There You Were (Anna/Chase - Dungeons)

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna hated herself for her next actions, for pulling him closer, for opening herself up to their kiss. Yes, it's what she'd wanted, but she felt like she was using him. She couldn't remember the last time they'd actually talked to each other, instead of just arguing and then making out. It took only a moment however, before she forgot even that, and could only think enough to process what was happening at that precise moment. Her hands reached up, tangling in his hair.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase let go of thought at Anna's response, his own hands shifting to wrap around her back, pulling her flush against him. It was insanity, but it felt so undeniably good as he turned her back against the cool stone wall and let himself enjoy her. He still held himself back from the final act, still left her clothed, if rumpled, but aside from that he let desire have free reign over him.

When he stood half slumped against her, physically satisfied and drawing quick breaths, his mind started working again, slowly, but surely. This wasn't doing him any good. Fighting her was doing nothing. "I can't fight you, Anna," Chase said, his voice low, but not defeated. He wasn't giving up so much as he was facing the facts.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna looked up at Chase, trying to gain control of her mental capacity enough to comprehend what he was talking about. I can't fight you. Did that mean that he would stop trying to push her away? Or was he saying that he was refusing to see her at all? It didn't sound like the latter, but did she dare to hope? "I don't.....What are you saying?" She managed to ask, her nerves tightening with anticipation. For how smart she was, understanding the opposite sex was completely beyond her.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase's eyes narrowed slightly. "What does it sound like I'm saying?" He'd said he was done fighting, there wasn't much else he could mean. For a Ravenclaw, Anna was pretty oblivious sometimes. Chase shifted his weight, putting enough space between them to begin straightening their clothes. He didn't know exactly what he meant, what the end result would be, but he couldn't keep running from her, that much was obvious.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna looked into Chase's eyes, really looked. She hated how they were constantly going back and forth, between arguing and embracing. "I don't like arguing. I want us to be able to see each other without going to blows. Are you saying that you won't intentionally tell me to get lost when you see me? That you'll accept........accept.....this.....?" She had a hard time getting the last part out, afraid to give him room to reject her again. She wasn't asking for anything, a commitment or relationship, just that he would stop denying what was between them. She hadn't moved to straighten herself, and stood still, looking, waiting too see if she'd guessed wrong.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase flicked a glance up from the waistband of his jeans to Anna, his eyes still gleaming lightly with crimson. "Yes," he said simply, then lowered his gaze again. He flicked a glance down the corridor, then turned back to Anna, moving to straighten her clothes, in case someone turned a corner and found them. Not that there was anything left to hide. The Daily Prophet had practically declared that they were dating. And that he was still dating Dru. Chase's lips pressed tightly together. He wanted to kill that woman.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"What is it?" Anna asked. She didn't like that he looked mad after just declaring his acceptance of things. Was she that horrible that he could have regrets so soon? She didn't think quite that little of herself, but what other reasoning could there be for his reactions? She covered his hands with hers, stopping his action in an attempt to get his undivided attention. She needed to know what was going on in his head, to understand, but he wasn't being very helpful.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase's eyes rose to meet Anna's again. "You need to read the Daily Prophet," he said. Or maybe she didn't. Maybe it would just start putting ideas in her head that he didn't want there. He didn't want her to think they were a couple. And then there was that bit about Michael. That would only push her even closer to Chase. "Actually, don't. The gossip columnist was being a major bitch this time, as opposed to just being too nosy for her own good." Chase had featured in every issue of the Daily Prophet since he'd come to Hogwarts, so Anna could put the pieces together herself.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna gave Chase a look of confusion. "You can't expect to say something like that to me and not make me curious." The only time she'd actually read it was when Chase told her that she'd been in it when he'd come to her bookshop. She wondered what it said about them, whether it was about Chase, or herself, or both of them. It only made sense for it to be along that line due to the timing of him mentioning the article. "What did it say this time?"

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase turned his head slightly to look down the corridor, which had the added benefit of shielding his eyes from her. "It still says I'm seeing every girl in the school," he said. That much was true, but it wasn't the whole truth, and his eyes would show it. "I'll always be the school whore, even when I'm not." Chase's lips pressed tight again. He didn't want to say anymore, to risk revealing everything else. And he hoped that would be enough for Anna.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna reached back out to Chase, running her hand along his arm. "Who cares what a stupid gossip column says about you? Obviously they don't have a real life if they can't come up with anything original to report." She knew how much it had bothered her to be named as sleeping with someone she detested in the column, but didn't know what else to say to him. It was just gossip after all, even if she knew she'd be going and hunting down the paper for her own peace of mind later.

[Chase Firebrand]

"It was original, all right," Chase said under his breath. He shrugged, but didn't throw off Anna's hand. "It's just a pain in the ass," he said louder. It was, but it was more than that. The girls had thrown themselves at him because of some of the things that had been written. And he couldn't imagine that the articles had played no part in what had happened with Dru.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"I don't envy you." She said quietly, continuing to show her support through her touch. She hadn't heard his first words, and assumed he was badmouthing the reporter, if you could call her that. Annabelle didn't like gossip to begin with, and hating seeing the negative effects it had on a person. "You've been the center of her articles for a while though haven't you? Surely she'll have to move onto something more noteworthy sometime soon won't she?"

[Chase Firebrand]

"Yeah, I moved down to the second paragraph," Chase muttered. Anna's touch was too soothing. Chase hadn't wanted to be soothed lately, he'd wanted to rage. He forced himself to bear it, though, to let himself feel just that much of a connection with another person for just a minute or so. It was something he'd begun to get used to with Dru, and though he raged against that, too, it seemed like some part of him still wanted it.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna's eyes lit up with hope. Perhaps by the next column Chase wouldn't be in it at all then. It seemed like maybe the writer had found something more interesting to talk about. "So what was the first one?" She didn't know why she asked, perhaps just to distract Chase from himself, and partly for her own curiosity. Even if she didn't generally pay attention to gossip, it was hard to resist asking when they were talking about the subject.