An obligation worth keeping

Alex had heard rumors of what had occurred outside the school. Usually gossip was not something he payed mind to but this one had caught his attention. Hitame was caught fighting with Miss Longbottom, he didn't know why. But he had to find her, ever since his meeting with Sophia Granger, he had been uneasy with everything involving Hitame. He knew that Hitame might not believe him, but did she hate him to that extend. Was he just some stupid boy that could not protect the person, he had fallen for and would it all be for nothing if he kept on this path. He decided to look around the Lake for her, because she might need to blow off some steam or just get away from other people.

The day was refreshing, warm yet cool and the leaves had already changed colors. Alex wore a cloak around his shoulders for the cool, as the day was getting closer to ending. This would have been nice if he wasn't in such a indifferent mood. Was it so hard to believe that he had started to like a Gryffindor, then ended up always fighting and talking with her. Landing in the most unexpected moments.....he didn't regret a single one, there first meeting was the most memorable one that he kept close to his heart. If the only thing that he stuck to, was that he was the most stubborn person to know of.

After her fight with Alice Longbottom, Hitamé had been particularly irritable. Everything set her off and even more so when it involved either her or her family. Rumors had even started to go around about her brothers. The two that shouldn't be mentioned at all. Especially not Sora. Today, though, she was in a really bad, pissy mood that no one should be around. It wasn't even funny how angry she was at everyone.

She'd heard yet another rumor about Naomi going around, and this time instead of taking it out on the person who had talked about it, she'd gone straight up to Naomi and not only confronted her about it. She'd hit her, not just any hit either, she'd punched her sister hard in the face. No one would know she did it though, unless Naomi told them because it had happened in the Room of Requirement. The argument leasing up to that was still stuck in her head, clearly.

And it hadn't just been one punch then walk away. Oh no, Naomi hadn't stayed hit. She'd retaliated, and hard too. Before Hitamé had had even the slightest chance to get away, Naomi had pulled her back and they'd gotten into a full out fist fight that ended with bruises on their arms and faces. Hitame had even ended up with a cut on her neck that was hard to hide. There were scratches and bruises on her arms and one on the lower part of her left cheek too. Naomi had been left worse though, with her being the weaker twin of them.

Right now, Hitamé didn't even want to see anyone though and she had retreated back to the Great Lake where she spent a great deal of time when she was mad. She had been talking to the Giant Squid for a while before it had retreated back to the depths of the lake for a rest. Hitamé sighed softly, moving her head uncomfortably to try and not bruise the cut on her neck further than it already was. Her hand grazed a sharp rock and it cut her skin slightly, though she didn't even wince or anything. She picked the rock up with her other hand and stared back and forth between the it and her cut hand.

Alex had waved through the trees, looking around for Hitame. His thoughts were keeping him around, silently moving around to not alarm anyone. It seems a path of destruction was created, he could feel a bad aura around the area and walked near to the Great lake. He spotted her near the lake, and tried to think of what to do. He shook his head, straying the other thoughts away.

" Hitame, there you are....I heard what happened " He walked closer to her, looking over her frame. She was bruised and hurt from the fight, but he looked at her like she was beautiful. Alex had stopped, as he looked at the rock and the cut like it was threatening. He bite his cloak, tearing a piece of it off and grabbed her hand forcefully. Tossing the rock to the side, and wrapping up her wound like she had the first time he hurt himself. He was repaying the favor, like a true gentlemen would.

" Hitame, tell me what happened " He said looking into her eyes, with a fierce expression in his eyes, wanting her not to fight with him. He knew that she may fight him, but he wasn't going to give up easily. Still having a grip on her hand, trying to close the wound with his piece of his cloak.

Anyone who saw her now would think that the bruises and scratches were from her fight with Alice, but they were far from it. She wasn't going to explain herself to anyone either, when she had a chance she'd just go to to the Hospital Wing or something, and get them healed. If she like it, which she probably wouldn't. Hitamé was a very stubborn person, as most people knew, and she wouldn't want to go to the Hospital Wing just for a few injuries that can heal on their own.

The girl heard a sudden, familiar voice and her eyes instantly narrowed as she looked at Alex. "What do -" she didn't have time to finish her question when he grabbed her hand and began to bandage it up. At first she didn't move, a bit surprised from his action. But she quickly looked at him and winced as he put the shred from his cloak tightly around her cut hand. "Let me go!" she demanded, pulling her hand away from him and standing up.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she shouted at him. "You can't just go up to people and just start touching them without even the slightest bit of permission from them to do so!" she told him in a cold voice. "The bandaging he had done came undone when she had pulled her hand away quickly and the piece of cloak fell to the ground, stained with blood from her cut. She scoffed at him and sighed. "I don't have to explain myself to you." she hissed at him and turned to walk away.

Alex looked at her, she was speechless for a moment before she reverted to normal. Or at least what he knew of her to be normal. He stood rooted in place, staring at the flying bandage that flew through the air. " Is that anyway to talk to someone that is here for your well being " He said coldly to her, as she started to shout at him.

He only looked at her with a blank expression on his face. The bit about what was wrong with him, then she started to tell him to stop touching her without permission, and he looked smirked at her. Because she had touched him countless time without him letting her, and when he had cut his own hand. Unless she had forgotten about that....which she might have.

