We will never get better at growing up and learning to lie [Jane]

Piers was feeling a mixture of warmth and guilt after his meeting with Maddie, but he was used to it by now. He loved his friend, loved spending time with her and had so few friends other than Jane that it was a little treat to get out of the house and do something else for once. Even so, having to hide things from her really bothered him. He wished Jane would just understand. He never wanted to cheat on her, he just wanted something outside of her for once. He wanted a friend of his own. He wanted to be able to hang out with those friends away from her and be allowed to. He would tell her if he thought she wouldn’t freak out. Maddie was a particularly sore spot for Jane, though, and Piers didn’t understand why. They had never dated. Maddie had, as far as Piers knew, never stole one of Jane’s boyfriends or something….. he didn’t know what her deal was, but he knew it was a deal and that was enough.

It was warm outside tonight, yet he was still wearing a light jacket for the evening chill. He slid his jacket off as he entered the house, and hung it up. Davina was home now, and he had been enjoying his sister’s presence, but it seemed she was out tonight, too, as he didn’t see or hear her. This would make things a little more awkward with Jane, but he ignored it. He loved Jane. Seeing her shouldn’t make him feel awkward like this, but he knew it was because, for the first time, he was keeping a secret from her.

“Hey Janie.” He greeted, looking a little better for wear than he had in a while. “You look cute.” She was wearing sweats and an old holey t-shirt and he thought she had never looked more beautiful. “Did you do dinner already?” He wondered. “I ate while I was out, but if you’re hungry we can still go out for burgers and ice cream, maybe.” He offered, knowing this was her weakness and subconsciously feeling the need to appease her to make up for his guilty conscience.

@Jane Lovell

It felt odd to Jane, now, to have dinner alone. Piers was out, though he hadn't mentioned much about where he was going. She didn't think much of it. He wasn't Darren, and she trusted him. Still, it had been sort of disappointing to get home and realize that she was there all by herself. She hadn't heard from Ryan in a while, nor any of her other friends. They were all busy with their lives, and she understood, but that didn't make her any less lonely. Her coworkers weren't exactly folks that she wanted to spend time outside of work with either, though she knew that they were having a get-together at the bar that night. She'd heard rumors about how wild some of their prior outings had been and had wisely chosen to opt-out.

Instead, she'd made herself a homemade personal pizza and a margarita. She'd just finished off her drink and put the dishes away when she heard someone, she assumed either her husband or her sister-in-law, come through the door. She loved Davina, but she was glad to see that it was the former rather than the latter. Her eyes narrowed for a second, however, when he used her name and not her pet name.

"Hey." She replied, wiping up the counter. Now she was wondering where he'd been. Her stomach started to feel heavy. "Thanks." Jane managed a small smile. "Yeah, I made pizza." Burgers did sound good, though.

"Did you have a good time?"

Piers smiled lightly at her as he watched her wiping down the counter, thinking of the pizza she made and how good it probably was. He watched her eyes, though, and could tell there was something off in them. He felt more guilty now, stomach churning a bit. He swallowed it down, chalked it up to pre-moon sickness. The full was in about a week, and he really did need to prepare for it as he would most definitely feel worse before the week was out. He bit his lip.

“Yeah, it was really good. Got to see an old friend, have a pint.” He grinned. “Before I left the pub, I got to hustle some poor bloke at gobstones.” He laughed. “I sometimes feel bad playing them out like that, but feeling guilty doesn’t pay the bills, does it?” He laughed lightly, feeling ironic. “Made a few galleons.” He explained. “We really ought to go out to the muggle bars and hustle at billards. You’re better than me, and we could easily make a few quid.”

He pulled his shirt off, and went to the other room, ready for a hot shower. “Oi, baby girl, I’m hopping in the shower. Wanna join?”

Alarm bells were going off in Jane's head and she tried her best to ignore them. He was just out with a friend, she reminded herself. That's what he'd said, and he'd never given her any reason to not trust him. That was, until she'd caught a whiff of perfume that wasn't hers when he'd started taking off his shirt. Normally she'd have taken this opportunity to ogle, tell him he looked hot, and then let him ravish her in the shower. She'd never thought about what she'd do in a situation like this-- not with Piers. With Darren, she'd have lashed out. But this wasn't Darren. Her body tensed up a little, and she felt a dull ache in her throat and chest.

She ignored his request for her to join him, watching him walk away to their bedroom. At least he hadn't had her in their bed, she supposed. That was decent of him. She searched for a reasonable explanation, but could think of none herself. She had to confront him.

"Who's perfume is that, Piers?"

The pain was apparent in her voice. She'd trusted him. Was that why he was so quick to hop in the shower? She took in a deep breath and began pouring herself a shot while she waited for his answer. She regretted not going out with her coworkers. Perhaps there was still time? Or she could go somewhere else. Not dressed like she was, of course. She looked down at her sweatpants and holey t-shirt and frowned. Had she let herself go?