There You Were (Anna/Chase - Dungeons)

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase had been avoiding people as much as he could lately. He didn't want to go anywhere near the club, or Hogsmeade even, because he didn't want to run into Dru or Anna. Then there was the lake, the lawns, the library, all places Dru and Anna might be. He'd have started hanging out in the forest, but considering everything that had happened with Anna, running into Michael wasn't something he looked forward to, either. Nor running into Storm at the quidditch pitch.

So he'd taken to heading out and wandering the grounds for a bit, then heading back to the Common Room, since there was less risk of running into anyone there. But then the Common Room would get boring or crowded, and he'd head back out. At the moment, he was heading back toward the Common Room, frustrated with the lack of anything interesting to do. It was like Hogwarts had died.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna tried to pretend that she was just wandering, but she couldn't fool herself into believing that she wasn't wondering if she'd run into him. Potions had been her last class of the day, and rather than follow the herd up to more civilized areas of the castle, she turned the other way and wandered into the darker, more secluded dungeons. She hadn't expected to see him, but it had been a while, and she didn't know what was keeping him away. She'd waited around for Michael, and wasn't about to make that mistake again.

Not knowing where to find him, she'd decided to just wander. Yesterday it had been outdoors: Hogsmeade, the lake, near the entrance to the forest, and such, but she hadn't stumbled across him. Today she took a different approach. Even though she didn't know where the Slytherin commonroom was, she knew the entrance was somewhere down here. It hadn't taken her long before she was lost in the maze of corridors. Coming up to an intersection, she heard footsteps. She gripped her wand, praying it wasn't a Slytherin that liked to cause mischief, and stepped into the junction. Seeing him, the person she most wanted to run into, her eyes lit up and she let out the breath she'd been holding. "Merlins, thank goodness it's you."

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase stopped in his tracks, every muscle freezing, then heating reflexively at the sight of her. Their last meeting trickled through his skin, taunting him, and he tensed, trying to throw off his reflexive reaction. He didn't want to want her. "What the hell are you doing down here?" Chase demanded, his eyes narrowing at Anna. "You shouldn't be wandering the dungeons, I should give you detention for loitering." Wandering the corridors, even in the dungeons, wasn't technically an offense, even if it was suspicious, but if he could play on some fear of damaging her record, he'd damn well do it.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna's joy at seeing him was easily trampled down by his form of greeting. Her eyes widened in a combination of shock and question, not understanding why he would act like this. She didn't believe his threats, he'd given them to her nearly every time she'd seen him, and she knew it wasn't after curfew, not even close. She didn't know what to say, how to interpret his coldness to her. Her bottom lip habitually found it's way between her teeth as she tried to sort through it. She may have imagined it, but in the brief moment before he'd seen her, he hadn't appeared so....harsh. Was he not happy to see her? For lack of any conclusive thoughts, Anna remained silent, her eyes speaking volumes for her, hoping that she wasn't the cause of his unhappy state.

[Chase Firebrand]

She hadn't said anything. Good, Chase thought. Maybe now he could shake her off. Maybe she'd stop tempting him, and he could get on with the rest of his life alone. Chase's eyes started to soften at the look in Anna's eyes, but he caught himself, and tried to reign himself in by focusing on annoyance. "Get out of here, Anna. Go up to Ravenclaw Tower now and I won't say anything." And not because he liked her. He just wanted her off his back that much. Plus, there wasn't really any basis for his giving her a detention, but Chase refused to let himself think of that.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna felt completely deflated at his words. She thought he'd want to see her, they'd agreed to see each other unofficially, so she didn't understand why he was still pushing her away. He had every right to walk up and kiss her, she'd given it to him, but it didn't seem like he wanted her; had she waited too long again? She turned her back to him, needing to look anywhere but at him as she accepted her defeat. She had nothing to say to him, the realization that arguing with him was only temporary and apparently didn't change anything beyond that meeting. She mumbled some words under her breath about her own stupidity as she took a few steps, completely oblivious to the fact that she was lost and headed in the direction of the Slytherin commonroom, not the passage to the rest of the castle.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase's eyes blazed at Anna's back. He'd been less than a heartbeat from turning and walking away before he realized she was only going farther into the dungeons. For a moment, he seriously contemplated just letting her go, but he'd been heading that direction, and it would be ridiculous to wind his way around just to get there. "Where do you think you're going?" Chase called, then moved his feet to go after her.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Something inside Anna snapped, anger rising against him. Couldn't he just take his victory and leave her alone? Why did he insist on taunting her, rubbing salt in her wounds that he was also rejecting her after he'd used her. She continued down the dark corridor, refusing to turn around and face him regardless of his footsteps closing in on her. Her anger at his shallowness was the only thing keeping the tears away, and she focused on it, letting it show as she bit out the harsh words to him. "I'm going where you told me to like a good little girl. Back to the pathetic nonexistent life I own, that's what you want right?"

