Reading in the courtyard

Peter frowned when she said that she felt like she was being pushed from person to person. "Then take care of yourself Melissa.." He said carefully, watching her reaction. "Eat more... so you aren't as light as a feather... work out, get yourself back up to where it belongs.. if you take care of yourself.. you will heal faster, and be better..." he said smiling. "And just so you know.. I won't baby you if you don't want me too." He said carefully. "You don't need babied.. you need to know you're a person still." he said smiling at her, "You needed to be saved then Melissa... or else you would have done something I'm sure you would regret later..." He said smiling at her carefully.

Peter frowned when she offered to show him how to deal with the smoke. He watched her sit up and sit right in front of him, and then take a long drag, at first he was paying special attention to how her lips were moving, thinking she was just demonstrating how to hold it right, but suddenly her hand was prying his lips open and for some reason he let her, and then her lips were on his, and she was blowing the smoke into his mouth.

He felt the burning as it made it's way into his lungs, and she pulled away and he was left gasping and coughing. "What... what was..." He gasped, coughing and waving his hand in front of his face, watching the smoke curl out from around his own lips. That.. hadn't really been a kiss, but it had been the closest thing he had ever gotten to one, and he didn't know what to make of it. "Were you trying to... I mean.." He stared at her as she giggled, laughing at him, he frowned and stared at her. "Is that some sort of way to get me to kiss you or something?" He asked with a gasp, knowing her lips had been on his, and that the smoke had passed from her lungs to his, and it felt so weird, knowing that she had done that, and he had been completely unable to stop it. He stared at her in shock and confusion, tilting his head to the side slightly.

Desperate for something, though not entirely sure what, as she was, Millie wasn’t in need of a kiss from someone who had seen her jump from one instance to another and then, unsurprisingly, to another. She didn’t seem to be able to make up her mind and as she looked about herself, she began to wonder whether her mind was all there or whether she’d mysteriously fallen to pieces in her drug-induced stupor the hospital wing had placed in her in. She felt fine and, upon glancing at Peter, made sure in her mind that she didn’t secretly want him as he seemed to think she did. No, she felt nothing for him except the sympathy one of greater experience feels when regarding one without such experience. She smiled easily at him, her hand coming up to carve through her hair, and shook her head once she had brought her hand back down into her lap.

“It’s not like that,” She told him easily. “I don’t know quite what my intention was but I’m not interested in kissing you, Peter.” Abruptly, Millie rose back to her feet and took the cigarette between her lips. She didn’t veer off towards the bridge again this time though. Instead, she pushed her hands into her pockets and tipped her head towards the bridge. She smiled a half smile at Peter and kicked at one of the cobbles with her converse before shrugging her shoulders, shrinking into herself slightly and beginning the slow pad towards the bridge once more. “Come on slow-poke!” She called behind her. “Let’s go to the lake already!”

Peter felt a small wave of relief flow through him when she said she wasn't meaning on kissing him. It wasn't that she wasn't attractive, by all means she was beautiful, it was just.. he had hoped his first kiss would be more... special. Someone he had known a while, not five minutes, and someone he trusted, and cared for.. not a nervous wreck waiting to happen on the edge of a bridge. She stood up, and he carefully followed suit, watching as she brought the shared cigarette to her lips again and inhaled, before tilting her head towards the bridge. Peter stood slightly hunched his hands automatically going into his pockets as she slowly made her way to the bridge.

He kept up quickly, his eyes trained on her, waiting for any sudden movements on her part. Peter was good at Quidditch, and while he wasn't a seeker, he was a Keeper, and you needed to be quick for that as well. So he knew if she did try and dart off, he could catch her easily enough. But she said something about the lake, and he couldn't help but glance around them. His eyes trained on his stuff, and he quickly darted and got it before he came back to her side and walked next to her.

"You are a strange one.." He said carefully, his eyes trained on her, watching her carefully as they stepped onto the bridge. His body was tense, ready to take action against any sudden movements on her part, and knowing that he was following this girl to the lake for one main reason. He didn't want her to think of a new way to off herself, if he was there, he would know that she was alright.

There was little fear in Melissa’s eyes, merely a hardened yet precarious gaze reliving what happened with every glint in her peripheral. The cigarettes weren’t advised; neither were any of her usual poisons. The matron had been somewhat understanding, her chestnut gaze sweeping over the blonde imploringly as a knowing smile peaked at her lips. She was aware of everything and it had been foolish of Millie to believe otherwise. She’d treated all of them at least a few times whether because of some fault of their own or because they’d gotten into some sort of fight with a group of Slytherins that corresponded with their own. The matron had seen their blood, seen what was swimming in it. It was inevitable that she’d find herself privy to the cocktails they took. Spencer helped, boy did he help. They poured more money down the drain for everything Miles supplied through Spencer than on anything else. The cigarettes...they were everything -- anything and everything else was just a beautiful bonus.

