Twelve

Earl Grey

  Tom was slowly bringing himself to face the very facts he had once dreaded concerning Rosalie. He would be an utter fool if he didn't acknowledge and utilise her power. That was his initial reasoning behind suggesting such an infuriating and strange performance that they would now have to put on.

  Rosalie found herself, a day later, now wondering what was going on inside her head when she had accepted such a proposal. Surely Tom had forced her into it, using some kind of dark and uncontrollable magic. She was so desperate that she had let herself say yes to dating Tom Riddle. Even if it was just a show for the both of them, she wasn't sure she could act like she could even tolerate him in front of people.

  "Are you sure this will work? If it doesn't we're just putting ourselves in an incredibly uncomfortable position for nothing. We don't have to do this Tom- let's just call this whole thing off." 

  Rosalie stood in the courtyard between the potions and transfiguration classroom with Tom, under the shade of the only tree decorating the space.

  Tom looked down at her, noticing the hesitance on her face that still refused to face him. The comparison between last night and now was night and day, she had been full of confidence the night before, and now she looked like she was about to fall over at the thought of what they were about to do.

  Even he was a little bit cornered off to the idea, having a woman in such close proximity to him, even if every muscle in his body found her one of the most beautiful creatures to walk the earth; there was only one way to make Coriolanus instantly angry and jealous.

  "There's no point in turning back now." He took a breath and kept his eyes on her, even if she refused to reciprocate it, he had gotten used to her casual disrespect, a quality he wouldn't have her fix because it made her all the more interesting.

  "But to give you peace of mind, it will work. Coriolanus has a temper that is just waiting to explode, he already suspects-" He was unable to finish the sentence.

  Rosalie looked down, knowing what he was talking about.

  "I don't know why anyone would think that." She scoffed, all she omitted was hate for the man, it was a perplexing thought to imagine that some thought there really was something between them.

  Now they were to give them all false hope into the rumour, Rose could already imagine the spark of rumours that would spread, the absolute wonder on how this had happened. Tom and Rosalie would have to put on some largely charismatic acting to get anyone to believe it.

  "Neither do I. It's completely unthinkable." Tom replied, his breathing slowed as he tried to stop his mind from convincing him otherwise. Memories clouded his judgement, ones of the party they had attended and the way he felt when she even spoke to another man that wasn't him.

  When he had found her and Coriolanus alone, he kept his anger stuffed inside him, and when that disgusting student had insinuated that he had- done something with Rosalie, it made him all the more angrier.

  Rosalie had made him feel more emotions in a few months than he had ever felt in his entire life.

  "Do you really think this is the only way?" Rosalie finally looked up at Tom, who had been waiting for her patiently. He read the thoughts behind her eyes, and licked up the fear this whole situation brought to her.

  There probably was another way, but Tom, too filled with greed, refused to see it. This was a deal that his deeper soul agreed with, keeping Rosalie to himself while being convinced he had no such weak feelings like love.

  "It is the only way." He reiterated, in a darker tone.

  Tom stepped towards her, noticing the time on his watch. They had both skipped Potions for this very moment, when they would put their plan into action and solve both of their problems, while simultaneously breaking Coriolanus's heart.

  "He'll be out in a minute. He'll see us the second he steps out of that door." Tom nodded his head back to the potions classroom, refusing to break and precious eye contact he had with Rose.

  Rosalie nodded, calming herself internally. As usual, she would dive into the situation head first. She usually came out unharmed and with things going the way she wanted when she went in blind, her luck was something to be feared.

  She let Tom approach her, even if she had been in this situation with him a thousand times before in their tension filled relationship of hate, she would never get used to his presence, his scent, his height, the way he looked at her. Rose could never figure out the emotions behind his eyes when he looked at her, she could only suspect he was calculating all the ways he could use and dispose of her.

  For some reason, Rose didn't mind that, because the look gave her a morbid sense of peace.

  "Neither of us want to do this, but remember why we have to." Tom spoke down to her, she watched his lips move with caution as the sudden sound of doors opening and footsteps approaching began all around them.

  "I know." She said quickly, frozen in her place.

  "Don't let go of me until you're certain he's seen us." Tom took another step closer, his palms growing sweaty as he prepared himself.

  He had never kissed someone before.

  Rosalie could only shiver in his presence, the feeling of guilt and disgust already building in her stomach at the fact that she was about to show affection to someone who had done such unforgivable things in their life. She felt selfish for taking this action, imagining the faces of all those that he had killed as he moved till there was no space between them.