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase's brows knitted, and he kept after her, heavy steps echoing on the stone. "You're going farther into the dungeons! Ravenclaw Tower is that way!" Chase barked, gesturing fiercely behind him, though Anna wasn't looking. Chase stormed on after her, giving no thought to his reasoning. It could only be because she'd turned her back on him. He had to have the last word.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Bloody hell." Anna cursed under her breath, remembering that she had no clue which way was up and had declared herself lost moments before running into Chase. She had missed which direction he'd pointed, so she continued the way she was going, not wanting to rely on Chase to navigate her out of the dungeon labyrinth. "I'm taking the scenic route." She had no clue if she was headed to a dead end, and knew that Chase would easily call her bluff, but she had run out of options.

[Chase Firebrand]

"You shouldn't be down here!" Chase barked. "Someone comes out of the Common Room in a bad mood and you're going to get hexed." Chase took a few longer steps and pulled up beside Anna to keep pace with her. "Just turn around and go back the way you came!" There was no reason for Anna to end up in the hospital wing for being stubborn. If she could just put aside her pride for half a minute... Chase missed the irony of that thought entirely.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"I've been wandering around since Potions and the only Slytherin in a foul mood I've ran into is you!" She managed to continue for another two steps before stopping abruptly and turning at him. "Why are you doing this? You've had your fun with me; if you don't want me, then just leave me alone!" It seemed like a different lifetime that she'd been wondering where he was, when she would feel his lips upon hers again. Her eyes flicked briefly to the lips in question before she forced herself to stare at his nose, not able to meet his intense eyes at the moment. She desperately wished she knew how to apparate, and that it was allowed within castle walls - anything to not feel so humiliated.

[Chase Firebrand]

"It's for your own good!" Chase returned, his voice rising in response to hers, resonating down the empty corridor. "You want something I'm not going to give you, and don't pretend you don't want more than what we've been doing, because you told me you could. I'm not doing that again no matter how much I want you!" Chase was sick of her looking at his nose, so one hand rose, lifting her chin sharply. His eyes blazed, and he knew the moment they met hers that he shouldn't have done it. His gaze dropped to her lips.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna shivered at his touch as her eyes rose to meet his, then watched Chase's lower. She swallowed, forcing herself to focus on his first words, and not the ones that gave her hope. "Stop presuming to know what's best for me when you are ignoring what you want." Anna didn't like being treated like a child. True, she'd said that she could see herself falling for him and ending up hurt, but hadn't they already gone over that? Yes, she wanted a romantic relationship like she read about in her books, but she knew the chances of finding that would be rare. All she wanted was his attention and to feel how she felt around him. She liked Chase, when he wasn't trying to be her father that is.

[Chase Firebrand]

This was dangerous. He should walk away now, let her have the last word, let her think she'd won and walk away. But he didn't. He couldn't have said why he pressed his lips to hers, but the satisfaction in doing so was immediate. Chase firmly ignored the feeling of danger pulsing through his mind, forcing it away for the relief of giving in to the compulsion to kiss her. His lips parted and he surged into her mouth, unable and unwilling to fight.