Reckless

Ron was so embarrassed he wanted to die. After convincing Hermione to cure his hangover, he had remembered the basics of the night before. He was most assuredly sure he'd made a few drunken passes at Pansy Parkinson in a broom closet then passed out, on top of her no less. Not exactly the impression he wanted to leave. Plus, passing out after a couple of sips wasn't a very manly thing to do, in his opinion.

Ron had no clue what he was going to do when he saw her again.

"I'm sorry for drunkenly propositioning you like a hooker."

No, that was just...oh, what was that word Hermione always used? Right, insensitive. He was sure that qualified.

Ron winced when he realized that not only had he come on to her, he had told her he was a virgin. Okay, so maybe it might've been a bit implied, but a man had a right to keep that sort of embarrassing information to himself. Why, if Seamus ever found out, then Ron would be out thousands of Galleons he didn't have. Locker room talk led to a few bets...and Ron had promised the girl half if she told Seamus they got down and dirty. Ron had done this a few times, and had actually built up quite a fortune because of it.

"Hey cherry," a voice, her voice said playfully from the shadows, interrupting his important deliberations. Ron was convinced she wasn't referring to his red hair.

He groaned heavily, ignoring the heat in his ears. "I'd like to forget that incident..."

"An incident, hmm? Well, you all about crushed me when you fell on top of me last night. You put me in between a stone floor and well...a hard place," she remarked pointedly, raising her eyebrows in a way that she was sure would cause him to blush adorably.

He turned a shade of pink as she expected and nodded, quite obviously embarrassed. "Well uh...what is that?" he asked, interrupting what would've been a humorous explanation for the fact that he found her undeniably attractive to point at the reddish- pink-mark-that-was-blotchy-enough-not-to-look-like-a-handprint on her cheek.

Hastily, she blurted out the first thing that she could think of to say. "Nothing. I just ran into something. Let's continue this later."

Internally, she swore. Damn! F u c k! How in the hell am I supposed to explain this one? Why is it the one time I rely on makeup and the unobservant nature of males that the second one fails me?

He nodded weakly. "When?"

She bit her lower lip both in thought and to tease Ron. For added effect, she flicked her tongue out and moistened her lips. It was a good distraction for Ron and the fact that she had that effect on him made her feel less anxious about having to explain what happened.

"Don't do that!" he groaned, turning his gaze to the ceiling. He seemed like he wanted to rip his hair out.

Pansy giggled. "Oh, control your impulses, Ronald; I'm trying to be serious here." Clearing her throat, she added, "Tonight, midnight, Quidditch Pitch, under the Hufflepuff stands."

"Okay...see you then," Ron reluctantly agreed, wondering why. Why did they have to meet in the dead of the night hidden from the rest of the world? It was ridiculous, and as much as he didn't want to think about it sometimes, all of this Gryffindor - Slytherin stuff was going to be over in a few months.

Ron walked away in silence, so bothered by the subject that he could hardly eat lunch or dinner.

***

Hogwarts was truly beautiful at a quarter until midnight, Pansy mused, staring up into the clear night sky and marveling at the shine of the stars. Because Hogwarts was enchanted, she could see nebulas, comets, meteors and other things that muggles couldn't see when they gazed into the splendor of a moonlight sky.

"It's a beautiful night," Ron remarked nervously, finally acknowledging her presence when he couldn't bear to simply watch her from afar anymore.

"Isn't it?" she answered, engaging him in conversation about the different constellations and the stories behind them. Not only was it intellectually stimulating and a good learning experience, it killed time until he was going to start asking questions she didn't want to answer.

"How are you?" Ron asked pointedly in the middle of her sentence about the Crab Nebula.

"Just fine," she answered, leaning against the large pole that supported the back of the tall, obnoxiously yellow stands.

Ron exhaled. "Why do we have to talk in shadowy hallways where no one can see and meet in the middle of the night under the Quidditch stands?"

She slumped back completely against the wooden pole, shoulders dropping in defeat. Why did he have to be so blunt about everything? And why in the hell did she find it so loveable? Things weren't exactly turning out the way she had hoped they would when this all started a week ago.

"Who did it, Pansy?" His tone was desperate, but undemanding...simply, but heavy with dutiful sincerity.

"I told you," she reinforced weakly, "I ran into something."

"Pansy..." Ron sighed. "Who did it?" He had to know....even if he didn't do anything, he just had to know. Knowing meant he was one step closer to fixing something.

"Draco," she said quietly, not in consideration of Draco, but she was scared of what Ron would do. She didn't know much about him, but it was evident that he was fiercely and unfailingly loyal.

"Malfoy? The little ferret, I swear to Merlin, I'm going to give him a beating that will-"

She froze her heart breaking as she realized how incomplete she would be if something happened to him. "Don't ever attack him unless it's a matter of life and death."

"Why?" he challenged. "I could beat him in a fist fight!" Ron was taller, stronger, and was used to fighting with his brothers.

"He wouldn't let you get that close. He knows hexes that would have your body in shreds on the floor before you got close enough. He's...well trained."

She didn't have to elaborate any further. The quiet, scared tone with which she stated her carefully put together statement said it all. Well, it was no surprise that Malfoy was a death eater in training. No surprise at all. But it did bring up a concern. Was she...in line?

"Pansy," he began hesitantly after a moment. "Are you going to..."

He trailed off when she put a slim finger to his soft lips. "Shhh....let's not discuss that now. I think we've had enough seriousness for one night," she breathed, shivering when he kissed the inside of her palm, eyes lowered.

A lightning strong jolt coursed through both of their bodies. It addled with their brains, made them think the exactly same naughty thoughts. They wondered what would happen if...

Screw it. This was no time for wondering...but the perfect time to test out what would've been the result of those wonderings.

He knew that by pulling on her shoulders to draw her closer he was playing with a force that would be damned near impossible to stop if he let it take over...but, he couldn't help but to kiss her, and she was just as powerless to not respond.

"Ron," she whispered, so soft it was inaudible. "Stop."

He found it so difficult to pull away from her...but knew that if he didn't stop here and now, then there wouldn't be any stopping later.

"I have to tell you...I cant let it go any further than what it did if you don't know what Draco said, what he's done, about me getting the mark and why we cant-"

"Pansy?" he interrupted, his voice hoarse. He couldn't bear to hear the end of that sentence.

"What?" She was anxious, impatient. She was trying to be serious.

Pansy could tell that Ron was also feeling pretty sincere, but not about these important matters that she had to speak of right now before she exploded. Within his sincerity was a certain uncontrolled desire that she could feel herself starting to fall into.

"I don't care. It doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is..."

When he kissed her again, she understood everything he'd intended to say but had been unable to express.

All that matters is you and me.

I think I l o v e you.