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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jul 1, 2015 0:35:28 GMT -5
This was insupportable. He couldn't cope with the fact that she was right there, quietly doing her work, and quite possibly hating him. It was far too difficult for Pietro to cope with. Changing her schedule the day before had been a very, very good choice. By now, Serafina would have been informed of the fact that she was no longer his TA, but rather Professor Auttenberg's.
In five minutes, the bell would ring, and he would be free from her torment for the rest of the day.
He turned to the students, not bothering with his kindly professor smile. They were all terrified of him now. An unfortunate side effect of what he had so recently been required to do in service of his family.
"I will expect your essays on Monday. Do not bother turning them in late, as I will not accept them. You are dismissed."
He turned away from the students and began erasing the words from the blackboard.
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Post by Serafina Latini on Jul 1, 2015 0:57:28 GMT -5
The entire class period had managed to drag by for what seemed like the course of several days. It had been simply a day since the night of their breakup due to the horrendous scene in the dining hall, and she received papers immediately that morning that she had been reassigned. No longer was she the teaching assistant to Professor Pietro Holland, but she was now the teaching assistant to the Charms professor, Professor Auttenberg. She was outraged, confused, pained, still madly in love, and...
And she needed to have a word with him.
The students began to file out of the classroom at the end of the lecture, and she approached his desk slowly and nervously, clenching her books tightly against her chest. She needed an answer. "Professor, might I have a word?" She spoke up after standing at his backside for nearly a fully minute.
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jul 1, 2015 1:05:18 GMT -5
... What? Why was she remaining behind to speak with him? She couldn't possibly be upset about the schedule change? After all, Pietro had assumed that, given the unpleasantness between them, she would be as reluctant as he was to spend unnecessary time in each other's company.
Well, he must be composed. Completely composed and dignified and not at all the pathetic man she'd left crying in the corridor.
When he turned around, the face he presented to her was bland and professional. He would not beg. He would not break. He would be a fucking man, damn it!
"Miss Latini," he replied, his voice stiff and formal. "Do you have a question about the assignment?"
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Post by Serafina Latini on Jul 1, 2015 18:41:27 GMT -5
"Do you have a question about the assignment?"
The same question that started this entire thing on the first day of classes. Exactly the same professional response she had received when asking to speak with him privately, but his tone was far less welcoming of her company than ever before. His voice was distant, nearly stern, and nothing but proper, which pained her enough. Those sweet words she had heard him speak in her native tongue seemed like such a distant memory now as they stood only a matter of a few feet apart.
"It is not about the assignment," she said with a shake of her head, letting out a very small sigh. He knew exactly what this was about, but he was playing dumb. That was beyond frustrating even to her - the stupid girl still madly in love with her psychopathic, murderous professor - and she looked at him sternly before speaking again. "Why did you reassign me?" She asked him bluntly. "I got orders from the Headmaster that I was being transferred to being Professor Auttenberg's teaching assistant when I didn't sign up for that."
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jul 1, 2015 19:05:07 GMT -5
Wasn't it obvious? Was she really going to make him say it? Women and their cruelty. This should have been clear; she was plenty intelligent enough to understand. She just wanted to hear him say it, to shame himself.
Pietro closed his eyes for a moment while heaving a sigh and crossing his arms over his chest. Then he looked at her again, struggling not to reach across the desk and touch her.
"I expected this would come as a relief to you, Miss Latini. Given the ... extenuating circumstances ... I believed you would be happy not to be forced into my presence for multiple class periods each day.
"But regardless of your feelings on the matter, I am the professor and, to be quite honest, I cannot bear to watch you cringe every time I walk past your desk. You made it quite clear that you expect me to harm you in some way, so I made what I believe is the wisest decision for both of us. You have expressed your respect for Professor Auttenberg, and she has expressed her distaste for me.
"This in no way changes what I said to you yesterday; I merely feel that it would be unnecessarily cruel to force you to spend so much time with someone you fear. Have I explained my decision sufficiently?"
Tell me you've changed your mind. Please, please, please, Serafina ... I feel I am bleeding to death without you.
