AN: This is my second fan fiction, but really the first one I've worked on. . .
I have to thank Shinedown and my bestie likabookworm for the title inspiration
I don't own HP, unfortunately, but if I did I would be writing it for fun, I would sell this to you. . . .
Anyway. . . Enjoy
Today was the day of Fred's funeral. The memorial for all the lives lost during the second War was the day before, but the Weasleys had been granted special permission from Minister Shacklebolt to bury Fred separately. That was George's only wish when his mum had asked him about the funeral.
"Can we bury him here Mum?" It was the first thing he had said in weeks. Everyone at the table in the Burrow immediately became quiet. Mrs. Weasley tried to stifle a cry as she looked to her husband for support.
"I don't know about that son, they wanted everyone buried at the memorial site." Mr. Weasley said trying to gage his son. He was worried about him, as was the rest of the family, but he could tell that George just wanted to be alone. Even still he reached across the table and put a hand on his son's shoulder.
"It's what he would have wanted." Was all George replied. He was looking straight ahead, but not directly at his father. Instead he looked above his head and out the window.
"I'll talk to Kingsley, alright son?" Arthur looked at his son with sadness and fear. George mistook his look for pity and barely nodded at his father. He got up from the table without looking around or saying anything and went upstairs to his room.
George was avoiding everyone. He didn't want to be asked about how he was fairing without Fred, he didn't want to see the look of pity in their eyes. And today he didn't know how he was going to make it. All eyes were going to be on him, instead of him and Fred. He had never gone to any big occasion without his brother. He had managed to get dressed and walk downstairs and out the door, but he wasn't sure he could do much else. He looked around at the other people there. Of course there was the big brood of Weasleys, which included Harry and Hermione. Behind the two rows of his family were Kingsley, Mundungus Fletcher, and other members of the Order. He spotted another few familiar faces such as Lee Jordan, he and his brother's good friend, Angelina Johnson, Fred's ex-girlfriend, and some of their other classmates from Hogwarts. He walked over to the empty seat beside his mum and she took his hand.
The same little wizard that performed Bill and Fleur's wedding was once again at the Burrow, but unlike the wedding this was a sad occasion. George couldn't listen to this man talk about his brother. This man didn't know his brother. He couldn't know that losing Fred was like losing his other ear, a leg, and an arm. George got up and started to walk back to the house. The little wizard stopped talking abruptly.
"George, George," Molly called after him.
"George, where are you going?" Arthur said almost getting up to follow him, but Bill put a hand on his father.
"Let him go Dad."
George walked just beyond the boundary line of the Burrow and apparated to his flat above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He walked into Fred's bedroom and laid his head on his pillow.
"I don't know if I can do it mate," He said quietly. And then he began to cry. It was the first time he had cried since Fred's death. George did know how long he laid there crying but he assumed it had been a long time since when he woke up the next morning it was ten o'clock. Realizing he was hungry, he walked out of Fred's bedroom only to be assaulted by a shock of red hair. Ron stood there looking at his older brother.
"Out of all the Weasleys they pick this prat." George said shaking his head slightly. He almost sounded like his old self, but there was a shadow in his voice and the way he shook his head was different.
Ron didn't say anything. He just looked at him.
"Look I'm sorry, I just couldn't handle it."
He still didn't say anything.
"That guy didn't know Fred, he didn't know him at all. I couldn't listen to him. It was too sad and too quiet, and I couldn't take it. "
"Mum wanted you to know dinner is at seven. Everybody's going to be there." Ron sounded angry. He wouldn't look George in his eyes.
"Tell her I'm not coming." George looked at the wall behind Ron's head.
"Mum wants you to be there."
"Well obviously you don't want me to be there. Dad's probably mad at me. I'm not coming." Ron clicked his tongue.
"And you call me the prat. Fred wouldn't have walked out on your funeral."
"Fred wouldn't have let my funeral happen like that!" George's voice was suddenly elevated and his whole body was shaking.
"But you didn't even say anything about the planning. The whole time and you said nothing. You can't blame this on anyone but yourself."
"I couldn't speak, I didn't know how. I'm not Fred! I'm not the charismatic one, I'm not the smooth one. I don't know how I'm even standing here. When Fred died I lost a piece of myself. And I don't know if I can survive without that piece." His statement brought about silence in the tension filled room. Ron wasn't quite sure how to respond to his brother's outburst of emotion.
"Tell Mum I'm sorry, and I didn't mean to hurt her, but that I'm not coming. Tell her I love her. Tell everyone else I love them too, but I can't come tonight." George turned around and walked into his bedroom. It was a few minutes before he heard the loud crack of dissapperating.
He sat down on his bed, but seemingly deciding against it, he walked back over to Fred's room and sat on his bed.
"Well I guess I'm the prick now eh, instead of Percy, leaving the family behind in a time of need. Well it's my time of need too." George said this last part defiantly. Then his voice became softer.
"Look mate, I'm sorry I walked out of your funeral, but you get that right?" He almost expected Fred to walk into the room and pat him on the shoulder. He took the silence as a bad omen. "Alright I'll make it up to you and Mum, she tried her best by the way. I mean I didn't really help her so she just did it the only way she knew how. Don't hold it against her mate. But I'll go to dinner tonight. But only for you."