  Tom took his hand and slivered it around Rosalie's back, she went colder than she had ever been before, though for some reason she couldn't find it in herself to break contact with Tom's eyes. 

  The darkness behind his eyes bore right through Rosalie's soul, and her mouth opened in the sudden combination of fear and amazement at his beauty, because in that moment there was nothing more she wanted to do than to kiss him, despite the futile fighting feelings of hate she held towards him.

  Her mind was wiped clean; and suddenly, she had a show to put on.

  Tom reached down to meet her face, he lingered above her lips for a second, enjoying the harshly soft sound of Rosalie breathing against him, waiting, pleading with him to kiss her. His eyes widened at the reading of her body language, surprised, but eagerly happy that she too had fallen for his usual charms as other girls did.

  Footsteps began to sound all around them, Rosalie could already feel a surge of embarrassment in her and they hadn't even started. She was about to break herself free of Tom's hold to save herself from making a mistake, but before she could think any further, his lips crashed down onto hers in a desperate hunger.

  It took Rosalie a moment to process the feeling of Tom Riddle's lips on her own. Her body rapidly moved from cold to hot, she could feel the redness on her cheeks. Tom's eyes closed in relief when he felt his Rosie kiss him back. He felt his heart swell, in a feeling of completeness that he had never encountered before. 

  Tom was aware that he needed Rosie.

  But he didn't realise until now that he really needed  her.

  The pair of them had jumped off the cliff without looking down, they would be stuck with this feeling for the rest of their lives. 

  His grip on her waist tightened as he lost himself in the way she tasted, the way she smelled up close. Tom walked them back until Rosalie hit the tree, the sudden aggressiveness making her frenzy her hands up onto Tom's cold face. She held on for dear life as they stole each others souls.

  Tom brought himself even closer to her, ignoring the murmurs that began to sound around them, he brought his hand up her back pulling the back of her head to give him better access to her mouth. If he was going to put on a show; however much he liked it; he would do it right.

  Rosalie hummed at the sensation, trying not to lose her mind in the sudden bliss, trying so desperately to remember what Tom was, but in the depth that he kissed her, she could barely remember her own name.

  Her hand ripped through his hair, tugging at it gently as she pushed herself against Tom's body, feeling the hidden muscle under his white shirt, her hands roamed around his chest. 

  She forced her eyes open for a minute, remembering suddenly that for this to have a point, she needed to see if Coriolanus had yet seen them. When the sudden brightness entered, she watched as groups of people pointed at them, others disinterested. 

  But in the midst of it all, Coriolanus emerged from the crowds, yet to fully see what was going on. In a matter of seconds he would see them.

  Rosalie closed her eyes again and took her focus back to Tom, who had gotten a little ahead of himself, and had one hand under the back of her shirt, gripping onto her back's skin like she was about to run away. She pushed her lips against Tom's tighter, opening her mouth and giving him the opportunity to do what he liked.

  But suddenly, he was ripped away from her. Her body went cold again as her eyes shot open.

  "RIDDLE?" Coriolanus shouted, his voice barked deeply. He held Tom by the collar, who stood rather unfazed at the situation, smirking profoundly.

  They stood but a metre away from Rosalie, but to her now it felt like Tom was a mile away.

  "Rosier, fancy seeing you here." Tom spoke back to him casually, people stood around taking notice of the encounter.

  Coriolanus looked at him like Tom had just murdered his entire family, his face was red, his eyes filled with anger and resentment. Rosalie could see behind his cold gaze that he was considering his actions carefully. He couldn't do much to Tom without punishment.

  The small realisation had Rose slightly worried. She hadn't meant for Coriolanus to do something that would get him or his family seriously injured. She couldn't put anything past Riddle if he were to retaliate.

  Coriolanus bit his lip at the smug look on Tom's face. 

  "You're touching my girl." He calmed his voice down, attempting with little hope to cover the cracks and bumps in his tone.

  Rosalie shivered at what she had created.

  "But she's no longer yours, as you've seen." Tom spoke back in perfect peace, his smirk still spreading across his features. Rose looked between the two boys, wondering who would take the next move. Rosalie hoped that Riddle knew what he was doing.

  Coriolanus breathed heavily, he only blinked once before he raised his fist and punched Tom on the right side of his face. A few people gasped from the crowd and Rosalie's mouth dropped rapidly, taking a few steps towards Tom who straightened back up like all of it was easy work.