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Post by Serafina Latini on Jul 1, 2015 20:14:29 GMT -5
Happy? Was he seriously denser than she thought? Ever since her fourth year, he was always the most intelligent man she had ever met in her life, but now he was just being plain stupid. He seriously didn't realize how much it hurt her for her to be removed from her position in his classroom... Better yet, without him even telling her he was going to do it. She was upset and angry with him at the same time, and try as she might to contain it out of fear, she just couldn't.
"Respect for Professor Auttenberg?" Serafina was respectful towards all of her professors, but this had nothing to do with respect. "If I had wanted to work with Professor Auttenberg, I would have done so in the beginning," she said with a shake of her head, her tone sassier than she had intended for it to be. "And I would have changed it myself if that's what I wanted.."
So many emotions were pumping through her, and not the sweet, intelligent, intimate ones she had been feeling over the past week. There was nothing but pain welling up inside her, and she hated it. "You think I lied to you about what I told you?" She finally spat out, her knuckles turning white from gripping her books so tightly. "I do not lie, and just because I am terrified out of my mind of what you're capable of does not mean you doing this doesn't crush my feelings," she told him bluntly. "But, I suppose that doesn't matter, seeing as you took it upon yourself to remove me from your classroom without even asking me about it or giving me fair warning."
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jul 1, 2015 21:03:54 GMT -5
Well, now he was starting to feel angry. His brows drawing together, Pietro leaned forward to place his hands on the edge of his desk and squeeze tightly. "Yes, I suppose it was terribly insensitive of me not to think of it then and shout it at your retreating back. You ran from me, Miss Latini. You acted as though I were about to murder you. I am not calling you a liar, and I am not blaming you for being upset by what you witnessed. However, the fact of the matter is that we changed the game when we entered a relationship, and we must deal with the consequences.
"I did not lie, either, and if you think I want to spend half of each workday watching the woman I love cower at the sight of me, then I suppose you really do consider me a monster. I can live with almost anything, but not that. Never that. You wished to terminate our relationship. You have gotten your wish, and I have taken it with as much grace as I can manage.
"Work with Professor Auttenberg, or do not. It makes no difference to me. But I will not force my presence upon you. Go live your life, find someone you consider safe. Do not toy with my affections."
Of course, now he felt guilty for speaking so harshly to her, and he needed to increase the distance between them. Pietro made his way over to the window, thrust it open, and lit a cigarette, trying his best to erase the scowl from his face.
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Post by Serafina Latini on Jul 1, 2015 22:06:57 GMT -5
The sarcastic tone he was taking with her was only making her even more angry, and she scowled at his words. "Don't use your sarcasm with me, Professor Holland," she snapped back, glaring at him slightly. "Of course I ran away. I was mortified seeing the man I am absolutely head over heels in love with murder one of his colleagues after he tortured a student even younger than me. How could you, Pietro? I don't understand, and I don't think that I ever will.
"And while I am still afraid, I have not once winced as you walked by during this class period. For you to do something so very petty is just childish, and I hope you realize the severity of those words coming from one of your students."
He told her that he didn't care whether she joined the other professor or not, but what struck a nerve with her was when he told her to go find someone she considered to be 'safe.' She grumbled and slammed her books down on his desk. "That's bullshit, Pietro!" Did he think that this was a game to her? "You might be hurt, but don't act like you're the only one suffering here! My heart aches just as much as yours does, but at least you didn't find out about some insane skeletons in my closet," she hissed, her glare turning cold and smoldering at his back.
"Be petty, be childish, be selfish. That's just fine," she said as she collected her books once more and pulling her Potions book out of the stack. Gripping it in her hand, she threw it down at his feet, causing a loud echo to roar throughout the momentarily silent room. "Fail me, Pietro! Because I won't step foot in your classroom again."
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jul 1, 2015 22:43:18 GMT -5
"You talk to me about bullshit, Miss Latini?" Pietro replied in a cold, quiet voice as he stared at the book by his feet. "You call me childish as you throw school property across my classroom? I have done nothing here but try to be kind. Do you know what would be truly selfish? To keep you here with me, to force you to mark my papers simply because I want you so badly. You think that you do not wince? You simply do not notice, but I do because I have watched you for a year and I see the change.
