you later then,” He stood up as I swung my bag over my shoulder. He leaned towards me and I quickly turned my head, his lips landing on my cheek. Whew, that was close. First date and he’s trying to kiss me already? Yeah, how bout no.
“Yup. See ya,” I brushed past him and hurried out the door. Wiping off my cheek with my flannel sleeve, I hit Emmy’s name on my phone. It rung twice as I jumped into my old Wrangler, put the phone on speaker, and shoved it into the dash mount.
“Syd! How did it go? Isn’t he just perfect for you?!” Emmy squealed. Turning my head, I backed out of my spot and pulled into traffic.
“You and I have a very different definitions of perfect,” I could hear her sigh through the phone.
“Or your expectations are too high. Maybe if you lowered them a little you’d see-”
I butt in. “That he wants to know me as a person and not just get in my pants? He’d have to get his head out of his ass first and I don’t know if he’s smart enough to do that.”
“Sydney Marie, that’s rude,” She scolded.
“It’s true. He ordered a frappuccino then proceeded to tell me about last week’s game in detail. I started zoning out when he got to half time. I have never heard a play by play of a high school football game and I never plan to again. My brain can’t handle it.” I flicked the right blinker on and turned the corner. Emmy’s momentary silence spoke volumes.
“...he’s got really nice abs.”
“Emmy.”
“Sorry, Syd. I just thought if you went out with someone then maybe it would turn into a relationship. I just want you to be happy,” My sweet, sweet Emmy. Her heart really was in the right place. If only we had a bigger dating pool than our small town. It wasn’t her fault that every guy I had liked in the past few years had either strung me along only to go out with someone else out of left field or try to get into my pants. I wish that was a joke but it wasn’t. Always the friend never the girlfriend. I sort of expected it now which I think was Emmy’s main worry. She was a romantic at heart and blissfully in a perfect relationship with the man of her dreams. Literally. And I couldn’t even be anything other than happy for her. Todd was actually her other half, anyone could see that. She was so insanely happy and he was obsessed with her. It was sickeningly adorable.
“I know. And I love you for caring but do me a favor? Let’s just let me be the single third wheel for a bit. I’m a little worn out from this. You know how bad my anxiety can get,” I pulled into my driveway and cut the engine, waiting for her reply. She’d been on the other end of my panicking when someone who I truly did not want to go out with had asked me out. I hated hurting them when I said no but I also wasn’t going to go on a pity date with someone. That seemed like one of the worst things I could ever do to someone. And I should know, it’s happened to me. Twice.
She sighed loudly. “Fine. But we will find you someone. And then we can go on double dates and get a beach house before college and they can move into an apartment together and we can move-”
“Emmy, it’s September. Let’s wait until after Christmas to plan summer, okay?” I smiled at her enthusiasm.
“Fine, ruin all my fun.”
“Speaking of fun, when were you going to mention Pat’s party I’m supposed to be going to?” She couldn’t see my arched eyebrow but I knew she could tell I wasn’t happy with this development in my plans for the night.
“We talked about it on Tuesday, Syd.” She said carefully. I wasn’t a big party person like she was. I’m more of a homebody and she was a socialite. I loved her but I wasn’t a fan of being dragged to parties every weekend.
“You talked about it but I never said I was going to go,” I pointed out.
“Come on, Syd! It’s senior year, you have to go. I’ll see you in an hour. And wear the green shirt! It makes your boobs look great! LOVE YOU!” She rushed out then hung up before I could protest.
“Emmy,” I groaned, dropping my head against the steering wheel. That girl was going to owe me big time for this. Pulling my backpack from the passenger side floor, I threw it over my shoulder and hopped out of my car. Mrs. Baker, our elderly neighbor, waved as I walked up to the house. I waved back with a smile. Then opened my front door to chaos.
“MOOOOOOOOM! JESSA TOOK MY SHIRT!” screamed Hayley from somewhere in the house. I dropped my bag, bending down to greet my dog Tux, then made my way to the kitchen at the back of the house. My mom rolled her eyes at me.
“Jessa, give your sister her shirt back,” Mom half-heartedly yelled. I shook my head and leaned against the counter. Mom was finishing up packing food for her camping trip with Dad. She turned to me with a raised eyebrow. “You sure you’ll be fine this weekend?”
