The End

Ah Valentine's Day, egh. It was over and people were still all over each other. He felt like cursing every couple he passed in the halls that day, they all made him sick. But he kept his wand secured in its rightful place in his pocket as he walked, the scowl on his face was enough to keep most people out of his way. Running his hand over his head as he walked outside the cold didn't even phase him as he passed through the open courtyard. There was no destination really on his mind other than escaping the pain and the looks from his classmates. He was an ass and he was sure word had spread around the school once more that Lestrange had done something stupid. What was new, every time he turned around he was messing things up. Kicking the wall as he rounded the corner he sighed.

There was no turning back now and he wasn't sure if he even to make an attempt to change things. He was ready for summer and to get away from this blasted school. The owl was already written to his parents to let them know he planned on leaving the country for break and getting as far away as possible he just hadn't sent it off yet. Eventually he found his way back inside to the third floor where he paused just outside the cauldron's cupboard and decided this was just as good a place as any to meet her that one last time.

He only wondered if she would show up.

Hayleigh was invited to the Cauldron's Cupboard by Leyton. It was obvious they were over and it was a mutual agreement, at least in her eyes. The only thing she had to give to him was the ring he gave her when they got engaged.

To her, their son was enough of a reminder of him. She loved her son but wished she didn't have to deal with Leyton. Too much had happened and some wounds just couldn't heal. She couldn't see them being friends anymore and it was probably for the best anyway.

When she walked into the Cauldron's Cupboard, she sighed and looked at him. Before she wanted to run up and kiss him but not anymore. "Leyton." She said coldly, with the ring in her hand but not on her finger.

Leyton had finally entered and took a seat on the far couch before she entered and had lowered his head against his hands as he sat and waited, he was just always bound and determined to mess things up. He didn't know how to fix this, if there was anything to even fix. He still loved her and he of course loved the baby but the stress of everything made his mind snap and it was then that he managed to mess things up.

He heard her sigh before he heard her speak and he looked up at her with sad eyes. "Hayleigh. I'm glad you could come. Will you at least come and sit for a moment. You look good by the way." He wasn't trying to suck up or anything, but he was genuinely sorry for the way he had acted.

Hayleigh rolled her eyes at Leyton. He looked ridiculous. She decided not to tell him how ridiculous he looked, he would definitely be figuring out for himself. At the compliment, she scoffed. "I look good? Leyton I'm about seven months pregnant. I look like a Beluga Whale. Unless you're into bestiality, I definitely don't look good."

She sighed and sat down next to him, making sure she kept her distance. Leyton was unpredictable and she wasn't sure if he had other motives. Maybe that sadness was just an act so she'd take him back. Hayleigh made up her mind, they were done. "Here's your ring back." She sat as she handed him the ring. It was more like she threw it at him but she actually handed it to him.

Watching her closely he shook his head as she scoffed, "You can think that all you want Hayleigh but I stand by it, you will always be beautiful to me. Do you know the due date yet? I would like to be there of course." He knew now that he should probably be running as far away as possible but he still wanted to be near her.

Leyton was tempted to give her a hug but when she sat down at the distance she did he knew that it wouldn't be a good idea. Looking to the ring in her hand he nodded and took it back as she handed it over. He knew where he wanted it to be, on her finger for years to come but that wasn't an option he had now. "There is a lot of stuff we need to work out for this summer. You know like schedules for me to see him and such." Pocketing the ring he glanced back towards her.

"Your opinion of what I look like doesn't matter anymore Leyton." Hayleigh was surprised by how cold she was being towards Leyton. In all the years they had known each other, she never acted this way. Maybe it was her frustration combined with her hormones or something. She couldn't blame everything on her hormones but it was hard not to.

When he asked about the due date and said he wanted to be there, she rolled her eyes. "Now you care Leyton? I don't remember you caring majority of our relationship. My due date is late May, early June. I didn't pay attention to the exact date. He'll come when he's ready to, I'm not worried about it.

She sighed. "Yeah, the summer. Well he'll be with me most of the time. First few months of his life I want him with me almost all the time. How about you get him every other weekend?" It probably wasn't a fair amount of time but did he really deserve her being fair to him? "What were your ideas for the summer?"

