"Damn, I cannot believe I missed that!" Jennie huffs after Joy dramatically recounts their run-in with Wendy and Suho at the same time. "I mean, that is some real straight-out-of-a-drama type stuff!"

Irene listens on, all while grateful that Joy left out all the nitty-gritty things that happened prior to that moment. Joy still doesn't know what Irene had seen to make her talk to Suho, but the girl seemed to understand that she probably shouldn't bring it up again even if it meant Jennie would be out of the loop in that regard.

"So, you didn't end up talking to Wendy then?" Jennie follows up. Irene knew this was bound to come up and Joy looked at her pointedly, curious to see if Irene would give more details.

"Yeah, I just flaked," she lies. There's a part of her that feels bad for lying, but Irene knows retelling it all would mean reliving it all. "Another Ravenclaw got to her before I did, so I went to the library instead. It just so happened that I ran into Seulgi and Joy and then all that happened."

"That's such a crazy coincidence," Jennie says, amazed. "Like, I can only imagine Wendy hurrying somewhere just to stop when she meets her ex-lover's eyes. But then boom! She sees her with someone else who is basically her rival… Wow."

'Wow,' indeed,' Irene thinks in embarrassment because the more she reflects on it, the more stupid her plan seemed. Wendy didn't really appear fazed at the sight of her and Suho together and even if she did, Irene wouldn't have noticed since Joy and Seulgi had led her away before she could even blink.

"I wonder why she was in such a rush though," Jennie wonders.

"Who?" Joy asks mindlessly.

"Wendy. You said she looked as though she was in a hurry somewhere before seeing you guys, Joy."

"Really?" Irene asks first, her words slipping out in confusion. That wouldn't even make sense. She was just with Sejeong and it was already late in the night so what could she have possibly been in a rush for? And even if she had somewhere to be, why bother to stop and look at us?

"Eh, who cares?" Joy brushes off, prompting Irene to do the same. With that, the conversation between the trio of friends shifts but there was one outlying thought that seemed to creep on her for the rest of the night.

The match.

-----

Among the many, many mistakes Irene has made so far into the new year, talking to Suho in that moment is definitely at the top. Because despite what Irene believed would be tiny in the grand scheme of things, it is still, in fact, a big deal when you're currently in the thick of it.

Irene remembers it as if it were yesterday when Ravenclaw and Slytherin had their first match. The school was buzzing over the simple notion that she and Wendy were going through a rough patch during that time. But now, the school is well aware of their current relationship status and how Suho's presence seemed to have become more and more prevalent over the course of the week leading up to the game. And what's more juicy to a bunch of teens than drama between popular exes? So if she thought their first game had a lot of pressure in the build-up, the level for this upcoming game doesn’t seem to compare.

Whispers felt louder, stares felt longer, and the chance of winning Wendy back began to feel smaller and smaller.

At this point, she just wants the game to come so she could get it over with and go back to her task at hand. Unsurprisingly, Suho didn't stick to the idea of continuing their 'talk' after the game as he had approached Irene quite a few times. Now, Irene debated on 'clearing the air' during these moments with the guy, but realized that depending on the outcome, it could make the tension towards their match even worse. Therefore, she decided it would be best to simply wait to straighten out the confusion after the fact.

And after what felt like forever, the long awaited day finally came. As soon as she passes the entryway to their locker room, Irene’s mind turns into game mode. Even with everything going on, Irene knows it wouldn’t be fair to her teammates if she wasn’t mentally fit for the game. The last time she let outside thoughts come in, they barely won. 

She falls into her pre-game routine with familiar ease. Following the team stretches, she ties up her hair, double laces her boots, straps her knee pads, tightens her gloves, taps her arm pads, shakes her broom five times and as they wait in the tunnel for their team to be announced, she lightly bounces on her feet ten times.

When it's their time to enter the field, she's hit with both welcoming applause and expected boos. After getting in starting formation, her eyes stay trained on Madam Hooch as she opens the ball crate. Soon enough, the snitch flies out with speed and she does her best to pay no mind to the girl who is focusing on the same fluttering object straight across from her. The quaffle is tossed in the air and the game begins.

