I Want You to Want Me

Everyone always thought that night time was so silent; that where she was standing now, the middle of a Graveyard with nothing but the twinkling stars and the light of the moon to illuminate her surroundings, would have not a sound unless the dead she was walking above begun to wake.

However the evening was full of sounds, and Juliet was quite convinced that the waking dead was not one of them. The light summer breeze moved through the leaves, crickets chirping merrily to one another, the slight brush of a nocturnal animal running under foot.

No, the night was alive with sounds and creatures. It left her with a calm feeling that could never make her fear the dead that she was equally surrounded by.

For most people, of any age, a graveyard would be an odd choice for an evening getaway. What child, particularly one who had no personal claims - as far as she knew - to anyone buried there, would actively choose to leave her safe and cosy bed, to explore a graveyard. It wasn't even light enough that she could see the names. Miss Mad's house had been lacking a flash light for her to steal, since most wizards could use their wands.

Juliet, however, was still under age.

None of that mattered however. On warm nights, when her sleeping became difficult and restless - when she was more prone to the nightmares that had plagued her as a child - Juliet would wake up, dress and sneak out to the calmest piece of land she could find. Back home it use to be the moor around their house. Here, the graveyard worked just as well.

Her calm however, was shattered but the sharp sound of a snapping twig. Freezing Juliet waited for the accompanying sway of leaves as the creature, startled dashed away. But it didn't come. Whoever snapped the twig wanted to be there - just perhaps, they didn't want to be found. Her heart rate started going faster, and her hand reached into her pocket, clutching her wand. Getting ready.

Forcing herself not to panic, she straightened her shoulders, but had still yet to turn around.

"Whoever you are, I'm warning you, I'm not as helpless as I look. If you don't announce yourself right now, I will attack."

If given the choice between day and night, Will would definitely choose the latter. Other than the fact that he 'worked' better during the darkness, he found solace in the peace. Sure, the present sounds surrounding the atmosphere wouldn't perhaps be considered silent for some people, but it was better than the ones he was getting accustomed to during the day.

His curiousity was beginning to get the better of him, as he wondered what made Juliet come here of all places, in the dead of night. It didn't seem like she was here to mourn anyone's death or even visit a particular grave for that matter. And even if it was due to lack of sleep, this was quite an odd location to show up at, especially for someone like her.

Or maybe he had yet to get to know her even better.

Standing behind one of the may trees, his dark coloured jacket and jeans barely noticeable, he had no trouble following the Hufflepuff's movements. A part of him was tempted to reveal himself and ask her outright about her appearance here, but would that not freak her out or scare her away? It was not in his plan, at least not yet. And it was indeed the last thing that he needed.

But fate apparently made the decision for him, as he accidently stepped on a piece of twig.

Mentally cursing to himself, he couldn't help but be amused at the younger girl's words and put his hands into the pockets of his jacket. Not wanting to cause a scene, he stepped out of the shadows. "It's just me," he replied softly as he walked towards her, hoping she would recognize his voice.

"If you still want to attack, go ahead," the man added, an almost smile on his lips.

She knew that voice. Her shoulders didn't relax, the grip on her wand didn't quite loosen but she knew that voice. That fact alone should have caused her heartrate to slow - and maybe for a moment it did until it started racing all over again for other reasons.

What was that voice doing here, in the middle of the night? What was that voice doing always around, in the oddest of times. Letting out a breath she told herself she was being silly and turned around to find the face that matched the voice.

"Will," she said in a soft voice, trying to convey relief but the tension that was still in her body was having a difficult time doing so, "You were very close to becoming a very curious statistic." She gave him a crooked grin, still slightly shaky but welcoming enough she supposed. After all, this man had helped her before, he could hardly wish to hurt her now. "But I think I'll save my attacks for someone more deserving."

Taking in a deep breath, she let out a laugh, releasing her tension and her hold on her wand. Her hand instead came up to play with the small chain on her neck.

"What are you doing out here anyway. Its not exactly the most common place to find anyone at this or any hour."

"Good thing that you did not make the rash movement," the man remarked with a chuckle. He was least put off by the brunette's nervousness; she had every right to be. Still, he hoped the time would come soon wherein she'd be more comfortable in his presence.

It was crucial to his well worked out plan and he couldn't risk anything going wrong.

"I always take walks during the night," Will lied easily with a shrug of his shoulders. "I barely get any sleep these days, and I find myself wondering here and there, no matter the hour." It was not the complete untruth; he was out almost every night and rareky spent a quite evening indoors.

Glancing around their surroundings for a moment, he questioned, "And how did you end up here? Not here to visit a grave, I hope."

She gave a weak smile and a slight laugh in response to his own. Taking in a deep breath she let out out again, making herself relax. It was easier said then done, but she supposed the longer that she had to adjust to his presence, to convince herself that it was just the nice man she had met at school. The headmaster wouldn't hire anyone dangerous anyway right?

