It All Ends Here (Callum)

Dear Callum,
   The holidays have just started, and we last saw each other last week. I've been quite busy these past few days but I really need to see you soon. There is something I want to tell you, and if I keep it in any longer I might explode!

     I was thinking, do you want to meet up this Friday? Let's make it 11am at the place we first met, and no, I don't mean the streets. Can't wait to see you again!

Love,
Janique.

That short letter had been sent on Tuesday afternoon, a day carefully chosen. It needed to be a few days after they last talked, and there needed to be enough days to let Callum wonder and get excited for their meeting; Tuesday had fit both criterias. Leaning back in the exact booth that she had first started talking with Callum, she reflected on the past few months that they had been in a relationship. It had been a rollercoaster of emotions and a test of her skills, but she had gotten him. Today would be the final blow, and she just could not wait.

With all the information she had gathered about Callum, she had already planned the best possible way of ending the game. Taking a sip of the drink she had already bought herself, she checked the clock on the mantel, wondering how long it would be till he arrived. Excitement building up, she forced herself to remain calm. It never paid to get too ahead of oneself, she mused, watching the entry way for Callum. It was going to be a very sweet victory for her indeed.

Callum had replied to Janique's letter quickly, stating that he'd love to meet with her (remembering vividly their first meeting and drinks at the pub) for a few drinks. That whole week he was at home, he couldn't wait to meet her, and couldn't wait to get out of that damned house where his parents were. They really were irritating.

When Friday rolled around, Callum was eager to meet here at the pub. He'd told his parents he was going out for the day, and they hadn't questioned him, so he got ready and left to meet her.

He was particularly curious as to what they were to talk about. Things, in his opinion, were awesome, and great and all that other good stuff, and it appeared that she was happy, and falling for him, which is just what he wanted. He liked it when girls were head over heels for him. As he entered the pub, he saw her seated at the table, sipping on a drink. With his usual smirk gracing his face, he sauntered over to her, kissing her cheek before he pulled up a seat opposite her "Hello Jani,"

The moment he entered, her body posture changed, and she let herself relax, pretending to study her drink's coaster. Counting down the seconds in her head, she waited for him to be a few steps away before she looked up and faked surprise at seeing him there. He had kissed her cheek - and she forced a blush - before sitting down.

"Hello Jani,"

"Hey Callum," she said, the blush still present as she reached up to sweep her hair back. Oh, this was going to be so great, she thought, the excitement barely able to contain itself. And, perhaps, it wasn't too bad a thing to let some show, and with that decision, her face lit up, displaying part of her excitement to the world. "How have you been?" She was buying time, dragging out the process, so that when she finally ended things, it would be just that much more painful.

With a wave of her hand, the waiter on standby had come over, bringing Callum a butterbeer as she had previously instructed. "The drinks are on me this time," she explained with a small wink.

"How have you been?"

"Bored as ever at home," Callum answered her "Mum's driving me mad, dad reads too much of the news and my little sister's definitely annoying me a lot more than she did before. What about you?" he asked her, grinning. He watched as she ordered him a butterbeer, telling him that drinks were on her "Are you sure? I'm more than happy to pay you know," he said.

Laughing lightly at his tales of home, she shook her head in mock despair. "That sounds terrible," she said, grinning. "I've been busy planning what I'm going to do with my freedom." She purposely left her statement vague and open to interpretation, so that when he asked, she would tell him exactly what she meant and start the ball rolling for the heart break.

"Are you sure? I'm more than happy to pay you know,"

She merely smiled in reply, reaching forward to take a sip from her own cup. No, she thought, she would pay so that his last drink with her would be something he could never forget. In fact, she had already paid, having pre ordered before his arrival.

"I've been busy planning what I'm going to do with my freedom."

He took a sip of his drink "Well, spend your freedom with me," he smirked a little "While it still lasts. Until we're dragged back to school. I reckon that sounds like a pretty great plan. Plus, then it give me my freedom away from my family. Sound alright?" he said. He had no reason to believe that anything was wrong, she'd never hinted at anything, and he thought that everything between them was good.

"Sound alright?"

With each word of his 'plan', her grin had grown larger and her excitement built. Finally, at his question, she swallowed a few times, took a large sip of her drink and carefully put it back down before saying a slow, "No."

Waiting for a few seconds for that to sink in, she watched his eyes, not blinking in that moment. "The freedom I was talking about? Freedom from you," she continued, lowering her voice so that it was soft and gentle. "Don't tell me that you actually believed you had me?" A scornful laugh gave away her true intentions, although the soothing nature of her voice would add confusion to the meaning of her words.

While she waited for his response, she downed the rest of her drink and motioned for another, which was brought almost immediately. "Thank you," she said to the waiter, passing him a few gold galleons with a wink. "Keep the change." She didn't think him worthy of a game, but it never hurt to flirt with someone else while breaking up with a game. In fact, she found it added to the effect of it all.

He was taken by complete surprise at her words. They were so- so unlike the Jani he knew. And he had been completely sure that she liked him, so so sure that he had begun to (stupidly) fall for her himself, for real. And then, she had the nerve to wink at the damned waiter.

He felt a surge of anger wash over him, and he stood up "Why on Earth would I want you for anymore than just a bit of fun," he replied with a cutting edge to his tone, hoping to hurt her the way she had done to him. It was also to cover up that hurt, though, ironically, making it much more obvious "I was about to end it anyway, you're too frigid," he said.

At his first outburst, she smirked, looking up at him with little interest. "Oh, I know what your intentions were," she said, her tone steady and irritatingly calm. "Why do you think I chose you?" She paused, lifting the glass to her lips and taking a sip. "Sorry, I was thirsty," she added, the smirk still there. "I must admit, you were my best game so far."

"I was about to end it anyway, you're too frigid,"

Rolling her eyes, her entire demeanor changed, and with it, her tone became cold and distant, as if she was talking about something inanimate rather than a person. "Callum Hunt, a liar. I think that suits you rather well, no? I had you from the very start." She laughed. "Go on, think back to all the times we spent together. Do you really think I'm that afraid of a boggart? Or what about our date? I had that placed scouted ages before you even asked me!"

Still she made no intention of standing, instead leaning back in her seat, drink in hand. "You never stood a chance, dear. Think about me, won't you, the next time you try to pick up a girl."

Her words were laced with malice and contempt, and he felt like a complete fool. That's what he got for letting himself too close to some chick he'd met. He didn't know what had come over him. His way of doing things had warped to please her, and the predator had become the prey, and with being the prey, heartache ensued.

He wouldn't let her know that though.

"I think you're the liar here, Sandoval," he replied, with a considerable effort to control his temper. He couldn't have other patrons that he might know see him acting in such an un-composed manner. Truthfully, he shouldn't even be with someone like Janique, but he figured teenage flings didn't count, and he could do what he wanted.

"You never stood a chance, dear. Think about me, won't you, the next time you try to pick up a girl."

"Well, dear," he said, his tone just as cold and malicious as hers "The next time I pick up a girl, I'll make sure beforehand that she isn't some minx whose life goal is to try and destroy the hearts of men. I think that's a pretty sad goal, really, you spent all that time plotting and scheming, just to get a reaction. It's mental, really,"

And then he strode out the door, an air of confidence about him, holding it together for the mere fact that if he didn't, if he crumbled, he'd give her the petty satisfaction of breaking him.

He couldn't have that now, could he.