The game play is tenser than Irene had ever experienced. Sure, it was their last match against each other for the season and a tie-breaker at that, yet it almost felt as if there was now some sort of newly spawned, unspoken vendetta between the Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Coded strategies were constantly being yelled out by the Captains and Goalkeepers, aimed bludgers from the Beaters were flying fast around the field taking some victims along its paths and the Chasers were pushing into each other rougher than usual in hopes to reclaim the quaffle. 

The only thing that didn't seem all that different from their previous bouts this season was the Seeker in blue at her side, easily matching her pace. 

Despite all of this going on, Irene manages to stick to her plan of only locking in on the snitch.

But like with any other game strategy, there are pros and cons. Strengths and weaknesses. In Irene’s case, you would think she would have learned her lesson about her strategic blemish given previous events and therefore adapt, but she didn’t–especially when it had been so successful before. And so without a second thought, she gives this game her all through tunnel-vision and thus lets her situational awareness be taken away.

Looking back, Irene could probably consider this the best game that she had ever played. While she can admit that she lost sight of the snitch a few times, she knew where it was for the majority of her game. If in front of her, she easily dodged and weaved past both her teammates and the Ravenclaws that crossed her path. Even her flight pace seemed to have gone to a new level with the fluttering golden ball only ever being a few feet away from her grasp.

It truly had the potential to be her best yet, but it was inevitable for her to feel the flaws of her master plan. And unfortunately for her, she got hit with that reality the hard way.

She didn’t hear her teammates call out her name. She didn’t notice the blue-cladded presence that had practically been alongside her the whole time sharply veer downwards. She didn't realize that a demonly fast bludger was coming right towards her. And this time, she didn’t get saved.

In the blink of an eye, she finds herself not in the air, but rather lying on the ground–clutching the skin on her right thigh that was stinging immensely. She hides her grimacing face in the grass and maybe it was the help of adrenaline, but soon enough she tries to get back up. Given how long Irene has played this sport, it's not like this was the first time she had been knocked off of her broom from a bludger. She had bounced back up from something like this before and surely she could do it again. She had to with it being a sport where there are no substitutions nor extra players. And even if the pain was more than she had ever physically felt, she’s too stubborn to give up now.

So, she ignored the throbbing, attention-demanding ache, and waved off Madam Hooch to make sure that she wasn't pulled off the field and to ensure that the match continued without stoppage. After receiving an okay hand sign, she raises her upper body first, noting the mixture of dirt and grass now along her sleeves and arm pads.

After summoning her broom back to her, Irene propped up her uninjured leg to use as anchor to lift herself from the ground. She manages to hop over to her broom and swings her injured leg over first. Now floating, Irene takes the time to make sure the bone in her thigh isn't broken and comes to the lucky conclusion that she'll just have a really nasty bruise when she looks at it later. She then rises into the sky with her eyes already searching for the snitch, causing a roaring cheer in response.

Rather than spotting the golden sphere first, she experiences a bit of déjà vu as she instead finds herself searching for the girl she used to despise. Because what she once thought was hard turned out to be real easy: spotting a certain girl amongst chaos whether she means to or not. So when she soon finds who she is looking for, she spurts towards Wendy in hopes to catch up. It takes longer than she would like to get near the Ravenclaw because she couldn't get into her standard form due to her injury–or at least that's what Irene thinks is slowing her down.

For the rest of the match, Irene became frustrated that she could hardly catch up at all. Sure, the only other thing that she made sure to be aware of was that her team was currently winning by a huge margin, but that could all still change if Wendy caught the snitch. So, she continued to push her body as hard as possible. At one point, they were about one broom apart, but even so, that would be the closest she'd ever get. In a tragically poetic way, it was like a somber reflection of her situation outside of the game.

Wendy always seeming just out of her reach.