"I am respecting your wishes. I am trying my damnedest to be man enough to let you go. You made your choice, and you made it very clear, but you cannot have it both ways. Do you not see that I am trying to ease your suffering, and that in doing so, I increase my own? And yet you call me childish? Petty, because I am trying not to harm you? Because I am trying to let you live a life that will make you happy?
"Once again, I remind you that you dumped me. Our suffering will only be magnified if we must spend hours together in the same room. You will recover from this, and you will find your happiness." Pietro swallowed hard, staring at his cigarette, knowing that this would probably be his last opportunity to say goodbye.
"I will not fail you. You know more than enough to graduate from this class. You can consider your Potions education completed. Perhaps it will be best for both of us that way." Oh, but he couldn't help looking at her because, as angry as she was, she was still the most breathtakingly beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.
His chest ... so constricted he felt he could barely breathe.
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Post by Serafina Latini on Jul 2, 2015 23:39:13 GMT -5
Each syllable that left those sweet, perfect lips of his plucked at her heart strings. She was so very angry and upset and downright terrified. He was being so cold with her, and it was twisting her heart in ways that it wasn't meant to be twisted. "Throwing a book that my parents paid for across a room is hardly considered childish in comparison to having me removed from your classroom simply because we broke up," she replied back sharply. "And I'm telling you that I do not wince because I don't. Perhaps you are simply imagining things.
"Happy? You think breaking things off with you made me fucking happy, Pietro?!" Her voice had raised again, and she felt as if her gasket was about to completely blow. Again she set her books down roughly on his desk and moved around it to storm up to him. There was so much anger and frustration coursing through her veins, but the closer she got to him, the more she realized she was just devastated. Devastated by their separation and losing the one man who meant everything to her. "The one thing that makes me truly happy is you!"
Why was this so painful? Why was it so hard? She needn't give into temptation here because Pietro had done things she didn't agree with morally, but at the same time, how could she go on without him? He had captured her heart so many years ago, and that was all she had ever known. And now, things were in shambles at her feet.
Her eyes began to water as she looked up to him with a still narrowed gaze. "And I will not recover from this because I can't fucking live without you," she told him as a single tear fell down her cheek. "Because I love you, you stupid idiot..."
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jul 3, 2015 0:19:39 GMT -5
"What is truly childish, Miss Latini, is your infuriating insistence on oversimplifying what I say. In fact, it is nonsensical. I feel I am wasting my breath even attempting to explain this to you, so perhaps you should just leave before either of us becomes any angrier. If you ever decide you would like to listen to my words, instead of simply hearing what you want to hear, then we can revisit this conversation. You have villainized me enough for things I have actually done; do not villainize me for things you only imagine me to have said."
As far as he was concerned, this foolish, frustrating encounter was over. He tore his glare away from Serafina, aiming it out the window instead, and took an aggressively long drag on his cigarette as he waited to hear her retreating footsteps. He was completely shocked to hear, instead, the sounds of her walking closer.
But it didn't matter. These were all of the same things she'd said the night before. Expressions of love combined with all the reasons not to be with him. They had done this part of the break-up already; why did they have to do it again? Why couldn't she just leave already? Women and their cruelty ... they just loved to see what kind of power they could gain over men. Perhaps she just wanted to see him cry. Well, she'd gotten that already, and it wasn't going to happen again.
He turned his head, surprised to find her so very close to him. He couldn't help it; her physical proximity softened him. But she wasn't saying anything different. She hadn't said that she was revoking her decision.
"I understand that," he replied, voice quiet again, "and it is reciprocated, but it doesn't change anything. Miss Latini, I have respected your choice to end our relationship. I have done what I can to ease the pain of our separation. However, I do not advise your standing so close to me unless you have changed your mind. If you do not want me to touch you, then you should not stand within reach."
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Post by Serafina Latini on Jul 3, 2015 0:32:07 GMT -5
"I have villainized you for the very wrong things you have done, and you can't honestly look me in the eyes and tell me that what you did wasn't wrong. And even if you don't thinking killing Professor Reid was wrong, you know that what you did to Maureen was," she said with a shattered heart as she looked up to him. "But that isn't what I'm discussing with you right now. This is about the two of us."
