Anywhere I Would've Followed You

Elsie Norton took in a big breath and let it out slowly, air blowing her bangs out of her face. Her head drooped backwards and she lolled it left and right a few times. What a day it had been. Elsie really was not a fan of hard work and being one of the hubs of communication in the American Magical government was definitely hard work. She flipped through her keys, letting out another jagged breath before forcing on a smile. Forcing a smile onto her face was her method of forcing negativity into its rightful place - out of her life.

Yes, her life was not exactly easy at the moment, but she was Elsie Freakin’ Norton. She was the girl with the smile on her lips and the pick up line ready to be delivered. She did not get down in the dumps. Sure, she had been alone the past few months, with Claire off in America doing whatever it was international spies did. And yeah, her job sucked. She was constantly finding out information she seemed incapable of keeping to herself, making an enemy a day. Worst yet, she had gained three pounds. That was the real tragedy in this.

But she would find something good of all of this. She had found Nash, hadn’t she? The down in the dumps man that, once given a scrap of concern, had given his heart so willingly. Elsie had never considered herself to be the sort to find The One early in life. She had expected years of hook ups until she wasn’t young enough to be desired. Then she would slip into that dangerous cycle of dating whoever provided for her until her parents finally managed to nail down a fiancée for her. She expected Claire would find love before she did, and Claire wasn’t looking.

But Nash had… changed nothing while changing everything. She was perfectly at ease with him, and comforted too. He challenged her, he made her reach for places in her intellect and personality that would have never been uncovered, and then welcomed her back into those traits that were so comfortable to her. Nash was just… different. So different from every other guy. He was not pompous. He was not a dolt. There were more nights that consisted of nothing more than talking and sleeping, but the nights of passion consumed them to the core. And unlike every other man, Elsie had said nothing of Nash to Claire. Why? She could not determine a reason except that, for the first time in her life, she had found a secret worth keeping. She could live her life content to keep him all to herself.

She sighed and looked at her apartment door. She had been loitering for some time, but she liked to keep the energy in her apartment positive. It was important for her to rid herself of all the negativity so she could keep her solace. The apartment had been Claire’s to begin with, becoming solely Elsie’s when the blonde had taken the new assignment. It was sacred ground to the Norton heiress, and she wanted to keep it holy. So, negative emotions were left at the door, coats went in the closet, and no shoes on the carpets.

She found her key and reached forward, unlocking the door. She was beginning to feel better. She had brownie mix that could be made! A glass of red wine, some horrible soap operas, brownies, and she would go to Nash’s that night. Cuddle up, tell him all the horrible secrets that had built up through the day so she could get them out to someone, in a safe environment. He would wrap his arms around her, hold her tight, and even if he didn’t say The words, they would feel it between them. They were a couple who said so much. Not saying the words had made them more beautiful.

She opened the door and stepped inside. She shrugged her jacket off and hung it up. She wanted to pull on slippers before she did anything else, so she took the trek to her room – previously a study before she had crashed in on Claire – annoyances, worries, and anxieties rolling off her back with each step she took. This was her safe place, a place of love and comfort. The negativity had not pervaded into her colorful apartment, and soon the smell of brownies, the sound of terrible television, and the taste of red wine would remind her of the simple fact that she had come to believe with all her being.

Life was good.

She entered her room and looked up. Suddenly, her heart dropped. Her bed was on fire. She stared at it for a moment, not believing it was possible. She had not smelled it, there had been no smoke, no other indications. Magic, of course. Meaning the horrible truth that this was no accident. She wrenched her eyes away and looked up. It was then that she saw, among the odd haze given off by the fire, tall figures. Tall, hooded figures. Tall hooded figures sporting Death Eater masks.

She turned on her heel, running for the living room. A window flew up with a quick flick of the wrist (a bit of magic the near-Squib usually wouldn’t have been able to do), and she ran to her owl’s cage, opening it madly. Why her first thought had been to save her owl, she could not understand. Perhaps the need to protect. “Go, Lenora.” Her bedroom door banged open as people streamed out of it. “LENORA!” Her owl screeched and took off, making it out the open window somehow unscathed. Elsie turned to look at her attackers.

What could she do? She was practically a Squib. And they were currently raising their wands at her.

“WAIT!” she screamed, looking between them all. They stopped. Apparently they were used to obedience at this point. They glanced around and one Death Eater nodded. She swallowed, looking from mask to mask. “P-please. Don’t, I- I’m harmless. I haven’t done anything-“

“You haven’t kept a secret,” said a voice, a low snarl. Elsie paused, leaning in. She knew that voice. Gordan Graham. The Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Claire’s boss. The man she had walked in on during a conversation. She had thought it had something to do with a mistress. But now that conversation made a lot more sense. The look of recognition must have registered on her expression – major mistake, Elsie.

“She recognized you,” a voice hissed. Gordon Graham balled his fists and flung his wand arm at her. “AVADA-“

Elsie screamed and threw herself to the ground, covering her head. She looked up, fear coursing through her body. Shoes approached her and arms raised but a sudden burst of energy repelled from her body, and people were flung back from her. Leave it to the half-squib to suddenly have powerful magic. She stood and closed her eyes. She had failed her apparition test so many times. Eight to date. She had passed, sure, but there was never a guarantee she could do it. But there was no room for failure now. She turned on her heel, thinking of the nearby park. Nothing. She tried again, thinking of work. Shit, nothing. The Death Eaters were getting to their feet.