  Rose looked at the expression on Tom's face and felt her bones freeze up when she saw he didn't even look angry. It was when he was perfectly calm and collected that he was his most dangerous. Blood from his cut lip dripped down his mouth, but he didn't seem to notice.

  She watched as Tom's hand snaked down to his pocket where he kept his wand. Rosalie looked quickly at Coriolanus, internally cursing at him for being such an idiot. 

  "No." Coriolanus spoke quickly.

  "We'll fight the muggle way. I'm sure you'd know all about that, wouldn't you Riddle?" Rosier tormented him, and Rosalie watched as a spark of fire lit behind Tom's eyes. The mention of his past wasn't a comfort to him, and if anything, it only made him more assertive in the situation.

  Tom stopped reaching for his wand, and instead flexed his fingers, walking a little closer to Coriolanus.

  "Alright then." He clicked his neck and sent his fist flying forward, planting itself harshly on Coriolanus's face. He took the blow badly, stepping backwards as he held onto his nose, blood immediately beginning to pour from it.

  He looked at Tom in complete anger, and went to approach him again, but not before Rosalie could step in the way. They had each thrown one at each other, which she had decided was sufficient enough to soothe their egos.

  Suddenly, Coriolanus was forced to face her, and his eyes turned from rage to sadness. No matter how heartbreaking a look that Coriolanus gave her, she couldn't feel sorry for him.

  "I've made up my mind Corio." She said quietly, looking at her feet and then back to him. The crowd turned down their chatter, all eagerly listening in to the excitement.

  Rosier twisted his neck to look at her, and Tom stood behind her rather proudly at what he had convinced her to do. Whether either of them realised it, no one was sure, but Tom was able to have an impact on her, he was able to manipulate her.

  "I don't want to be with you anymore. I want Tom." She spoke quietly, hesitant to let the words fall off her lips even if they were fake. Tom felt his heart make the familiar tingling feeling that was becoming more and more common.

  The words were fake, he caused himself to remember, like the identity she showed to him. She was still a liar that he couldn't trust, this was only happening because of convenience.

  Coriolanus remained silent for a minute, and Rose couldn't tell if he had even heard her.

  "I want to be with Tom." She said again to break the silence, and Coriolanus's attention was finally caught.

  The lack of noise in the air was like a knife to the throat for Rose. Not even the students- hungry to see any drama unfold all of them, could speak a word in the sea of quiet. Even the air paused in its howling, and Rosalie felt alone.

  Every living organism that was in the proximity of the conversation couldn't fully meet the girls gaze. She looked around at the groups of people, some looked sadder than others, the clouds above felt greyer then before.

  They felt sorry for her decision. The greying sky, the hesitant students, the tree that had stopped its creaking in the wind, Coriolanus who stood in front of her. 

  Coriolanus was sad, but not because he had lost her. He might have accepted the loss of her if it was anyone but him. Anyone, but him.

  Tom Riddle couldn't handle the living with care.

---

  Tom stared out of his window on the second floor of the orphanage. He looked down, imagining the exact distance of the fall, he wondered how a body would buckle and break under the centre of gravity if it were to collapse against the paved concrete.

  He leant his hand against his cheek, balancing himself to make his stare more secure. Tom even wondered what it would be like if he jumped through that window, he wouldn't kill himself, but he wondered if he could perhaps climb down the drain pipe and make his escape before the Mistress found him missing from his room.

  The boy's grim outlook on life and his in hand violence kept most of the other children in the orphanage out of Tom's way for the most part. It wasn't that Tom didn't like life, he just didn't like this life. Even from the age of eight he knew he was destined for something more than just hoping every day that someone would choose him to get him out of his despised orphanage.

  There was a sudden knock at Tom's door, he quickly turned his head around to face the threat, he kept his mouth closed in a usual frown, the grey hue of the room turned even darker at the sun setting behind the buildings of the city outside of his window.

  "Tom?" The mistress asked, poking her head through the door slowly. When she saw he was only standing by the window, she pushed herself all the way through, closing the door behind her.

  "Have you calmed down now?" The lady asked politely, Tom didn't move a muscle, he looked at her, and imagined her falling out of that window.

  The mistress sighed loudly and ignorantly when he refused to give her an answer. She looked around his musty and boring room, a picture of a cliff stuck to the wall with a pin was about the most interesting and individual thing he had cared to decorate.

