A Decision Must Be Made

I have no where else to go though. Maybe I can ask Ryo to help me for a bit. But he has his own problems and Maura would have to be okay with it. I'm sure she will but I don't want to intrude in their home. Especially when they have a baby to take care of. But then what do I do? I can't stay in Sophia's house anymore, she has her own things going on with Henry. That's the whole reason she wanted to leave.

Hitame sighed. She had to find somewhere to go soon, she couldn't rent a room - for long, and Someone would probably say something to her for leaving Sophia's house without so much as a goodbye. Well, she had decided to leave and she had left a note for Sophia, so she wasn't leaving without a goodbye - so to say. But she wondered how Sophia would take the news that she was leaving. Probably badly, but once she spoke to Henry she probably wouldn't care. If she spoke to him, she wondered if he'd taken what she had said to him seriously, about not leaving. If he had, then Sophia would talk to him and she would find out that because of her he almost left. If he hadn't, then she would just assume that the two of them just left.

She couldn't worry about that now. She'd have to go back to Sophia's house at some point anyways to retrieve things she had left behind, but for now she just needed to find a place to stay. Someone who would allow her to stay with them for a little while.. Just until, at least, the school year started and she would go back to Hogwarts. Then she would be out of everyone's way until the next summer arrived. Whoa, calm down. You still have to get through the rest of this summer before you go thinking about next summer.

That was true, she still had the rest of the current summer, and the school year to figure out what she was going to do with herself the next summer. She couldn't even think of anyone that could help her out right now though. The Gryffindor sighed and walked down the streets of London, looking for a good place where she could eat lunch. For now, her things were at the Leaky Cauldron, where she had been able to rent a room for the night. She just hoped she wouldn't have to do it for more than that night.

Finally she found a small cafe as she turned the corner of the street she was on and she decided that it was as good as any other cafe that she could go into and she pulled the door to open it. A greeter stood at a podium and said, "Hello! Table for one?" He asked kindly. Hitame nodded, and he motioned for a waiter to lead her to a table. The one she was taken to was near the window, since it was one of the only tables that were available with the minimum of two seats. "Would you like anything to drink?" he asked. "Um.. just an iced tea for now please." she told him. "Coming right up." he answered and she thanked him before he walked away to get her drink.

Apollo had been through a difficult number of weeks as summer drew on. Blaise expected more from him than ever, but he had made a deal with his father in order to get a chance at the real future he wanted for himself. Apollo was not interested in a life of business, and though he knew Christian was not either, the brothers had come to an agreement where neither had to be in full time. An employee had been promoted to ensure just that. Christian would have to deal with the slightly vindictive move Apollo had made by turning over a Quidditch-related business to his brother after his accident. But Apollo ended up giving Christian a leg up with their father, as well as giving himself a shot in a different life direction.

One that wasn't dictated by his so very dictatorial father.

It wasn't like he didn't love his father. It was that Apollo wanted so badly to please him, when really he was torn between doing that and enjoying his individual life. So he had taken to wandering the streets after work in order to do some thinking. Window shopping was not something he typically did, but staring blankly into windows was what he found himself doing as he moved. That meant that, as he rounded a corner, his eyes fell on a face he knew very well.

Although he had intended to just tap on the glass and offer a smile in greeting, her expression stopped him. Turning on his heel, the Slytherin walked into the cafe, explaining to the greeter that he knew the girl sitting at that table. Without waiting for a reply, he walked over and dropped himself into the chair across from her.

"Hitamé. What's wrong?" Apollo asked, his brows pulling together and his eyes drifting across her visage in concern.

"Here you are." The waiter had returned faster than the girl expected and she smiled at him lightly before thanking him. She waited for him to be far away enough to let her smile drop and she stared sadly as the drink that had been placed in front of her. She sighed. What was she supposed to do? She had nowhere to go and no one else to help her.

Her thoughts were cut short though, wgen someone suddenlu appeared in the chair across from her. The Gryffindor blinked a couple of times, bringing her lips up from the straw where they had been and quickly she offered a smile to the Slytherin who was there. He asked her what was wrong and she looked away momentarily. It was just like her to give off how she felt. This was why she didn't go places anymore.

"Hi, nice to see you too Apollo." She greeted him somewhat sarcastically. She was glad to see him but she didn't really want to tell hin why she was upset. She didn't want him to feel like he had to help her. "Uh.. nothing.. why do you ask?" She said, trying to play it off. She leaned back in her chair, abandoning her drink but she kept her gaze on it so she wouldn't look at the older boy.