She isn't sure how long the chase lasts, but before she knows it, the whistle blows and Yeri's voice blasts across the field, "Ravenclaw win! Ravenclaw win! Despite Slytherin having a humongous lead, the blue and silver Seeker Wendy Son has caught the snitch bringing the final score to- Hold on a minute! Why are they celebrating over there?"

The intercom statics before Yeri is heard again, "Students and staff, I apologize! I'm sure like all of you, I was distracted by the two Seekers! As it turns out, Slytherin Captain Moonbyul scored a goal just mere-moments before the snitch was caught! So, Slytherin wins it! What a way to close the season!"

Two waves of relief washes over Irene’s body at the announcement. The first being the fact that her team pulled off the win despite her mistake. Even though she knows her team would never hold such a thing against her, she still would have felt an insane amount of guilt if they lost. To be honest, she’s still a bit disappointed at herself for not being able to secure their victory earlier and thus putting her team in this fortunately lucky predicament.

As for the second, the burning sensation of her right thigh felt a little relief as she no longer had to keep the damaged muscle tense in order to keep her altered, flying form steady. As she begins to float down, she waves to her fans that are chanting her name. Unsurprisingly, she finds herself waving to the other houses besides Slytherin who call her out in praise. Notably, however, all of the Ravenclaws are mum to her actions.

I’d be mad too if my house lost, she reasons.

By the time she’s ground level, she sees her team lifting their Captain up into the air and soon becomes eager to join in on the celebration. Before she gets off of her broom, she’s first met with Madam Hooch.

“I have made Madam Pomfrey aware that you had taken a bludger in the leg, although, not to what extent,” the older woman informs her before handing her a set of crutches. “Is it broken?”

Irene gratefully shakes her head, but Madam Hooch still wears a worrisome face, “Well look, I know you kids like to act tough about this type of stuff and I especially know that you’d much rather party with your team right now, but promise me that you’ll go to the infirmary as soon as you can?”

Before Irene could answer, she hears some of her teammates start calling her over to join their celebratory huddle. She gives Madam Hooch a hopeful smile and then promptly limps her way towards the big commotion without a second thought. The team celebrates on the pitch for a little while longer until Madam Hooch inevitably blows her whistle to signal to both teams that it was time for them to line-up for the standard ‘Good game’ high fives.

With Irene being the Seeker, she was dead last in the line, but her Captain stops by before taking her own position at the front, “Hey Bae, do you want me to go to the infirmary with you after this?”

“Seriously, Cap?” Irene asks, surprised. Usually with wins like this, there’s an unwritten rule where partying always comes first and to this day, she has never seen any injured player missing out on a big bash back at Slytherin Dungeon.

“Honestly, yeah, but it’s ultimately up to you,” Moonbyul answers. “I know we have that stupid rule, but you’re a prospect, Bae. I can see the future of the sport with you in it, so I’d rather you make sure that your injury is just a temporary one. Plus, we’ll be partying all weekend since it was our last freaking game as Slytherins so I’m sure you’ll be able to jump in at any time! If not, we’re gonna bring the party to you whether Madam Pomfrey likes it or not!”

The long-time teammates share a laugh and a careful hug. Moonbyul adds one more note before heading to her spot, “Whatever you decide, I’m just glad you’re okay! Considering how close Kim was when he hit that bludger towards you, I’m surprised you were able to get up. Hell, I’m even shocked that the Wendy kid managed to get out of the bludger’s way fast enough. Seriously, you’d think Kim was trying to do us a favor. Not that we’d need it though.”

Irene is at a loss for words as she takes in this new information. Hearing the details surrounding her injury, her brows furrow as hypotheses swirl in her head. One in particular leaves room for reasonable doubt.

Surely, Suho wasn’t actually trying to hit Wendy rather than me? It is purely a game thing if it was meant for me, but Suho at least has the class to not screw over his team regardless of how he feels about Wendy and I too, right?

These kinds of thoughts continue as both lines begin to move. The Slytherins have satisfied faces while the Ravenclaws are a mixture of scowls and professional sportsmanship. When she reaches Suho, the boy wears a devilish smile and squeezes Irene’s hand briefly before moving onto the next player. She only high-fives a few more Ravenclaws before reaching the end of the line where the opposing team’s Seeker awaits her.