It was just Will.

"I don't like to do things that I regret. Regretting things is not particularly enjoyable, don't you know?"

Bouncing on her feet slightly she took a couple of hesitant steps forward, giving him a grin. A slight blush coloured her cheeks as she thought about her answer and the silliness of the response she had to give - at least if it was the truth.

"No, no. Thankfully not. I don't really know anyone who- or well... I did know one person but she wasn't really. We weren't close, we just- wrong place at the wrong time, you know?" Shrugging slightly she looked uncomfortable for a moment before she shrugged it off and grinned again, "It was too hot to sleep. I like... open, and quiet. Nature. This was... this was the best place I could find on short notice."

"It is not at all enjoyable," Will agreed with a nod of his head. Despite that statement, there were still quite a few things he did regret, but never had given it much thought. After all, they had been compensated for by the other good stuff.

He raised an eyebrow at the Hufflepuff's response. "I'm guessing that being at the wrong place didn't end really well, huh? It happens, I suppose. The only consoling thing is that she wasn't really a friend, right? I mean, if she was, I'm sorry," he added.

"A graveyard? A very normal location," the man commented with a teasing grin. "If this is the only place that comes to mind, I suggest you go out more often and explore."

"Besides, I do not think this is such a place for you during the night," Will told quietly.

Juliet only gave his response a smile. It wasn't really something that needed further agreement on. After all, who wanted to regret something. Even when people do things that they know they may regret - they do it despite of that fact, not because of it. Regret was one of the worst human emotions. It wasn't one to value.

It was always, above all things one to avoid. Juliet just tried her best to do so.

Shaking her head, Juliet was quick to deny his words, "No, no she wasn't a friend. Not really. I mean, I suppose she could have become one, but we didn't really have time, you know, before she..." still Juliet had trouble saying died, at least in this context. The young girl, had never, since the day of their "accident" said allowed what happened to the girl she had been with. She told people of course, and then new what she meant, but she had never said "And she died". "It one of the things I do regret, actually. Not being able to help her." Looking at the ground, Juliet's arms wound around herself, "I should have helped her."

His teasing brought her out of that mood, and she stuck her tongue out in response, "A graveyard is perfectly normal, thank you very much. Name one place that doesn't have one. I dare you."

She didn't really know why she did it; it was silly and stupid but Juliet was always friendly, and teasing always seemed to elicit the same response out of her. She had to tease him back, there was just some rule, somewhere. She didn't know where, but some where there had to be a rule.

"Is that worry, I note there? Are you worried about poor old me?"

"There really is no point in blaming yourself," Will told softly with a shrug of his shoulders. "Everything happens for a reason. Unless you were just standing there and watching, I do not think you have to feel like it was your fault. Situations like those aren't really in our control."

Lessening the distance between them both, the man wrapped his arms around the Hufflepuff, feeling a tad bit sympathetic. "Why didn't you help her then, if you wanted to?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, I know all places have a graveyard. But it really is not normal to wander here to find comfort," he told with a light laugh. "Although yes, being surrounded by dead bodies is very relaxing," he teased once more.

Will nodded his head, "Of course I am worried, why wouldn't I be? Do you think I would just let you go off here and there and let you get hurt?"

He could not let that happen. He could not lose her. Not now and not ever.

Surprise derailed her from answering his questions. The arms around her brought confusion - even a very acute paranoia - instead of the comfort that they were obviously meant to. Taking in a deep breath for her noise and telling herself that she was being silly and he was just being friendly, she returned the embrace for half a moment before slowly taking herself out of the hold.

"It wasn't like... We were-I don't like saying kidnapped, they hardly took us far," the girl looked at the ground as she spoke, pursing her lips as she tried to find a phrasing that didn't sound too harsh, nor made her feel too bad. "I did try to help, sort of but- I was young, they were older. In the end I just... couldn't." Shrugging her shoulders, she turned his back on him to walk around and through the stones, running her hand along the edges, looking back at the man every once in a while.

"The dead can't speak, they don't share they're problems - they just listen," sitting down on the edge of a very large stone, she gave a soft grin, "In that way the dead really are relaxing. No one listens to you better then the dead." And Juliet believed it too. She wasn't just trying to defend her choice in wandering - in her life she had found that inanimate objects, things like tombstones and teddy bears were some of the best places to unburden your problems.

Still, there was a single face floating in the back of her mind. A person she did feel like would listen to her, over anything.

Waving her feet, she grinned slightly - teasing and completely oblivious to the problems that the phrases could bring for her, "Let me huh? Who are you, my father?"

"You were kidnapped? By who?" The man couldn't help but ask, despite the Hufflepuff's lack of the term. "I mean, what happened?" It hadn't occurred to him that such things could pave way for on Hogwarts grounds; it was meant to be the safest wasn't it? Then again, during Voldemort's reign as well, lots of incidents had taken place, he should hardly be surprised now.