With a shrug of his shoulders he sat back slowly with a cold look of indifference coming over his face. If that was how she wanted to be, she had no idea how cold he could really be. Folding his hands carefully in his lap he sat silently for a moment, he knew he needed to choose his words very carefully.

"I've cared all along Hayleigh I might just not have shown it in the best ways. You know how much I love you and I love him no matter how many fucked up things I've done along the way."

Still watching her, he paused for a moment more, gathering exactly what he wanted to say. "I don't think every other weekend is really that fair to see my son. Four days a month is next to nothing and I don't want him to grow up not knowing his father. I was thinking more like two days a week and every weekend." That probably sounded a bit much but he refused to not be a part of his son's life, no matter how much she hated him.

"I don't believe you love me Leyton. And you have screwed up majorly. You lost me and you lost the privilege of seeing your son as often as you would've if we were together. It must really suck to be you. I get to wake up with him every morning. I get to be there for his first steps, first word, first everything. And where will you be? Probably having sex with some random girl. That seems to be one of your favorite pastimes."

At Leyton's request, Hayleigh shook her head. "Four days a week?! Leyton are you insane?! Four days a week?! No, that's definitely not happening. I'm the one carrying him so I'm the one who gets him majority of the time. Besides, I don't want all those girls you're probably seeing around him. He doesn't need anyone trying to impersonate his mother and he doesn't need you either. Why? Because he has me."

Shaking his head angrily he couldn't even look at her without wanting to punch something and he had never been one prone to violence. Closing his eyes for a moment he let out a deep breath to calm himself. "Believe what you want Hayleigh because I know what I feel and you can't change that. But I'm not the only one who's changed. You have become a vindictive and spiteful person who is trying to use our son as leverage. I won't let that happen. And not that its any of your business it was only two girls and there hasn't been anyone since, only you."

Pushing up off of the couch he paced away from her needing space for a moment. "Well I refuse to see him every other weekend Hayleigh it just isn't going to happen. And there aren't any other girls and if if there was one, you wouldn't have any say in it. Just as I wouldn't have any say in whether or not you start seeing someone new, because you no longer wear my ring. You cannot refuse me the right to see if and if I have to I will go to the ministry to gain more rights. I don't want it to come to that but I will not be pushed out of his life."

"I know I've changed Leyton and I don't care if you don't like it. I'm not the same girl who stood by you with everything. No one is walking all over me ever again. I need to be concerned with myself and one other person, that's it. Other people's opinions don't matter." Hayleigh really didn't care if Leyton didn't like how she was now. She matured and stopped wanting to please everyone. Now all she worried about was her son and his well-being.

Hayleigh smirked at Leyton when he gave her the number of girl's he had slept with recently. "Right...well I'm sorry I can't say you're the last guy I slept with." Even though she wasn't happy with sleeping with her best friend, it would be fun to use it on Leyton to get a reaction. She was in an extremely spiteful mood and planned on using that to her advantage.

"You can't have him four days a week, that's out of the question. You can see him every weekend. Friday at 6pm until Sunday at 6pm. It should be enough time for you." She didn't want to negotiate any further so she hoped that he would just accept the time she gave him so they could move on with it.

Staring down at her with cold eyes there wasn't much more that he could say to her. Letting out a another deep breath he forced his face to remain as calm and collected as possible. He could tell now that she was trying to get a reaction out of him and he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing one.

"Well like I said, if thats what you want to do then do it. But as I also said, you will have no control in my life either anymore. If I chose to be with someone now or in the future you will have no say in it." If she had moved on that quickly it only proved one thing to him. That she hadn't been in love.

Crossing his arms over his chest he stared down at her with a steely gaze, he refused to let her see how much he was still tore up over things. But if she could move on, so could he. "Friday morning through Sunday evening and I will accept that. Nothing less." He wanted more time but there was really no point in continuing to arguing with her.