Millie looked up at the sound of Peter’s voice and she smirked openly, taking the cigarette from between her lips as she did so before passing it back to the boy. “I know you are but what am I?” She responded childishly, her smirk morphing into a wide grin as she picked up her pace. Millie carved her hands into her pockets, balling her fists tightly as she skipped across the boards of the bridge. Once her feet hit the grass, she glanced over her shoulder and watched Peter for a few idle seconds before shooting off at a run. She was fast, considering everything that had happened to her. She still had the sprightliness underneath the weariness; she still had the will to tease and to test the people she encountered. Peter was one of them. His first test had been the bridge though she had truly been considering throwing herself off. Feeling infinitely better that she wasn’t gibber at the bottom of the river bed, Millie moved onto the second test.

For a smoker, she was doing quite well. She staggered down the embankment, arms flailing, her laughter ringing out behind her. The cut on her stomach smarted, her bandages rubbed but with the wind in the air and her knees willing her brain to allow them to buckle...she felt invincible. She was half and half - weak and strong; at the moment though she was more of the later. The adrenaline was pulsing through her once more and she launched herself across the grounds, hopping off of boulders and prancing over little puddles that had gathered after the rain they’d had overnight and had yet to be soaked into the soil. She came to an abrupt stop and whirled around, legs spread wide and her hands on her hips. Her cheeks were flushed pink and her hair was flyaway but she wore a triumphant smile on her face - one that clearly said: ‘I win’.

Peter hurried to keep up with her as she quickened her pace, he held the cigarette between his fingers, but didn't put it back to his lips. He didn't like it... he just.. wanted to make her feel better... so when she wasn't looking he stamped it out quickly and when he looked up again, she was gone. Flying down the hill at breakneck speeds. Peter made a face and immediately sprung after her. His long legs carving a path and quickly making up for not having seen her take off right away, but she still beat him down, and she posed rather abruptly.

Peter stumbled to a halt, and stared up at her, glaring. "You can't just take off like that!" He gasped, catching his breath before he stood up. Helped that he was in pretty good shape... he wasn't to winded, but it had been quite the run, and he was still trying to breathe properly. "I was afraid you'd!" Peter froze, and stared up at her, before he picked his way among the rocks, and came up to where she was. He didn't know why, but he felt.. almost protective of her. She had already tried to take her life once.. he wasn't about to let her do it again.

He took her by the shoulders and stared at her. "Seriously...I was worried... You just took off.. and I thought you might.." He glanced at the water, and then sighed, running his hand through his hair. He let go of her shoulders and let his legs go out from under him, sitting down on the rock, he sat, staring into the water. "Not funny.." He said with a sigh, watching the sun reflect off the lake.

People were strange creatures, Peter being one of them. As Millie watched him sprint down to her, she couldn’t help but smile. It was certainly easier for her to act in ways he couldn’t quite predict. She could do that; she couldn’t mope and feel sorry for herself. It had happened and it cut her deeper than anything else. What cut her further was that no one knew. Grasping her stomach as she’d done the nights prior in the privacy of her bed she couldn’t help but writhe in agony caused not by the wound but by her own anguish. She pulled at the hem of her jumper and twisted a little where she stood as her teeth came around her lower lip, a smile rising on her face. She giggled at the sight of Peter’s exasperation and ran her hand through her hair, fluffing the front up before bouncing impatiently on the balls of her feet.

“I can,” she told him with a simple smile and a tilt of her head. “I just did.” Millie continued to smile at him but her smile slipped from her face when he stopped abruptly. Her head tipped back level and her features hardened a little. Her fists clenched and she turned away from Peter before beginning to walk briskly down the embankment. She gasped when his large hands grasped her tiny shoulders and she spun around, finding herself face to face with the earnest Ravenclaw. Millie blinked rapidly, her lips parted and her eyes wide as she took in his expression, took in his words.

When he dropped himself to the floor, Millie at first remained standing but she soon lowered herself down beside him. Millie pulled the arms of her jumper down over her hands and drew her legs up to her chest. She turned her head a little and looked at Peter before exhaling slightly and looking at her bruised and cut hands. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “But...you don’t have any reason to care. Why should you?”