She was missing his struggle to stay serious, because her eyes were hidden behind her hand. She didn’t want to look at him, she just wanted to close her eyes and have this whole horrible moment be gone. Hadley wasn’t particularly brave, or at least she didn’t think so, when she went to Quidditch games, much to the amusement of everyone else she often squeaked and closed her eyes and had to rely on someone else to tell her what was going on, what was happening, and if the players were alright. But this was inescapable, and when Joel at her side started laughing at her, her stomach dropped out and she felt like she was about to be sick.

Hadley hadn’t meant it that way. But there were very few ways to explain that their numbers were the same and tell him why everyone in their whole class wanted to see what they would do. But, Oh Merlin, he was laughing at her, and she heard his hand slap over his mouth and though she wasn’t often given to dramatics, Hadley crossed her arms on her book and hid her face in the dark hole that they made. She’d come out when they were dismissed, she’d just pretend that she’d fallen asleep and everyone would ask her how that was possible with Joel sitting right next to her and she’d probably lie and say he bored her to sleep so their numbers must be wrong.

“Should I order a diamond ring now?” Hadley had to draw in a sharp breath when he spoke to her, trying to resist the urge to put her hands over her ears.

“Or would you like to pick it out yourself during the holidays?”

That made her tilt her head up sharply as her eyes adjusted back to the light and her arm was up like a shot, she practically yelled at the professor before he could even look at her, or give her a nod that he’d seen her arm, “I need to…go!” She could have said that she needed to use the loo, or that she needed to go to the hospital wing for the case of acute embarrassment that she was experiencing, but Hadley was out of her seat and running to the back of the class before Flintwick could approve her or not. Once she was out though, having the rest of the students in the class fly by her vision so fast she hadn’t been able to see if they were looking at her or not. She was in the corridors and wandering toward the nearest loo, her hands over her eyes and shaking her head, repeating the word ‘stupid’ over and over and over again. There was only thirty minutes left of the class, she could hide out in a stall, she could go back to get her things…and her detention and maybe she could just develop some allergic reaction to charms for the rest of the school year, or the rest of her life.

She should have kept her mouth shut and now she’d have to go back after running out which was even more horrifying. Hadley had the feeling that this was like those movies where the plain Jane heroine was tortured by cute boy in class. Not that Joel was cute, because well, he was just a boy, that’s all he was. But still, his laughter was echoing in her ears. Why had she had to say ‘soul mates’?!