He grinned humourlessly, "I'm sure the dead would be having their own problems, sadly they can't speak." He did agree with Juliet though, the dead were really harmless. Living people often cause more trouble than it's worth, and he was never a fan anyway.

"Doesn't it get lonely, though? Talking to things without getting an opinion on anything?"

"No, because I am sure I would make a terrible parent," he stated with a small smile. "I think 'friend' would be a better term of endearment, seeing the hopelessness of my parenting skills." The thought of having a child for himself, married or not married, was enough to freak him out. Will wasn't meant for such a lifestyle, aside from commitment issues, he just would not be able to handle everything else.

Plus, a man who fits the profile of a stalker couls never be a father.

"Two girls - twins; they were Russian." Juliet shrugged her shoulders. In truth she rarely spoke about what happened, it wasn't a particularly joyful time that she wish to relive through story telling. But she also wasn't going to avoid it if people asked. "I was at some Muggle club, looking for my brother. And they sort of just... tricked us outside. I was suspicious the whole time, something just didn't seem right about them. But the girl I was with, she was so trusting of them. I couldn't get her to not go, and I couldn't let her go alone either." She shrugged her shoulders again, the action becoming a punctuation for all of her statements. "That was years ago anyway. I was only I think thirteen, maybe twelve. I just don't think about it much any more."

It was true, the thought didn't actively come into her mind any longer, though it was one of those events that would always be with a person. Juliet could never quite escape what had happened, and even when she wasn't thinking about it, the lessons she learned from it - the things that had happened to her - would always be in her mind, would always have some sway on the decisions that she made.

Pulling her feet up onto her perch as well, she pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Pressing her cheek softly against her knees she thought about that question, a frown appearing on her face as she did so. "I suppose that, that could be a possibility. Though I would say when I need an opinion I usually seek a living person out. Sometimes though, sometimes you just need to talk."

Letting out a soft laugh and a kind smile - her comfort level was rising again and the strange questions that always plagued herself about Will were disappearing again. She stopped wondering how he always seemed to run into her and just saw him as well... a friend. There was nothing wrong with having a friend, right? - she patted the space on the tombstone next to her. It was a small ledge, offering him a seat would bring him quite close to her, but the girl didn't even think about it. It just seemed like the polite thing to do, "I don't know, friend. I think you might be being a little too hard on yourself. No one really knows if they could be a parent until the are one, I say."

Juliet wasn't sure if she wanted children or not. Or well, she knew she wanted them, but she hardly knew if she would be any good at being a parent. And besides, she was only fifteen, sixteen in the fall, she hardly needed to decide if she wanted children right this instance.

"So only one of the twins were with you? And why'd they kidnap you?" The questions were out before Will could stop them and he just kept quiet, wanting to hear the answer simply because his curiosity demanded it. He had a feeling he would get in trouble one day with all the 'investigating' he was doing and interfering in unwanted things, but that was trivial now. "It doesn't matter what age you were, it is still something that should never happen to anyone," he murmured.

Then again, he shouldn't be the one to talk he supposed. Hadn't equally bad things and some even worse things happened to him? He always knew a part of him was broken, but hearing Juliet relive her own experience reminded him that it's been a while since he had thought of his own misfortunes.

But most of the time when he was with the Hufflepuff, he managed to feel okay again. And that's why he needed to have her, more than she might understand.

Will accepted the brunette's offering without and sat on the piece of rock next to her, draping his arm around her casually. "Oh believe me, I could never make a good parent, I'm a little too complicated for something like that," he remarked with a humourless chuckle. If he had to raise his own kid...no, he could not let that happen. It was not part of his plan. Maybe in another time, it would have been.

But now, only Juliet was his his goal. His everything.

"Because I was there. They were bored I looked easy. Honestly there never seemed to be a greater reason that that," her tone was still slightly bitter as she spoke about it, there were little things that she just couldn't quite get over. Even if there was time to do so. "It made the whole thing harder to get over, for a while. There were no real answers to my questions - it just sort of broke everything down. Eventually I had to just accept that that was the only answer I was going to get. "

She stiffened for half a moment as the arm went behind her. It seemed stranger - it seemed... wrong somehow but then again she told herself she was overreacting. She needed to get over herself and the strange thoughts that constantly seemed to be popping into her head. She didn't use to be this suspicious, this distrustful of everyone. What had Will ever done to her to say that she needed to be wary of him? He was nothing but polite to her, kind - caring even. There had been moments when she had been alone and he had been the only one around. That had to count for something right?

She was just overreacting, and really it was such a small space where else was he supposed to put his arm comfortably?

"Well that seems too bad. I bet if you met the right girl she could convince you differently."