  "You do know why you are in here, don't you Tom?" She asked, more quietly and with more care around the subject. She didn't dare step further into the room.

  Tom looked out the window once again, but there was a long silence before he decided to say anything.

  "I hurt that girl." Tom finally spoke, not a sense of empathy on his tongue, the Mistress felt herself shiver at hearing a child say such a nasty thing.

  "You did indeed Tom. She was just admitted to the children's hospital."  She nodded.

  Tom didn't seem surprised, or even aware of what he had done. He did sense, however, that he needed to say something.

  "I didn't really mean to do it." He said, in a badly covered up lie.

  The mistress breathed, glad that he wasn't turned around to see the look of devastation on her face. 

---

  Coriolanus retreated a single step, the sound of his movement breaking the heavy silence that had enveloped them. His gaze lingered on Rose for a moment, a silent sadness etched in his expression, before he turned away with a despondent glance and walked off through the parting crowd. 

  Even after everything he had done to Rose, she couldn't help but feel as though she had made the wrong choice. She hadn't even really chose Tom, but the look everyone gave her felt like her life was about to end.

  She stood still and watched while the crowd finally began to depart away from the situation, they went off in whispers, sending side glances her way that felt either envious or judging. Rose shivered as she heard Tom's footsteps approach her from behind again. She turned to face him, noticing the cut on his lip.

  "You're hurt."

  "He barely touched me."

  The rest of the exchange was silence. He scanned over her face, trying to figure out what she was feeling and what she was thinking without having to ask her, without having to give off any indication that he actually cared about it. 

  All that Rosalie could think about was that she had done it, convinced the entire school, with the help of a few rumours, that she was Tom Riddle's girlfriend. She was likely to get more than a few stares from her teachers in the morning but she blocked the thought from her delicate mind.

  "Say something."

  Tom's voice finally broke through her, his blank expression was a canvas for her interpretation. 

  "What have I really done?" She asked rhetorically. She felt a sudden entrapment from Tom, like he had coaxed her into this, and she wasn't sure what to do to get away from him.

  While she had been busy building her web of lies around Tom, she had got herself stuck in it alone with him without a hope of getting away. Rose was afraid he chip away at her until there was nothing left.

  "What was necessary." He said calmly, though he took another step towards her, finding a new found enjoyment of invading her personal space.

  "But this is our secret now." He whispered against her ear.

---

  Everyone was avoiding her.

  Rosalie couldn't shake the feeling gnawing at her, as if she were trapped in a surreal nightmare. It was only the second day of pretending a relationship with Tom, yet a chilling silence had settled over her interactions with her friends. They seemed distant, preoccupied, and alarmingly silent. They passed by her with fleeting glances, their conversations abruptly hushed in her presence. Even Amy couldn't bring herself to meet Rosalie's gaze, while Lily's eyes betrayed a deep sense of sorrow whenever they met.

  The only person who would talk to her was Tom himself, and he was the person she wanted to occupy herself with the least. He had become surprisingly more talkative than she would have ever suspected, but Rose convinced herself it was all for the ruse of their relationship.

  "What are you thinking about?" Tom asked quietly, though he was talkative, he was still cold.

  Rosalie looked up from the food on her plate. They sat together in the great hall, the rest of their friends further down the table, all of them staring and gawking and muttering. It was getting to Rose more than she had imagined.

  "They're still looking at us." Rosalie tilted her head back at William, Amy, Lily and a few other Slytherins all taking turns on looking at the pair of them eat dinner beside each other. 

  "Let them." Tom said. Having finished his dinner already, he grabbed his coffee from the table and took a feigned sip of it.

  "It doesn't bother you?" Rose asked, watching him drink the beverage with slight suspicion, noting that he had never drunk coffee before.

  Tom shrugged his shoulders. "People look and talk about me all the time." His voice was verging on cocky, and Rose openly rolled her eyes.

  "They're not always saying good things, Tom. If they knew what you'd really done I doubt anyone would look at you the same way." Rosalie spoke with poison, looking away from him the second the words left her mouth.

  Tom smirked and shook his head. "I thought you were on my side."

  "Even if you thought you had reasons, I'm not so fond of thoughtless killing as you. I agree with the vision, not the process." Her eyes spat at him, and she felt herself picking at her nails under the table, the food in front of her not seeming as appetising as it was before.

  "How would we get anywhere without a process, love?" Tom asked, his arms rested on the table but his body faced her.