“Yes. Besides it’s not like anyone will be here,” I replied. I may have lied a little to Ryan. I was going to basically be home alone all weekend. The twins were staying with my grandmother and Shay was going to be in and out of the house all weekend due to regatta training. She would be sleeping at the boathouse with her team like she did every other weekend. And my parents were camping. Having the house to myself was a once in a year opportunity and there was no way I was wasting it. I planned on binging Harry Potter books and movies while eating sushi until I burst. After the stupid party, of course.
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Mom zipped up the cooler. “Make sure you check in with the girls. Our phones-”
“Won’t have any service. I know. And don’t worry, everything will be fine. It’s one weekend. I can even see if Emmy will sleepover one night,” I offered. I knew the answer would be no but it would make my mom feel better.
She smiled at me, pushing a stray blonde hair back behind her ear. Everyone said I looked and sounded like my mom, except for the coloring. She was blonde and blue eyed like my sister Shay while I got my dad’s coloring, dark dark brown hair and coffee colored eyes. The twins were a mix, light brown hair with blue eyes. Also miniature compared to the rest of the family. My guy cousins were all over 6 foot and the girls were at least 5’ 8” including myself. Hayley and Jessa came in at around 5’ 5” and were the shortest in the family. Even my grandmother was taller and I’m pretty sure she lost a few inches in her old age. “Good, you girls haven’t had time to yourselves in a while. I like Todd but I miss Emmy being around.”
“What? I’m not good enough by myself? I’ll make sure to tell Emmy that she’s your favorite.” Mockingly, I put a hand to my heart. “I’ll start packing my bags-”
“You are my most dramatic child,” Mom muttered, shaking her head. “Must be from your father.”
“Her good looks? Nope, she got that from you, dear.” Dad swept in, kissing Mom on the forehead while stealing a small bag of Doritos. She tutted at him and pushed him towards the doorway.
“Sweet talker. We need to get on the road and drop the twins off,” Mom said, gathering up the cooler. Tux ran around Dad’s legs until he bent over and scratched his ears.
“Take care of Sydney, sir.” He said seriously to the black lab. My dog looked up at him with worship. Standing with a groan, he yelled to the rest of the house. “GIRLS, LET’S GO!”
Footsteps pounding down the stairs as my three sisters raced to my parents. Jessa and Hayley sprinted out the door, arguing over which side of the car they would sit on. Shay came in and hugged both my parents.
Mom came over to give me one last hug and I rolled my eyes at her but accepted it. “It’s just the weekend.”
“I know, I know. It’s just...you girls are getting so old, so fast. Sometimes it’s hard to leave you alone even for a weekend. Be good. No drinking. No -”
“Boys,” Shay and I chorused. We giggled and Mom shook her head at us.
“I love you, girls.” Mom said. Then smacked her husband on the shoulder. He looked over, Dorito dust on his cheek.
Swallowing, Dad gave us each a squeeze. “Love you, girls. And Syd, if you want a project for the weekend, that Impala needs a new transmission.”
“We’ll see. Love you guys, too. Have fun,” Dad restored old cars when he wasn’t at the shop fixing new ones. I’d started helping him and now he seemed to think any free time I had could be spent on fixing up the beaters he collected. I knew my way around a car but I would take a book over a motor any day of the week. Finally, they shut the door behind them and they pulled away in the truck. I turned to Shay. “What time are you leaving?”
She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Hmm, bout an hour. You going to Pat’s party?”
“I guess. Emmy’s making me,” I wrinkled my nose and Shay laughed.
“Well call me if you get too drunk. We’re watching Frozen again so I don’t mind missing some of that.” She made her way back upstairs to pack for the weekend. Her blonde head disappeared and I shook my head. If anyone was going to need a drunk ride home it would be her not me. I may be a year older but drinking was not really my thing, Shay had a much higher tolerance than I did.
---
“Well, look at you!” Tony yelled as I walked into a packed house. I shut the door behind me and hugged my friend. He put his hands on my shoulders and did a sweep of my body. I wore the green shirt like Emmy had asked, my leather jacket thrown over it, and normal skinny jeans. Honestly, I looked like I always did. Just a little more cleavage than usual. Tony really enjoyed being more dramatic than me. “You look frumpy for all of us during the day but at night you actually show off that smoking hot body. I’m hurt that you would hide that from me.”
“Sure you are. Good thing you have Stephen to kiss you all better,” I teased. Said Stephen popped up behind Tony and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s waist.
“You called?” Stephen asked with a smirk.
“Look at her, babe! She has boobs!” Tony leaned heavily on his boyfriend. Apparently he was more drunk than I had originally thought. “Wait, who are you trying to hook up with?!”