Her expression was pained and confused and lonely. He had asked her to leave, but instead she was standing in front of him with only about a half of a foot of space separating them. Everything about this was so very wrong and went against everything she believed in, but... He was Pietro - her one and only and her love. But as he called her 'Miss Latini' once more, she sighed and shook her head. "Stop calling me that," she told him flatly. "You know my first name, Pietro, so use it.. Please." She swallowed back thickly as he mentioned her need to back off if she didn't intend for him to touch her, but that was pretty much exactly what she wanted.
"I... I might not agree with the things you do, Pietro, but I can't be without you," she told him honestly, a few more tears releasing themselves from her tear ducts. "I can't find happiness elsewhere because you're the only thing I need to be truly happy. I can't start assisting Professor Auttenberg because she isn't you. And I..." She sighed. "I can't let go of you no matter how hard I try.."
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jul 3, 2015 5:00:24 GMT -5
Well, that much was accurate. What he had done to Maureen ... it was killing him. Pietro doubted he would ever get over it. He did not regret following orders, because that was necessary, but he did regret what the order had been. His only comfort was in knowing that such tactics would not be acceptable once he had taken over the family business. If he had to snatch a female pawn for some kind of ransom, she would be given comfortable quarters, treated respectfully, and never abused.
Unfortunately, if he hadn't followed Uncle Enzo's order, he would have put himself at risk of losing his status as presumptive heir. It was an ugly situation he had found himself in, and, yes, his actions against Maureen had been wrong.
He didn't say any of this, though, merely looked into Serafina's eyes as she spoke. Every one of her tears struck him cold, and he wanted nothing more than to reach out and wipe them away, to provide comfort even though, in her mind, he was a monster and would likely remain so.
And then she was saying - well, he thought she was saying - that things actually were different now than they had been the night before. It still seemed infuriatingly unclear, but ... he had warned her to step away if she did not wish to be touched ...
Making a sudden and possibly reckless decision, Pietro tossed his cigarette butt out the window, closed the space between them, and wrapped his arms around the crying girl. One hand went to the back of her head, and Pietro stroked Serafina's hair as he held her close to his heart.
... Now to see if she actually meant it ...
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Too Much
Jul 3, 2015 10:08:57 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Serafina Latini on Jul 3, 2015 10:08:57 GMT -5
She had been warned to step away from him if she didn't wish to be touched by him, and even though she knew it was probably a bad idea, she just couldn't force herself to move. All she wanted was to feel him wrapped around her again and to love him for the rest of his life. She may be stupid for falling for such a dangerous man, but she was even more stupid for trying to push him away. There was nothing her hopeless little heart could do at this point; she was madly in love with this man, and that wouldn't ever change.
He was silent, standing strong and tall as sh looked up yo him with painful eyes. But, after explaining her feelings, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her which released the dam holding back a majority of her tears. She melted into him, taking on a new shape that molded to him as her arms wound around him and gripped him tightly. "I'm... I'm so sorry," she sobbed into his chest. "I was so scared, but... Pietro, I love you more than words can describe. Please take me back," she begged pitifully.
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jul 3, 2015 20:22:34 GMT -5
Oh, the relief! The terrible, beautiful, bittersweet relief!
He should tell her; he should point out that this didn't change, couldn't change who he was and what he had to do, but couldn't that conversation wait until they had level heads? Right now, couldn't he just melt with joy and consequences be damned?
She felt so tiny and sad, heaving with sobs, soaking his shirt with her tears. Oh, and she was afraid that he wouldn't want her anymore? Absurdity!
Pietro squeezed her more tightly and lowered his face to press his lips against the top of her head. Without even thinking about it, he slipped into Italian when he spoke. "Shh, shh darling. No apologies. No begging. None of that is necessary. Shh, my love, I will always adore you. Do not be afraid. Everything will be all right. I want you just as much as I always have. My Serafina ... my darling, my sweetheart, do not cry."
Oh, yes. Thank God. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
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