Not Myself (open)

Keiba wandered into the student common room. The fire was blazing and crackling and the heat hit her the moment she stepped over the doorstep. he sighed, her eyes dropping. Keiba had no idea what was wrong with her. She felt like she just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry herself to sleep.

It had been a while since she'd had a good cry, and Humphrey's sudden return made her clench her jaw and try desperately to keep the tears at bay. How dare he waltz in here without a letter to tell her he was okay? Keiba was astonished at how much resentment she felt towards her best friend.

She wished she could go find Mace, but she knew he was terribly busy at that point in time. The lessons were starting to take their toll on the both of them, and Keiba found herself curled up in the corner of one of the big leather couches near the fire.

Her eyelids fell closed and she let herself slide into a well-needed sleep.

Humphrey decided to visit the student common room. He didn't think he had ever visited there before. The very first thing he noticed was Keiba, his best friend, all alone on a couch in front of the fire, snoozing. Something was wrong with Keiba, and he was going to find out what it was. Promising himself that he would draw her out of her shell again.

Very slowly,Humphrey lowered himself onto the edge of the couch. Then he shook her shoulder gently. "Keiba, you and I need to talk." he whispered softly. "There is something you aren't telling me. Whatever it is, you can tell me. Be honest, I want to know what is bugging you. So, what is it?" he asked her.

Keiba's eyes slowly wrenched themselves open as someone lowered themselves onto the couch and shook her awake. She was still half-asleep and Humphrey's face barely registered on her mind.

Blinking sleepily a few times, Keiba curled further into the couch. "Go away," she said groggily.

"Keiba, I am not going away. At the very least I am going to help you up the Ravenclaw tower so you can sleep in your own room. But, before I do that, you are going to tell me what is going on. You aren't telling me something. What is it?" Humphrey asked her. It sent a sharp pain through him when she told him to go away. Though, if Humphrey was anything, he was persistent.

He decided she would need help to wake up. So, he bent down and pulled her body into a sitting position. "Now spill Keiba. We don't keep secrets from each other. You know that."

Keiba turned her face away from the Gryffindor boy and buried it into the leather of the couch. She didn't want to talk to anyone. "I wanna sleep," she muttered, her voice muffled by the stiff seat. She vainly realised that he wasn't going away. Keiba sighed. Two could play that game.

Keiba gasped in surprise as Humphrey pulled her into a sitting position. Now she was wide awake - and grumpy. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him. "I'm not keeping secrets. It's called being tired," she said harshly.

Now he knew that Keiba was going into her stubborn mode. But, he had a secret weapon. "We both knew you aren't just tired. Something is bugging you. I don't hide what is going on with me from you Keiba, I didn't expect you would be one to shut me out. You know that you will feel better if you get it off her chest." Humphrey told her.

He suspected that wouldn't work though, so he did something that hopefully would catch her off guard. What he did, surprised even himself, he leaned towards her and stopped an inch away from her. "Look at me Keiba. Trust me, I can help with whatever is going on. Let me into that big brain of yours. Please." After he said that, he pulled her into a tight hug. Humphrey just held onto her, and then let go after about thirty seconds. For the first time, he had used his hug sneak attack to hopefully get her to talk.

Keiba's eyes widened as Humphrey leant right up close to her face. "What are you...?" She started to say but was cut off by Humphrey.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not hiding anything from you," she said, but seconds later, Humphrey was hugging her. Keiba's head buzzed. What the hell just happened?

Humphrey released her and Keiba stared at him. "What was that?" She asked, a little shaky from surprise.

"You know exactly what I am talking about Keiba. Something has been bugging you ever since I came back. Do you need to give me another slap, do you need me to apologize again. What?" Humphrey told her. Keiba wasn't fooling him, something was up.

"That was a hug sneak attack Keiba. Intended to catch you off guard. And hopefully show you that I can help you through whatever is wrong. I am here for you. Now will you please tell me what is going on?" he asked her.

Keiba shook her head. She didn't like how he kept pressing the issue. She wasn't going to say anything because she didn't know what was wrong either.

"Leave me alone, Humphrey," she said quietly. Keiba stood from the couch and stiffly walked away from him, with all intentions of going to the Ravenclaw common room - some place he couldn't follow her. She needed to talk to Mace.

She shocked him, Keiba did something he never thought she would do. Shut him out. After she told him to leave her alone she left the room. He had just been trying to help her. "Is that what you really want, Keiba? If it is, then I will." he choked out. His voice sounded forced, and it cracked when he said her name.

The tears welled up in his eyes, and started to fall down his cheeks. Humphrey's best friend had just told him to leave her alone and refused to him what was wrong. Not just that, the best friend he secretly had a crush on. He couldn't stop himself from collapsing against the couch and curling up into a ball. Then he began to cry, and by the time he finally stopped, it was well past midnight.