  Rose's mouth opened and she breathed uncomfortably, locking her eyes back on him.

  "You don't need to call me that when we're so far away from other people. No one can hear us you don't have to pretend." She raised an eyebrow, unsure about how the nickname settled in her stomach.

  Tom grinned and looked down at his coffee. "I know." He stated. He brought the coffee up to his mouth again to take a sip, and Rose noticed the way his lip curled at the smell of it.

  "Why are you drinking coffee if you detest it so much?" She finally huffed out of annoyance, she thought of anyone in this world, Tom would be the one to never do anything he didn't want to.

  He put the cup back down on the table, looking at her, impressed.

  "You're right, I do rather hate it." Tom pushed the cup further out of his reach.

  Rosalie watched him in deep thought, trying to better understand his character which seemed too complex to ever fully understand. She pushed the hair from her face and watched his expression change, seeing every flying thought behind his eyes.

  "I prefer earl grey." He spoke again, his eyebrows raised as he looked out of the large stained glass windows.

  Rosalie chuckled, the action out of her hands,"Oh Merlin, you're a tea drinker?" she asked.

  Tom looked at her like she was stupid.

  "I am British Rosie."

---

  Rosalie's footsteps echoed through the quiet corridors and into the empty Slytherin common room, the dim light elongating her shadows as she entered through the door. Pausing briefly, she stole a glance at the clock above the fireplace, its hands pointing to a late hour. With a soft sigh of apprehension, she pushed her way through the door to her dormitory.

  On entering, she found Lily seated at her desk, bathed in the light of the candle nearby, her back turned to the door. Rosalie hesitated, unsure whether to disturb her solitude and try and fix whatever had caused the rift between them. Rose wasn't sure how to fix her pretending to date Tom.

  As if her friend had heard what she was thinking, she slowly turned in her seat, sensing Rosalie having entered the room. Lily gave her a saddened smile, the first sign of appreciation she had received in a couple of days.  

  "Hey." Lily spoke awkwardly, rubbing her eye.

  Rose bit the inside of her cheek, standing rather awkwardly.

  "Hi." She spoke back. Rosalie had never had a friend, therefore she had never been on the outs with one either. She had no real idea on what to do.

  "Lily, can we talk?" Rose spoke again, quick to seize the leadership in the conversation. She felt the need to explain herself. She understood how horrible it must've looked when you knew how horrible Tom was.

  Lily's brow filled up with worry and expectance. 

  "Of course." She said simply, a side of guilt in her tone.

  Rosalie took a deep breath, bracing herself for the conversation ahead. But in that short moment, Lily had questions of her own.

  "Is it true?" Lily asked, her voice soft, yet hesitant. "Are you really dating Riddle?"

  Rose felt her heart sink as she met Lily's gaze. How could she ever lie to such a good friend?

  "No, It's not true." She admitted quickly, swallowing down hard on the words that left her mouth. Her and Tom had promised to keep it a secret, to save their own embarrassment, but Lily was someone she could trust.

  Lily's confusion was evident on her pretty features, leaning in closer as Rose began to recount the whole ordeal. She begun with the night she had met with Coriolanus, how she had been invited to the inner circle, that she had heard horrible things but she still had the problem of being engaged to Coriolanus. She ended with how Tom had offered her an out, but now she was wondering herself if it was the right solution.

  There was still a weight of deception on Rosalie's shoulders, she had trimmed the truth to make it make sense, leaving out the real reason why she had to get out of the engagement with Coriolanus, and the fact that her real identity being revealed was at stake.

  As Rosalie spoke on, Lily's features softened with understanding.

  "Oh Rose," she murmured sympathetically, "You've really gotten yourself into a tangle." 

  Rosalie laughed at that because it couldn't be any truer.

  "I'm sorry for ignoring you- I just got scared, I thought you lied to me and you and him dating was just so out of the blue. But it makes sense now, I just hope you're careful with it, I have no idea why Tom would even suggest this." Lily got up from her chair and walked over to her friend, taking a hold of her hand with a supporting grip.

  "It's okay," Rose said, forgiving her within an instant. "I can understand why you'd feel hurt." 

    A heavy silence settled between them before Rosalie spoke again, her tone lighter as she shifted the conversation away from her own grim predicament. 

  "How are things with William?" Rosalie inquired, her voice tinging with a small amount of envy.