Hutame tapped her fingers on the table, slightly annoying herself with the sound but refusing to stop. "What're you doing here?" She asked softly, hoping she might be able to change the conversation and divert his attention from the original quedtion he'd asked her.

A slightly frustrated expression came over Apollo's face as Hitamé greeted him in return, catching her tone. His jaw clenched briefly but he relaxed it as she continued. Something was not right, that much was obvious. But the fact that she didn't want to tell him about it made him more nervous. Ever since her issue a while back, he had made a point to look out for her and keep her on the right track. It explained how their friendship had originated and, of course, why he felt they were so close. If she didn't want to tell him what was going on, it meant either Apollo was in the wrong, or she thought he wouldn't approve of something.

Even still, that was just his guess, considering he had not seen her like this often, if ever. So he rested his forearms on the table, leaning towards her and fixing her with a serious expression. "It's me, Hit. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I thought you knew that."

The change of topic was not unexpected, but he was slightly disappointed. Sitting up straight once more, he hesitated and considered refusing a reply. In the end, though, he sighed and gave an explanation. "I was getting off work and decided to pick up some things before heading home. Saw you as I passed by, that's all."

His words were no surprise to her. She knew that he wouldn't like that she wasn't telling him what was wrong with her and she felt bad about it, but she didn't want him to feel obligated to do anything for her. Apollo was her friend, sure, but she never liked anyone doing anything for her because they felt bad or because they felt obligated to.

She felt a wave of relief rush over her when he answered her other question, but she also felt like he was disappointed in her for trying to change the subject. He wasn't stupid, so she knew that he would have noticed the fact that she tried to change the subject on him. ".. Oh." she answered softly, dragging her hands off of the table and letting them rest in her laps, where she idly played with her fingers, not letting herself lift her gaze to look at him.

Now she felt like she had to answer him. Apollo had been there for her when she had her.. incident, when no one else had really bothered to look after her, and he'd been watching out for her ever since and she started to feel guilty about not wanting to tell him something trivial when one of her biggest, though not so well kept, secrets, he already knew.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, finally allowing herself to look at him though she kept playing with her fingers in her lap. "I didn't mean to make you think that I don't trust you, or anything like that Apollo. It's just that.. I don't want you to worry about me.." she let her gaze drop again as her voice softened and trailed off for a moment.

"I left Sophia's house." she murmured, hoping he didn't hear her correctly.

(ooc: Just noticed that your account has 3400 posts exactly :3 )

Her expression changed to one of disappointment, and Apollo immediately felt guilty. He hadn't intended to hurt her feelings, but now that it appeared he had, Apollo sat back and watched her. He unconsciously crossed his arms over his chest as he did so, the gesture almost one of defense rather than aggression. He was trying to keep himself calm rather than getting frustrated over offending her or the fact that she hadn't wanted to tell him what was wrong.

"I always worry about you," he interjected unhelpfully. "That's what friends do, Hit. They worry and they care. Slytherin or otherwise."

His arms fell back to the table, Apollo's mouth opening slightly in surprise. "You what? Why? If something went wrong maybe you can work it out. Isn't that better than just leaving? I mean, at the least, do you have a plan? A place to stay?"

He felt bad for shooting so many questions at her all at once, but he couldn't help it when he didn't understand what was going on. He was no Ravenclaw, and no expert at comforting others, but with her he couldn't help but try his darnedest. It was the main reason they had remained friends for so long - she listened to his grievances and he got her through the things she thought might end her. They worked in that way, and Apollo wouldn't change that just because he wasn't comfortable with a certain situation.

(Not anymore x3)

"I'm just not used to it." She couldn't figure out what else she was supposed to say. Sure people always worried about her, Sophia was one of the people who would always be worried about the things she did, but she still wasn't used to it. Just like she wasn't used to getting compliments from people, it all felt strange to her and with how her mind worked, she hated that others worried over her.

She was always the type of person who thought that no one else would ever worry, or even think about her more than once. She doubted she was one of the things Sophia worried about a lot too, she had more important things to worry about. But then, Apollo was here telling her that he always worried about her. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to believe it, considering that just like everyone else, he had bigger things to worry about.

She winced when he started asking her questions. "I.. um.." she felt her cheeks start to heat up and she knew she was blushing but she couldn't hide it. "I thought it was for the best. Sophia has other things to worry about." she told him, trying her best not to mention Henry and the fact he was staying in Sophia's house. "I didn't want to be a bother anymore." she looked at the palms of her hands and sighed.