Once she started to walk away from him, grabbing the bandage on the floor into his hand. The blood soaked to his skin, it was cold and was starting to dry. Extending his hand out, he grabbed her not bloody hand with just enough force to turn her towards him. " Are you Serious, I don't ask because you never ask for help. You Stubborn Women, and even if I asked you would say No to me " He said in a harsh tone, making sure that she didn't break away from him again. " Why the hell can't you trust me, give me one reason that you can't explain yourself to me!! "

"Again? Really?!" she nearly screamed out, as he grabbed her hand to turn her around to face him. "I just told you not to touch me and that's the first thing you do!" she said. "If I don't ask for help, it's because I don't need it! I don't need or want any help. Much less yours!" she screamed at him. She was getting real tired of him always being around her, it was strange and seemingly stalker-ish. She didn't like him always being around her, she just wanted him to go away.

"I already said I don't have to explain myself to you!" she hissed at him. "But it's obvious that you won't give up until I say something. So, I don't trust you because I don't like you!" she shouted. "What part of that don't you get?! No one ever trusts someone they don't like! It's just the natural thing to do." she said. "You're a Slytherin too. Trust isn't a word you snakes even have in your vocabulary. You never trust anyone either, all you do is use people and then throw them away once you don't need them!" she scoffed at him, tears springing to her eyes for some reason.

He still had a hold on her hand, and she snapped her hand away from his grip once more. "I don't want you touching me. At all." she said. "How hard is that for you to understand?!" she demanded from him, her voice cracking. The blood from the cut had become so much from the strain she was putting her hand through by being uncovered that it had begun to drip from the tips of her fingers and now the pain was beginning to set in. She winced slightly and the image of Alex in front of her began to fade in and out a bit. She became slightly dizzy and it showed too, she lifted her bloodied hand for her to examine it and once she saw all the blood her stomach dropped. By instinct, she touched her face with the already extended hand, staining the side of her face with blood and she collapsed.

Alex only smiled at her, she spoke the same thing all the time. It was a normal thing for the both of them, of course the screaming was abit over the top. It bothered his ears greatly, but once it was done, he was able to look at her. She always seemed to make a fuzz about every kind gesture, he had ever evoked upon her. Even so, she was like a Anchor to him, always trapping him but he got stronger with every encounter of pulling it up.

His smile faded more, and more as she spoke of not trusting him. It pinged at his heart, but he had expected this from her. " I don't care if you don't like me, but I have to care for you if others don't " He said truthfully, as he heard her other comment about him. His Slytherin house was the base of all problems, when would she get that he was no one of them. They had this chat the first time they had met, but Sophia told him that her memory was erased of that time.

Alex stared at her for her final moments, the voice was growing weaker. Her voice started to crack, and he inched closer to her. " How hard is it for you too understand that I care for you!! Hitame I think I'm in l...... " He stopped in mid-sentence as she started to fall to the floor. His reflexes reacted and he moved to caught her in his arms, once again breaking her rule about not touching her. " Hitame stay with me!! " He said sincerely in a loud tone, looking at her wound and quickly re-wrapped the wound with the bandage. She had loss alot of blood, and now she was paying dearly for it. " Talk to me, please "

Already as weak as she was, Hitamé still didn't want Alex near her, so when he grabbed her as she fell, the girl immediately tried to push him away, though her weakness at the moment wouldn't allow it. She just limply placed her hand on his chest and made a lame attempt to push him away. When she saw it wasn't working and that he had her hand in his, wrapping it up she felt even more light-headed than before.

Her vision faded in and out again and her head nodded backwards. She wasn't going to be able to keep consciousness for much longer and she closed her eyes, finally giving into the darkness that threatened to just take her away, into the darkness she had once feared so much. She heard a distant voice, telling her to stay with there, but she didn't want too. Her blood had started to drip off of her face and it felt like it was tears falling ... like she was crying for some reason.

"I ..." she tried to speak, but the loss of blood wasn't allowing her to say anything at all. "I ... Alex ... I ..." she tried again, but again nothing came out and she finally just gave up on saying anything to him. The darkness around her finally engulfed her altogether and the hand that had been limply resting on his chest fell onto her stomach.

Alex felt her struggle, but it was weak unlike the other times. He let her push out abit, but not out of his hold. Looking over her small frame within his arms, but his hands didn't wonder around. They stood firm on her waist, as he brought her closer to him. Feeling the blood drip on him, it felt cold and started to dry on his hands.

When she she started to speak, it was weak and feeble. All he heard was I.....Alex.....I..... his heart started to break at the response. " You will be fine, just stay with me!! " He said angrily at her, but he watched her hand drop to her stomach. Something snapped within him, starting to shake her at first weakly. He didn't know what to do at all!

" You better not die on me, you Stubborn Women " Alex looked at her hand, he almost thought that she was dead when her hand dropped. But she was still breathing, and he acted out of protection towards her. He took off his cloak, placing it on the ground and then her as well on top of it. He took the chance to cover her wounds, and try to heal them. Grabbing his wand, he started to use a healing spell that Zada had taught him over the summer. The process was abit painful, but it healed the wounds very well, trying to heal her.

The darkness around her couldn't be taken away. It wouldn't leave, no matter where she ran she was always surrounded by the darkness. It seemed to be pursuing her and she didn't want it to. She struggled with the darkness inside her mind, though nothing showed outside. Her body had gone limp and she was barely breathing.

She could slightly hear Alex telling her to stay with him. For once she found his voice to be soothing and she took his voice as a way to cling to her consciousness, though it was quickly being taken away from her. Don't ... Don't let me fall further ... she begged him mentally, knowing he wouldn't be able to hear her.

Her hand had begun to sting greatly and it felt like it was burning in her head. Her mind screamed at the burning, and beads of sweat began to spring to her forehead. Her hand had begun to become infected, rather quickly - either that or the Green Itch was coming back to hurt her - and she started to breath heavily, feeling like she was beginning to suffocate.