Hayleigh look a good look at Leyton and smirked. She bit her lip and had her hands resting on her stomach. What else could she say to make him mad? Maybe give him another detail she knew would infuriate him. Oh but she wanted to have fun with this. She pushed off the couch and walked over to him so she was in front of him. She looked at him innocently and then kissed him on the lips. "Figured I'd do that before I told that I was drunk when I slept with that other guy." She told him as she walked back over to the couch, sitting once again.

This being mean all the time was hard for her and she did want him back sometimes but she knew it'd never work. They'd probably be some stupid rollercoaster on and off for the rest of their lives. She didn't want their son around that so she decided they were better off separated. "Fine, you can have him Friday morning until Sunday evening." She said with a long sigh.

Tucking his hands into the pockets of his pants he continued to watched her with a masked expression, he had learned well from his father on how to control his emotions behind a mask. The silence was something he had come to live with as well but it still left him as unsettled as a beach after a storm. When she pushed up off of the couch he stood firm in his position and didn't kiss her back even as she kissed him.

It was what came next that made him want to ring her neck. Stepping as far away from her as possible he could feel the rage beginning to creep up. "I hope it was good for you Hayleigh. I may have done some stupid things but I've never done something that could harm our son." Turning away for a moment he reached up and ran his fingers over his head "And If I find out who it was I will break his neck." he muttered barely above a whisper.

Turning back around he pushed a straight look back onto his face. "That works for me then. Is there anything else you would like to discuss now or should we hold off until later."

"There's a reason I was sorted into Ravenclaw, Leyton. I'm not stupid. I cast plenty of protection spells on him so the alcohol didn't affect him at all. At his whisper comment about breaking the guys neck she raised an eyebrow. "Why would you break his neck?" It was strange that he said that unless he still wanted her back and was mad about it or something. She couldn't figure it out so she decided to just let him tell her.

At his question, she shrugged. Now she was just feeling awkward, especially after kissing him. "Nothing I can think of. Anything you can think of?" She went quiet and then thought of something. "His nursery at my house is almost all done, just thought you'd like to know."

After another long moment he finally moved back to the couch and took a seat at the opposite end. "I didn't say you were stupid Hayleigh but this is not the first time that you have turned to alcohol when something didn't go your way." Leaving the comment at that he leaned back and crossed his legs getting comfortable for a moment. With a shrug of his shoulders he still remained calm with a look something unreadable on his face. "I told you that I still loved you Hayleigh, always will. Doesn't really mean much at all so it doesn't matter."

Shaking his head he looked back towards her once more, "No there isn't anything else I can think of." When she mentioned the nursery he nodded, "My parents said they have a lot of things for him ready at the house and set up a place for him there right off of my room. So I am as ready as I can be. And thats good that you have things ready as well."

"Think about the information I found out then. It's not that things didn't go my way, I felt betrayed and used. That's all in the past now though, it doesn't matter because for some reason you cleaned up your act. Only to break up with me anyway..." She sighed and shrugged. It didn't make sense to her why she broke up with him but oh well.

"For what it's worth Leyton, it does mean something. I may act like it doesn't matter and I don't care but it's actually the opposite. I guess I'm really good at hiding things." She smiled and shrugged. "If you need any help with his nursery at your house, let me know and I'll see what I can do to help you. There's probably not much I can do but it doesn't hurt to try."

Sitting with his hands in his lap he finally calmed down enough to relax his posture and sit back up a bit. "No matter what I say it can't take back what has already happened. I've told you I'm sorry more times than I can count and explained things over and over. You know that when I am stressed the first reaction is to push you away, its not the best thing to do but it happens every time before I can stop it. But it doesn't change the bottom line that I love you and our son."

Nodding he ran his hand over his head again and turned to face her slightly. "I realize that you have to be tough." Sighing he tried to smile, "that sounds good, you can come over and make sure that I have everything in place that I'm gonna need and if not I can go out and get more."

Hayleigh shook her head. Now she was just feeling confused. "Leyton what are we going to do?" She asked him in a whisper. Not really knowing what else to do, she crawled over to him and put her head in his lap. "I'm so confused. I don't know what to say, do, feel, act, anything. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. I want to be a good mom but I can't do that if I'm confused on where we stand."