When their hands touch, it shoots a tingling wave from her fingertips to the rest of her body. Her heart races and her cheeks redden after coming to realization that not only had it been so long since the two last had any physical contact, but also that despite this, Wendy’s touch still has such an effect on her to this day. Their eyes also meet at the same time and Irene sees the color that had become her favorite just this past year.

She wonders if Wendy was thinking the same thing when their gaze and touch with one another lingers longer than it needed to and for a moment, Irene questions whether or not she was imagining it all. But, Irene knows those eyes all too well and it is those very eyes that tell her that this is very much happening and that there is something that is definitely going through the Ravenclaw’s mind.

“Hey heartbreaker, back off my girl, will ya?”

Irene winces at the inaccurate name-calling towards Wendy as the person approaches them from behind and to her dismay, the comforting contact also disappears at the sound of the voice. The same one that just so happens to have a knack for horrible timing in her life. Now having an idea of whatever is about to happen, Irene knows it probably isn't for the best. And so, she expects Wendy to simply walk away rather than engage in what will surely be a childish conversation with the other Ravenclaw.

“Your girl?” Wendy mocks with a laugh, throwing Irene and probably Suho off as well. Irene peers at Wendy and sees an unexpected smug expression on the Seeker. “Still living in your dream world aren’t you, huh Kim?”

“Not really a dream anymore with you out of the picture now,” Suho smirks back.

“Am I though? ‘Cause with the way you sent that bludger at me, I’d bet that you’re still very much worried about me,” Wendy remains confident.

Wha- why is she…?

Suho falters as if he had been caught, “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I was aiming at Irene obviously.”

“Yeah and look what you did to ‘your girl,’ Kim,” Wendy's voice now seeming ill-tempered at the reminder of Irene’s current state.

“Well maybe if you actually caught the snitch earlier, I wouldn’t have felt the need to do that in the first place! And hey! Maybe keep track of the score before you actually catch it next time! I don’t think the recruiters in the stands liked that.”

“I don’t care about the recruiters. I had to-” Wendy glances over at Irene and stops herself from going further, making Suho be the one to laugh this time around.

It is then when the sole Slytherin of the trio realizes that neither the quidditch pitch nor the quidditch stands have cleared out yet. She should’ve known better than to stick around with all the prying ears and eyes around. Not wanting to add anymore juice to the pitcher of gossip that will definitely be passed around for the next few days, she decides that now would be the time to make her escape from this argument.

While the two Ravenclaws stare each other down as they await for who will make the next move, Irene attempts to quietly back away. In other circumstances, she probably would've been successful if it weren't for the fact that she had crutches and it's accompanying leg injury.

Having forgotten about it in the heat of the moment, she moves in a way that instantly shoots pain from her thigh so suddenly that she couldn't hide a yelp even if she tried.

"Irene!" "Bae!"

The Ravenclaws end their stalemate as they both reach out towards Irene in concern.

"You need to go to Madam Pomfrey," Wendy speaks out first, her hands hovering over Irene's body as if she'll hurt her if she touches her.

Then, Suho sticks his palm out at Wendy, "I've got this, Son. I'll be the one taking her there, alright? I'm sure she'd prefer it anyway."

Hearing that, Irene wants to tell Suho that that is the exact opposite of what she wants. She doesn't want Suho or her Captain taking her to the infirmary, she selfishly wants Wendy to take her instead. But she can't say a thing, not when her adrenaline has finally worn off and the only thing that she can do is muffle her whimpers and clamp her eyes shut.

A part of her wants to blindly reach out to Wendy who's at her right side, but said girl's voice cuts in with a sigh, "Just- Just make sure she gets there… She can be stubborn."

Irene's heart pangs at the comment. Her eyes open just as Wendy is walking away and almost immediately her vision is blocked with Suho moving to stand in front of her, "Let's get you checked out."