And then the image of Nash smiling on his doorstep popped into her head. A trickle of hope surged through her body and she felt the sensation of apparition take her. She felt a hand grab her wrist and as she swirled through, getting closer and closer to her destination, she beat it off of her. A moment later, she landed, crumpling in the familiar apartment.

She took stock. Nothing felt splinched. Nothing felt broken. Had she somehow outrun a dozen Death Eaters in her apartment? The tears stopped flowing as she sat up, wiping away their wet passageways down her cheeks.  She had survived. She had survived.

She looked up and there was Nash, looking down at her. Relief flooded through her body and she let out a sound that was halfway been a laugh and a sob. Shakily, she stood, shaking her head. “Nash, oh. Oh, Nash, you won’t believe-“ Another sob rammed itself in her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut. She forced a smile onto her face – the negativity could not fight a smile, after all. Wasn’t that why she always had a smile on?

She slowly opened her eyes, looking almost trancelike with shining eyes and upturned lips. Nash was looking at her with shining eyes as well, but those weren’t tears. Her eyebrows upturned in confusion. This wasn’t like him. “Nash?”

He looked down and her eyes followed. It was then that she noticed the robes. It was then that she recognized the pair of shoes from her apartment. It was then that he moved his hand revealed the Death Eater mask in his hands.

She choked out the word “No” and stumbled backwards, immediately crashing into the wall. Nash, too, sprung into action, lunging forward. Kindness burst onto his face as he called to her. “Elsie, wait, no, Elsie, listen!” She cried and sobbed and flailed, trying to keep him away, but he was strong. His large hands caught her shoulders and she resigned herself to death. Her chin fell to her chest as sobs wracked her body.

This was what happened when you loved someone. When you let yourself love unconditionally. Then they revealed the conditions. She had counted on the love of three people. Claire Bishop. Benjamin Norton. And Nash Stewart. And if one of them could break her heart, they all could. This was betrayal.

“W-why?” she gasped, through her sobs, unable to look at him.

Nash squeezed her shoulders, with comfort, with kindness, with love. “Els, I…” He swallowed, holding back tears of his own. “G-Gordon had a bad feeling about you as soon as you came in. He wanted someone to get close to you, to watch what you were doing. I volunteered-“

Her heart plummeting, she demanded, “So it was all fake?” Her eyes lifted to look at him, near disgust, full of hurt.

Nash stared at her a long while, and then wet his lips. “No. No, it wasn’t. I tried to… I… It was supposed to be. I failed in that. I started… I tried to protect you. But you walked in on Gordon. They made plans right then.”

Elsie swallowed. “If what we had didn’t sway you then, then it wasn’t real.” Nash dropped his gaze, his head falling too. She stared at him in earnest, heart pounding, temple beating. This could not be happening. The attack itself did not feel real but this… this was impossible. Surely, Nash couldn’t do this to her. “Nash, I love you.” He angled his head, so a single eye looked at her. Her own expression melted into one of painful love and desperation. Her lips danced as her eyes filled again. “I’ve never been able to or wanted to, but… I fell in lo-“ A sob cut off her words and she swallowed. “You were going to let them kill me tonight, weren’t you?” He dropped his head again, hands loose on her shoulders. She stared at him, mustering all the courage she had left. “You were going to do it yourself if you needed to, weren’t you?” Again, he said nothing, but she could see the muscles in his jaw working.

Her hands lifted and caught his face. She lifted his head so he was looking right at her, and she held his gaze. Her hands fell to his chest as she stared in complete surrender into the eyes that had held her attention and her heart for so long. A tear spilled over as her lips trembled again. “Nash. Say something. I’m losing hope here.”

A tear fell from Nash’s eyes. He did not look at her as he spoke. “I didn’t expect this to be difficult.”

Elsie shook her head. “I didn’t expect you to be like this.”

He began shaking his head vigorously. “I was supposed to just… listen. Report. Do what was told of me.”

“Nash,” she said, grabbing his wrist. He finally looked back up at her. She swallowed. “All I ever did, was love you.” The words came out with another sob as her face contorted again. She attempted to lace her fingers with his but his hand went limp. He closed his eyes tightly and swallowed. “You made a mistake Elsie.”

The wand came up, but Elsie was gone a moment later. Never before had she apparated successfully on the first try. But here she was now, right outside of her parents property. The huge estate loomed over her as she stood outside the gates, staring with wide eyes, unable to process what had just happened. She stared at the ground, for it was suddenly so quiet, so dull. It was as if nothing had happened. As if she had come here straight after work. One huffed breath came out of her, relief and shock welling up into a single breath. And then another. And another. And then she couldn’t stop, and she was sliding down the iron gates, a hand curled on one of the bars as she fell into herself. The sobs returned and the tears flowed and they continued until she fell asleep, awaiting discover the next morning.

Elsie Norton’s heart had broken, and life could never return to normal. Not now that she knew that love was not real.