“No on-” A large arm fell on my shoulders. I looked up to see Ryan grinning drunkenly at me. Jesus.
He shoved a red solo cup into my hand. Yeah, no way was I drinking that. “Hey, honey. I was wondering when you’d show up.”
Tony and Stephen’s eyes widened and they began to back away slowly, disappearing into the living room. Smart boys.
I spun and faced Ryan, narrowing my eyes at him. He swayed slightly at the sudden movement. “One date, Ryan. One. We’re not dating so don’t call me honey.”
“Would you like ‘pumpkin’ better?” He asked, oblivious to the actual issue.
Pushing past him, I went to the kitchen and dumped the concoction Ryan had handed me into the sink. The nerve of that dumbass, acting as though we were dating or something. One date, if you could even call it that, and he was calling me honey. Gag
“SYD!” Screeched my best friend. Emmy stumbled into me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. “I missed you! Tony said Ryan hiccup called you babe.”
I supported my inebriated best friend, wrapping an arm around her waist as she giggled. “It was honey. And he clearly doesn’t understand boundaries.”
“Thank you for not punching hiccup him. Todd would be so sad if you did.” Emmy booped me on the nose.
Rolling my eyes, I looked for the boyfriend. Todd was leaning against the fridge and shrugged at me. “I’d live.”
“Good to know. And next time, I might not hold back,” I was actually glad Emmy had Todd. He really loved her. Even now, he clearly had had a few drinks but he was focused on Emmy and making sure she would be okay and not fall face first into a counter. It’s happened. “Now, let’s go play some flip cup so I can kick Todd’s ass again.”
He downed the rest of his beer then pointed at me. “You’re on.”
---
A wet nose nudged my hand. Cracking my eyes open, sunlight burned into my retinas. I pulled the comforter over my head but Tux whined in frustration. Get a dog they said, it would be fun they said. Groaning, I dragged myself up and stumbled down the stairs, pulling my dark brown hair into a long ponytail. Tux shoved past my legs as I opened the back door and went to run outside. I rubbed my eyes, trying to not go blind from the sun. I kind of wish I was hungover instead of just tired. The party had gone on until 4am and I had stayed sober the whole time, even during flip cup. Todd knew I wasn’t a big drinker but still liked to challenge me to any and every game we could play. It was fun and kept us out of trouble. Only getting a few hours of sleep though made me feel as though I had drunk as much as Emmy had.
I still had my jeans on from last night, too tired to take them off, and at some point switched shirts so my boobs weren’t hanging out. The worn Gryffindor shirt was starting to get holes in it. Maybe Emmy would get me a new one for my birthday. Frowning, I looked at the sky. It had been blindingly bright a minute ago but it now looked as though it was going to pour. I opened my mouth to call Tux back when I saw the cat. Unfortunately, Tux saw it too.
“Tux, no!” I yelled, sprinting after him barefoot just as it began to pour. My adorably dumb dog raced after the cat and straight into the woods at the end of the street. Twigs snapped under my feet as I followed him in. It got darker as we raced down the trail, branches scratching my arms but I kept running. I managed to grasped Tux’s collar as we were running when a flash of white blinded me and thunder crashed loudly. I stumbled and fell, temporarily blinded.
What the actual fuck? Blinking, I pushed myself up from my crouch on the forest floor and looked around for Tux. Spots of white still dotted my vision but I saw him a few feet ahead of me still running. Damn dog. Getting my feet back under me, I ran after him again. Something moved to the left of me, just out of sight. It looked like a...horse? With someone leading it? In the woods? Weird. Pushing harder, I almost grabbed Tux again but slipped on a rock and lost him.
He ran out of the tree line and onto a grass field ahead. Panting, I ran but stumbled to a stop when I crossed over where the woods ended and stared. At a castle. And Tux running through the open front door.
Crap.
Tux first. Then worry about the completely random castle in the woods by my house.
Racing up the stone stairs, I slipped into a foyer to see Tux’s black tail disappear through another open door. Ignoring my surroundings, my bare feet left wet footprints as I quickly chased after my dog. Pushing open the door, an apology ready on my lips for the castle’s owner, I stopped in shock. Pure unadulterated shock.
Water dripped loudly as an entire hall of people turned to stare at me. And when I say a hall, I specifically mean the Great Hall. As in Harry freaking Potter Great Hall. Banners draped from the ceiling, candles hovered in midair, hundreds of students eating dinner, and an amused Albus Dumbledore just winked at me from across the room.
What. The actual. Fuck.