Knowing there's not much she can do right now, she reluctantly follows the other Ravenclaw's lead with their help to the infirmary. The halls are fairly empty with half of the student body partying in some room or field and the other half either retiring to their dorms or going to Hogsmeade for the rest of the Saturday afternoon.

With each step, Irene finds herself more and more frustrated but remembers that she can now be honest with Suho. After enduring his pursuits for seven years, it was about time for Irene to explicitly turn the boy down. The pain in her leg has become a bit more tolerable, so she knows she can speak without a mixture of groans.

"... and I was so surprised that she'd accuse me of something as ridiculous as that!" Suho continues to ramble minutes into their walk with Irene only catching that last part. Thankfully, she had a good idea about what Suho was talking about.

"You know, I wasn't aware of it at the time, but my uh- my Captain said that you were pretty close to Wendy and I when you hit that shot. She didn't think Wendy was going to be able to avoid it," Irene couldn't help but back up her ex.

"What are you trying to suggest?" Suho begins to act offended.

"I'm not saying anything for sure. I'm just saying that it's not entirely unreasonable for Wendy to see it that way," Irene explains.

Suho just scoffs, "Why do you even care what she thinks? She's just worthless with how she wasted your time. To think she messed with your feelings so carelessly. At least you had the mind to break up with her."

Irene halts in a simmering rage, turning to face the other head-on. Somehow, she holds in her anger, "You don't know the first thing about her, about me and what we had."

"Well, I know about what we have," Suho tries. "I still care about you, Irene! She doesn't! You don't think I haven't noticed your attempts at getting her back? She hasn't given you the time of day whereas I could give you everything. She broke your heart so much that despite breaking up, you're still chasing after her all the while I am chasing you."

"She didn't break my heart first," Irene deflates weakly–the crutches being the only thing keeping her up. "I- I broke hers… and now I'm dealing with the consequences that I created."

Suho falls silent, taken aback at the Slytherin's changed emotional state–one that all of Hogwarts had never seen except for less than a small handful. 

"So, I'm sorry, Suho," Irene continues, voice laced with a combination of empathy and even guilt. "For years, I've selfishly only thought of myself. I'd take your compliments and your advances, yet never really do anything about it. I'd tell myself it was to spare your feelings, but honestly? I think I let it continue because it fed my self-absorbed ego. So really, I failed to take your feelings into account at all. And now, as I stand here–fully aware of the feelings that come with chasing the desired unknown–I realize that you never deserved that kind of treatment from me and I should've realized this sooner. You deserve the truth and right now, the truth is that I love Wendy. So much so that it hurts me that I'm not with her at this very moment. Now, if you want to hate me because of that, you have every right and I won't blame you for it. But I can't help it that I love her. That I'm in love with Wendy."

Suho stays quiet for a little while longer, processing everything he just heard. Irene doesn't know what to expect, whether Suho will just walk away or give some sort of response.

The Ravenclaw runs his hand through his hair, looking down briefly with a sigh, "To be honest, I already knew my chances were shot. It only took a day for Wendy to sweep you off your feet and even that Bona girl had more going on with you in a month than whatever we had in seven years. And I get what you're trying to say, but don't come crying to me when Wendy does exactly what you're doing to me right now to you… that is, if she even talks to you for this long for once."

With that, Suho parts ways with her and despite the added salt to Irene’s emotional wound, she had a feeling such words would come from the guy. And maybe Suho had a point: all of Irene's efforts could be a complete waste. But even so, no good reason had yet to come for her to stop trying. 

Now, Irene was left alone in the middle of the hallway and halfway from the infirmary. Without a second thought, Irene continues to make her way to Madam Pomfrey. Considering her slow pace, the sound that mainly fills the halls are the rubber-covered taps from her crutches. It is only when she passes by one of the moving staircases does she start to hear hoots and hollers that are getting closer by the second.

"Yo Bae!" "Where have you been?!" "There you are!"

She recognizes her fellow Slytherins amongst a bunch–some are teammates, others simply housemates, but one in particular stands out.