"And no.. I didn't think of where I would stay or anything. That's what I'm looking for right now. I kind of just left Sophia's house without anyone noticing. Not that there's anyone there who would notice anyways. I did leave her a note though." she continued. "I just didn't say where I was going." Hitame cleared her throat and waited for Apollo to answer. She really hoped he wouldn't be angry with her or anything.

The Gryffindor just didn't want to bother Sophia anymore. She had enough to worry about with Henry now. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea for her to leave, especially if the Death Eaters ended up finding out that he was staying there. It wasn't like she could get out of the trouble she was in by knowing that he was there. Eventually they'd take something out on her too, and it would have been better if she and Sophia faced it together.

But it was too late for that now.

Apollo frowned deeply, unable to understand why Hitame refused help from anyone. It wasn't like the people in her life didn't care about her. Obviously, because Apollo considered himself to be one of the ones who truly did care. So when she started on about how people didn't want to get in anyone's way, he wanted to grumble at her. That wasn't exactly how friendships or relationships of any kind - well, positive ones, anyway - worked.

"Being there for someone when they need you most... that's all a relationship is, Hit. Whether that's friends or people you consider to be family. It doesn't matter - or, shouldn't." He shook his head, ignoring the way his hair drifted in front of his eyes as he did so. "So while I don't agree with your methods, I think you need to know that you've got options."

If she needed a place to stay, Apollo was determined to help her find one. Sophia's wasn't plausible anymore, so it was time to start looking outside of her typical, go-to people. An idea dawned on him that seemed all too simple, and completely convenient. A smile grew across his face as he spoke again. "You could move in with me," he suggested, nodding as though it would convince her to do so. "It would be great. At least we know each other enough to know that we would get along. It's not like either of us would have a problem with it, right?"

Shrugging, Apollo found that he was actually rather pleased with himself. The idea wasn't a bad one by any means, so far as he could tell. "Seriously, Hit, it would work. Move in with me"

As he spoke, Hitame couldn't help but feel like he was disappointed in her. She was disappointed in herself too, she knew there were people she could have asked for help when she decided to leave Sophia's house but like always she had decided to go about it on her own. Without asking anything of anyone else. She didn't know why she always did that, but she guessed that it was just in her nature to feel like she had to do everything alone. She'd done it, basically, her entire life after all. There wasn't any point in changing now.

But maybe there was. She sighed softly and as he finished speaking, her breath caught in her throat as she heard him. The sudden catch caused her to choke a bit and she took a sip of her once abandoned drink to stop the coughing that had overtaken her voice. "I.. Excuse me?" she asked once she stopped coughing. "Move in with you?" she echoed questioningly.

She never though that he would offer that, and honestly the thought of moving in with him had never crossed her mind. "I.. I can't." she half stuttered. She couldn't move in with him, it would be too weird. Especially with the way she felt about him. "It would be awkward, too awkward and I just can't because I -" her speaking quickened before she caught herself and she stood up from her seat suddenly. "I gotta go." she mostly muttered and took off for the door.

"I almost told him, but I can't. I just.. don't want anything to change." she said softly to herself as she reached the door.

Apollo blinked, completely confused by her terrified response. What had he possibly said that could freak her out so badly? It wasn't like she wouldn't be living with him and his whole family. Yes, maybe his father could be prejudiced and all the rest, but that didn't mean they wouldn't take to her! Of all people, Apollo found it odd that Hitame would have trouble trusting him - or his intentions or whatever it was that she was worried about. It wasn't like he was going to go up to his dad and explain the real situation, after all. His intentions were entirely pure - she needed a place, and as a loyal friend he wanted to help.


"Hit-" he attempted, turning in his chair as she bolted. His arm fell to rest across the top of the chair back, his shoulders far more slack than he usually would allow them to be. His mouth stayed open too long, but he finally turned around and stared at the table for a while before standing and pushing his chair back.

---

Audriana could not believe what her life had become in the past several days. Hallie had been arrested, rescued, and gone missing in less than a day - less than a few hours, if she guessed right - and now Audriana was left to team up with Oliver in an attempt to lead the Order. She didn't really want it, though something told her that Oliver honestly did, so if she could pass it on eventually, she would. Gladly. For now, she just needed a break. A bit of fresh air.

Her feet carried her down the streets of Muggle London, determined to take some time on her own before returning home to her family. It was as she walked that she passed a little coffee shop, hardly paying any mind to the girl that rushed out behind her, instead looking ahead and letting her shoulders relax as a sigh left her.