She sighed. "I plan on coming over all the time to torment you though. You'll have to change your locks to keep me away." She tried to tease him. "I just want the best for him and right now, I don't know what the best is for any of us." She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.

With a light shrug of his shoulders he shook his head once more, he didn't know what they were going to do. They were obviously a confused mess but when they worked there was nothing stopping them. He sighed as she crawled over to him and without missing a beat he began to stroke his fingers over her hair lightly and gently. Leyton hated seeing her like this. "I don't know where we stand either. You know how I feel about things."

Leaning down he kissed her forehead lightly before sitting back up and continuing to run his fingers over her head, "That sounds fine to me and I would never change the locks to keep you out. You are welcome there any time you wish to come over. For as long as you want to." Offering her a small smile he nodded, "I know and I want that as well."

Hayleigh often wondered how she got herself into a situation like this. Her life was just crazy now. She did her best to bury her face in hopes she'd muffle the next thing she was about to say. It was something that could potentially make or break them. "I love you." She mumbled into his lap. There was no other way to put it. That's how she felt and that's what was confusing her.

When he kissed her forehead, she smiled a little bit. "I was thinking, if you did want to see him an extra day, maybe I could go over with him and spend the night. I mean, if it's okay with you. It would be easy to stay in the nursery with him." She shrugged not really knowing what he idea really was. It seemed stupid now that she said it. He probably wouldn't want her spending the night.

Watching her now with a softer expression on his face he offered her another smile as he stroked his fingers over her cheek lightly. She truly was a beautiful person both inside and out and he often wondered how something so good had entered into his life. But as always he did something to mess it up. All he wanted to do was do right by her. When she spoke though he felt as if his stomach was doing the wave.

He really never thought he would hear those words come out of her mouth again and he wondered for a long moment if he had imagined it. But judging by the look on her face she had really said it. Smiling again he nodded, "That sounds like a wonderful idea Hayleigh, I mean we have plenty of room in the house, you could have your own room..if you wanted it I mean."

Hayleigh gave Leyton a small smile. He really wasn't helping her confusion which frustrated her but she decided to just let it slide for now. Maybe he was comfortable with saying what he wanted or maybe he didn't know what he wanted. Maybe they needed to be separated for a while just to figure themselves out. Once again she didn't know and she hated not knowing something.

"I think I'd feel better being right near him. At my house the nursery connects to my bedroom so it's almost like his room is part of my room." There was another thing she wanted to change, her son's name. "Leyton I want to name our son something different. I like Braydon. I only agreed to Cayden because you like it. I really hate that name."

Smiling back down at her he leaned in and kissed her forehead once more. He knew there were more things that needed to be said but for now he would leave it as it was. Leyton was just happy that she wasn't setting him on fire or covering him with boils or something similar.

"Like I said thats fine we can set it up however you wish I know my parents won't have a problem with it." When she mentioned that she wanted to change his name he nodded for a moment thinking it over. Braydon was different and he wasn't sure if he liked it as well but it wasn't as if he could fight her on this as well. "How about Brayden then. I mean I will go with whatever you want to do."

Hayleigh smiled when Leyton said they could name their son Braydon. She sat up and kissed him. "You're the best!" With that, she took his hand and put it against her stomach. It had been a while since he felt her stomach and she decided to let him feel it since he seemed like he really did want to be a part of the baby's life.

"You might want to lock your bedroom door the nights I stay over. I could end up sneaking in during the middle of the night and cuddling with you." She teased him and laid back back down with her head on his lap. "I think we're going to be okay Leyton." She whispered. They had their issues but when it came to their son they were alright.

Leyton was surprised when she sat up and kissed him but he didn't say a word, simply smiled back at her. "I want to do what is best and if that name does it then so be it." Kissing her cheek he nodded as she pulled his hand onto her stomach. Rubbing her stomach gently he grinned when he felt the baby kick, maybe the little one understood what was going on on some level.

Shaking his head at her joke he chuckled, "You sneaking in on me in the middle of the night is the last of my worries dear. Like I said you are welcome there any time you want to come over. And I will cuddle you any time." Smiling again he ran his fingers over her cheek as she laid back down. "I think we will be too."