"Bona!"

"Rene! You were insane out there!" Bona Kim runs up to her enthusiastically and opts to give a safe high-five rather than a hug.

"Aish, I barely did a thing!" Irene brushes off.

"What are you even talking about! There aren't many players that I know of that could've kept on going if they were hit like that!" Bona continues to praise.

"You know what?" Another Slytherin adds in pompously. "We are talking about the wrong thing, right now. The real matter at hand is why the hell you aren't living it up with us at this very integral, very important moment!"

The rest of the Slytherins in the group roar out in agreement.

"Well I gotta head to Pomf's-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," one of her 7th-year teammates holds up her hands in surprise. "You are not about to tell me that the Irene Bae is about to go and break our sacred rule! Hey, Wonwoo! Give her our lil fixer-upper."

The boy emerges from the crowd as Bona goes, "C'mon guys, we all know that in the long run it's better for her to get Pomf’s help. Like, no offense Wonwoo, but we all know that these 'fixer-uppers' aren't A-grade type work."

"Well, we don't need A's because C's get degrees, amirite?" The same teammate continues and the group laughs. 

Irene is well aware of how 'successful' and 'unsuccessful' Wonwoo's healing spells have been, but looking back, they had worked 90% of time and would give the injured player some time before actually having to go to the infirmary. 

Bona still looks apprehensive and that alone had some effect on her decision, but when everyone else starts to chant her name like it's some sort of ritual, the hype gets to her. 

The crowd turns silent only for a few seconds before erupting in euphoria at Irene's next words, "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

--

When Irene wakes up the next morning, she comes to a few conclusions.

For one, Wonwoo may or may not have already been a bit jaded when he performed the spell on Irene’s leg. Second, maybe the temporary pain relief that is normally supposed to last for a day or two was cut short to an hour or two. Lastly, an hour or two was just enough to get Irene royally ed up. 

She assumes this to be the truth because not only does she have a massive headache, but her right leg also feels like it's on fire. Honestly, she's just grateful that she's even in her own bed right now.

"Holy ," she mutters to herself as she slowly sits up on her bed. Their room is a mess and when she spots Jennie and Joy amongst the disarray, it appears that the two of them had the time of their life partying last night too.

After slowly swinging her legs off her bed, she places her hand on her stomach when it lets out a loud growl. Thankfully, her wand was sitting nice and neatly on her bedside table less than an arm's length away, so she was able to summon some fresh clothes and her crutches–both of which coming from two completely different places in their room. After somehow managing to get dressed with a new shirt and skirt, she places her crutches under her arms and takes a moment wondering if she will even be able to move anywhere. She was about to do another flick of her wand to get some random snack that Joy probably has stashed somewhere, but the grumbles from her stomach make her decide otherwise.

I’ve got to move at some point anyways.

She eventually musters up the energy (and the courage) to heave herself up from bed and manages to stay steady without having to put any pressure on her right leg (although she was hit with a bit of dizziness thanks to last night’s festivities). Before taking her first step, she double checks the time and much to her delight, breakfast was still being served. And so, Irene begins her meek journey to the Great Hall.

She leaves her room and weaves through the Slytherin common room with the only obstacle being the few housemates who were passed out on the floor.

“Oh ,” Irene mutters once again as she’s met with the vast staircase heading upwards from the Slytherin Dungeon. “How the am I gonna-”

Unlike last night where she had a bunch of people to help her down the stairs, there was not a single person around to help her now. While not all Slytherins are the party-type and thus likely awake right now, the problem is that they’re also more likely to already be in the Great Hall or just somewhere else in the castle by this time.

Think, Irene. Think!

Aha!

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Irene points her wand at her two crutches before she feels herself being lifted off the ground. “This is either the smartest or dumbest thing I could have ever done!” she tells herself as she floats a few inches above each step going up. By the time she reaches the first floor, she contemplates floating the rest of the way to the Great Hall, but the last thing she needs is a potential scolding from a professor if she’s caught. Thus, for the rest of her walk, she hobbles onwards while trying to ignore the sharp pains in her thigh whenever she accidentally moves it in the slightest direction.