    A smile reacquainted itself with Lily's lips. "It's been good." She said, but her cheeks were too pink for Rosalie not to notice. She dipped her head and looked at her friends face head on.

  "Just good? You've never left out details so don't stop now." Rosalie chuckled and made her way to her own bed to take a more comfortable seat.

  Lily's eyes began to sparkle with affection. "He finally got the courage to properly ask me out, a date and everything!" She confessed, and Rosalie smiled happily, shaking her head.

  "Took him long enough." She grinned.

  Rosalie couldn't help but feel a pang of envy at Lily's happiness.

  "I wish I had a real love like the both of you, not some fake one with Tom of all people." She said, the idea suddenly growing on her. She had always known she wanted a partner in life, but all of it seemed such a foreign concept.

  Lily sat and joined Rosalie on the bed, reaching for her hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

  "You will." She insisted, voice filled with faith.

  "You'll find it when the time is right." 

---

  After a long hour of reacquainting herself with Lily, Rose sent herself to fill up her water bottle, her throat had become parched from all the talking. As she walked down the corridor once again she felt her mind wondering around in her own secrets, but a flicker of light drew her attention to Tom's partially open door.

  She approached cautiously, the soft glow of candlelight illuminating the room within. With an amount of courage she was sure she had never had before, she pushed the door open further in curiousity. Under the sound of the door creaking, she stepped inside, her footsteps muffled by her socks.

  Her eyes scanned over the scene before her, which was both surprising and to her own annoyance, concerning. Tom was in his room, however, he was slumped over his desk in a deep sleep. Rosalie could hear his deep breaths from here, a couple more years and that breathing would convert to snoring. 

  His face was turned toward her, and his usually sharp features looked softened in his sleep. It was a rare sight, and one that tugged at the edges of Rose's conscience. She hated it when he did things regular teenage boys did, it had her thinking that he did in fact have a soul.

  Without thinking, Rosalie approached him quietly, careful not to disturb him. Though, as she came closer, her gaze was averted to the opened diary he held under his arms. The words were covered by his arms, but she could just make out the date and a few introductory words, nothing of real note.

  Rose found her frown turning to a smile at the thought of Tom writing down all his thoughts and feelings. If she was a real snoop, she might've tried to read more.

  But despite her curiousity, she resisted the urge to pry into Tom's private thoughts, instead turning her attention to the slightly ajar draw nearby the desk. She took a few more steps before leaning over to look inside. She placed her hand amongst a vast pile of letters with no address, each only having the letter 'R' on it, for what she could only assume to stand for 'Riddle.'

  Rose looked back at Tom in his slumber, and felt guiltier by the minute for looking through his stuff. Even if it was hardly anything against what he had done.

  Maybe out of guilt, or maybe out of a twisted kindness in Rosalie's heart, she watched Tom sleeping like that for another five minutes, and ultimately decided that she should wake him in case he needed to finish an assignment for school.

  She left the room, and minutes later returned with a steaming cup of tea; earl grey.

  With a heavy hesitance she approached Tom, once again admiring his soft features as she placed the cup on the table beside him. She reached her hand to his upper arm, trying not to think of the muscle she felt, and shook it gently.

  "Tom." She spoke, almost immediately regretting speaking as she had done it. She had no idea why she even cared to do something remotely kind for him.

  But as his eyes fluttered open, she forgot every opposing thought.

  Tom stirred, a sudden mixture of surprise and annoyance playing on his features, returning his features from soft to sharp again.

  "Rosie?" His voice was deeper than usual, and it made Rose's stomach whirl.

  "Do you need to finish an assignment?" She asked quickly as he was still waking himself up. She stepped back and let him stretch himself out of his awkward sleeping position.

  He looked at her, still half asleep as he thought about the question and looked back to his desk, quickly noting the open diary, and shutting it before Rose could see anything more. 

  Tom shook his head, "No." In this tired state, he was rather compliant to Rosalie.

  "Good." Rosalie said quietly with a small nod, she crossed her arms and swallowed, looking back at the tea she placed on his desk.

  "Well, uh, drink that and then get some rest in your bed, not on the desk." She pointed to the mug, still steaming from the hot water. 

  Tom followed her action and looked at the coloured water, he blinked out of slight confusion for why she had given him something. He picked it up, hesitantly taking a sip despite it burning his tongue at the touch.

  Earl grey, he thought.

  He went to look back up to her, to smile at her, to thank her.

  But she had already left.