Along the way, students start to appear as she is greeted by many of them as she passes them by. Some say congratulations and others tack on wishes to get better soon which is a bit ironic considering the fact that all Irene has to do is go see Madam Pomfrey and she’d actually ‘get better’ in a flash or at least not feel as much or any pain like she is now.

A fact in which she is immediately reminded of when Wendy and a few of her Ravenclaw teammates suddenly appear at the end of the hallway after rounding the corner. Realizing that they’re heading her way, Irene panics and swiftly decides to lean against the nearest wall and whisper the Vanishing Spell, making her crutches disappear from her hands in milliseconds. Then, she plants her left foot on the ground and she bends her right leg to prop that foot against the wall to avoid putting weight on it.

For the first time, Irene hopes that Wendy will pass by without taking any notice of her. While she isn’t even sure that Wendy would ask about whether or not she went to Madam Pomfrey’s last night, Irene doesn’t want to risk seeing Wendy look at her disappointed. She’s seen it once and wants to keep it that way.

But when was the last time things went Irene’s way?

She thought she was in the clear when the huddle of blue continued their stride past her, but her body freezes when she catches, “You guys go ahead, I’ll be there in a bit.”

Irene had been keeping her head down with the idea that it would make her less noticeable, so the first thing she sees besides her own body is a pair of black shoes surrounded by the ends of a black robe with blue lining.

“You went?”

With how the question is worded–short and vague–it tells Irene that Wendy doesn’t have any intentions on making this conversation last. Irene lifts her head but avoids Wendy’s eyes, only humming and nodding in response.

“You know, you were never really that good at lying,” Wendy surprisingly continues. Before Irene could refute, Wendy adds, “Did he even take you?”

At the reference to Suho, Irene finally faces her, “We made it about halfway.”

The Ravenclaw shakes her head in disbelief, “I knew I couldn’t trust him.”

“I basically made him leave,” Irene admits. “He was getting the wrong idea and I turned him down. So, he left.”

“Mmm,” now it was Wendy who broke their shared gaze, but just for a brief moment. “So, then what? You decided not to go after?”

“Well, I ran into Wonwoo, he did a little spell and now here I am. A-Okay,” Irene tries to sound convincing. “I’m fine.”

Wendy still eyes her curiously and it’s gotten to the point where Irene is surprised that Wendy is even bothering to act like this. While Wendy’s concern feels like a small victory, all of this just feels temporary and that soon enough their dynamic will return to what it has been ever since their last lengthy one-on-one conversation.

A few more seconds of silence pass before Wendy concedes, “Alright.”

Just as Wendy starts to leave, Irene tries to adjust her form as her left foot needed some alleviation. In the process, Irene’s right foot ends up slipping off the wall, making her lose her balance. The unexpected need to recover kicks her instincts into motion and so without thinking, she lands a heavy right step.

And despite not being in Wendy's periphery anymore, Wendy hears her stifled whine and instantly brings attention back to her.

“What was that?” Wendy questions, now a few feet away from where Irene is.

“Nothing,” Irene blurts.

“You literally just winced.”

“Did not.”

“Walk then,” Wendy places her hands on her hips. “C’mon, walk towards me. I bet you can’t even take a step.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Irene doesn’t budge.

“What’s so ridiculous about walking?”

“I’m going to miss breakfast.”

“Madam Pomfrey has snacks.”

“I don’t want Madam Pomfrey’s snacks.”

“Well then, if you’re in such a rush let’s go to the Great Hall now.”

“Don’t you have friends to get back to?”

“I’ve got time.”

The two lock in a fixated stare, neither wanting to lose this round. But the advantages and disadvantages are too stark for one to hold out much longer. The bruise on her thigh pulsing, screaming in desperation to be soothed. 

“My crutches- I vanished them,” Irene confessed sorely, covering her eyes in embarrassment. Wendy approaches her silently before gently grabbing hold of Irene’s left arm and laying it across the back of her neck for support. Together, the two make their way towards the infirmary without a word. Due to their past, the distinctive prying eyes and hushed conversations that only seem to arise when the two are together fail to distract them as it’s something they have grown accustomed to. When they finally reach the entrance to the infirmary, it doesn’t take long for the Hogwarts matron to take notice of their arrival.

“Why is it always you two?” Madam Pomfrey chuckles at the sight of Irene and Wendy standing at her doorway. “Come in, come in.”

They follow the woman’s lead as she searches for an empty bed, “I’m glad to see you’ve finally come to my care, Miss Bae. After hearing Madam Hooch describe what happened, I thought you’d be here right away. Still, I know how you quidditch kids can be. But at least you have someone as diligent as Wendy to bring you here now. Ah, here we are.”

Now in front of an open bed, Wendy helps Irene lie on top of it. Madam Pomfrey then switches spots with Wendy to take a better look at the injury, “Okay dear, I’m gonna have to lift your skirt.”

Hearing that, Wendy turns away and stares at an opposing wall.

Madam Pomfrey tuts as she inspects Irene’s thigh, “I should’ve known. This looks like the work of my pupil, Wonwoo Jeon, is it not?”

Irene reluctantly nods her head, wearing a pained expression as the matron prods her thigh.

“I know that boy is just trying to help,” Madam Pomfrey sighs. “Well, no need to worry, he did help it a bit as the bruise isn’t the size of a bludger. And since you didn’t break a bone or anything, the healing process won’t take too long. You should be able to heal, rest and be out of here before lunch starts.”

Irene’s body relaxes at the woman’s words. She honestly thought Wonwoo made things worse due to his slight ‘impairment’ at the time, but he’s one of the smartest in their house at the end of the day, so it was probably just the fact that she didn’t get proper treatment right away that made the pain build-up.

The woman whispers a few incantations, preps some healing potions for Irene to drink and then wraps up Irene’s leg. After making sure that Irene was all set, Madam Pomfrey dismisses herself to look after her other patients. When the older woman is gone, Irene is surprised to see that Wendy was still here despite how much time has since passed. It was the girl’s side profile that was visible to Irene with the rest covered by a foldable divider placed between each bed.

It is then when she gives herself some time to actually take in the Ravenclaw’s presence–something that has been becoming mournfully less and less in Irene’s life as each day passes. It makes Irene regret not appreciating it enough sooner.

And as if she could feel Irene’s eyes on her, Wendy peers over, “You’re all set then?”

“Mmhm,” she affirms.

“Okay, well…,” Wendy trails. And just like that, what Irene fears returns. The atmosphere surrounding them turns awkward again with neither really knowing what to say or do. This moment–whatever it was and whatever it meant–is over, but Irene doesn’t want it to be. Not when they haven’t interacted like this in so long. Not when they were able to bicker like how they used to. Not when Wendy seems to care for her again. So maybe, Irene does know what she wants to say right now, but she also knows the risk that comes along with it. And it is only when she sees Wendy take a step back away from her does she finally make up her mind.

“Stay,” Irene chokes out. “Can you stay with me for a little bit longer?”

A/N: OMG HI FRIENDS!

So many questions to be asked, right? Will Wendy stay? Did Suho actually aim for Wendy or Irene? Why did Wendy talk to Suho like that after the game? What made Wendy feel like she "had to" end the game without caring for the score or the recruiters in the stands? I'll let all of that simmer in your brains ^_^

Anyways, writing this chapter was quite the experience. It took me a while to get things going but as I pledged on twitter: since I managed to get Twice tickets(!!!), I knew I had to come through. And somehow, I was able to come up with basically 5k+ words in a matter of days 0_0 Writer's block and writing spurts are actually so insane like damn!

Thank you for taking the time out of your precious day to continue to ride this journey with me! And I promise that despite how long an update may take, I refuse to abandon this fic cause I know how it feels when an author does that *tears*

Til next time lovelies

- S (rv_twice5 on twitter)