"And mum." He added as an after thought.
***
George walked into the kitchen of the Burrow around eight o'clock that night. The room, which only minutes before was filled with laughter and smiles, became silent. George took in the room before he said anything. All of the Weasleys were there, little Teddy Lupin and his grandmother, Harry, Hermione, Angelina, Lee, and Hagrid. He was a little surprised to see Angelina and Lee, but it was a pleasant surprise. He walked over to the only empty chair and stood behind it.
"Sorry I'm late everybody. I was tiding up and lost track of time." There was a giggle a couple chairs down from him. It was Angelina.
"You, cleaning?" The room burst out in fits of giggles and laughter.
"Well someone had to pick up after Fred when Mum wasn't around." George retorted with a small smile. Only Lee, Angelina, and Ron laughed at that one. Soon the whole room was filled with laughter after they saw George's smile get bigger with the increased humor in the room. He took his seat and grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice.
After dinner everybody was milling about the Burrow or saying their goodbyes. George was sitting on the couch catching up with Angelina and Lee. It felt good to be talking again. He almost felt like himself, though he knew he would never be the same George he had always been. He was no longer the sidekick twin. The man after the "and". He was George Weasley, sole owner of a joke shop and the flat above it. He was alone, and he could get used to that, but he would never forget his brother.
They all decided to leave at the same time and walked each other to the apparation point. Angelina was the first to leave with a kiss upon George and Lee's cheeks.
"I'll come visit you sometime George, and Lee make sure you come over and check out those Muggle hair products I told you about."
"Muggle hair products?" George asked with amusement on his face.
"Yeah, I've been having a problem with my locks and I can't find a charm or anything to fix them." Lee said slightly embarrassed.
"I'm helping him out a bit. You see my American Muggle cousin is a hairstylist and sends us hair products every year for Christmas. Well, I'll catch you chaps later." And with a loud crack she was gone. George stared after her a bit, but then turned to Lee.
"It was nice chatting with you mate," George said shaking Lee's hand.
"Well actually George I wanted to know if you wanted any help running the store. I know nobody could ever replace Fred, ever. And I'm not trying to do that. But you can't possibly expect to run Weasley's all by your self."
"You kind of read my mind mate. I was going to drop by and talk to you about it tomorrow really. Well since you beat me to the broom, sure. How does eight tomorrow morning sound? I really need to do some inventory and that's always more fun with someone to joke around with."
"Sounds great, I'll be there. So I'll see you tomorrow," Lee said walking backwards and with a spin and a crack he disappeared.
"Lee always did apparate with flair didn't he?" George said with a chuckle to his absent twin. And he to was gone with a crack.
***
About a year and three months later the Weasleys Wizard Wheezes joke shop was thriving again. They had added a whole new section to the store dedicated to Fred's preferred products called "Fred's Favorite Funnies". George and Lee worked well together, and surprisingly Lee was almost as good as Fred when it came to coming up with good ideas. The other Weasleys (honorary ones too) were doing well and every so often would drop by. And whenever she had time off or a home game, Angelina Johnson of the Holyhead Harpies would fly in for a chat with George.
Though George had always enjoyed Angelina's company, there was something about it recently that made him appreciate it more. As their chats continued and increased he realized that she had lost a part of herself too when Fred died. One night, it was a late and particularly gloomy night, she arrived unexpectedly at the flat's outside entrance, wearing a thin jacket, an old Puddlemire United t-shirt, which George recognized as his brother's, and a pair Holyhead Harpies pajama pants. Her dark braids were in a tangled mess upon her head, and on her feet were a pair of black slippers. As he opened the door, he couldn't help but notice that she was effortlessly beautiful, even in her disheveled appearance. She ran for him and they stood there hugging for a long moment. He walked her up the steps, sat her on the couch and with a flick of his wand started a pot of tea. He sat down next to her and she laid her head on his shoulder.
"What's the matter love?" He said as two very hot cups of tea flew into the room on saucers and landed on the coffee table.
Angelina was crying into her tea telling George about the nightmares she had been having for the past couple of nights. It always involved her and George trying to get to Fred. The location always changed, sometimes it was a big hole they had to cross, or a rushing river, but they were always trying to get to Fred and they always fell just before they could reach him. But tonight was her worst nightmare yet. They were at Hogwarts again, the night of the final battle. Fred was on one side of the Great Hall and she and George were on the other. They were so close to Fred, she could almost touch the hem of his robe, but before she could, a flash of green light hit him in the chest.
"And then I woke up." Angelina no longer had her cup of tea in her hand. George had put his down too and was now stroking her hair as he kissed her on her forehead. She was crying into his chest. "He's gone, he's gone." She kept whispering.
"It'll be alright, it'll be alright," he whispered into her hair. That night she fell asleep in George's arms. He just held her there. George realized how well she fit there, and how she seemed to smell like honey and lemon and vanilla. He loved to hear her breathe and feel the softness of her hand wrapped up in his. He wanted to hold her closer and stay that way forever. That night George realized he loved her.
George wasn't quite sure how he felt about being in love with Angelina. For one, Angelina was obviously still in love with Fred, and even though she seemed to like him, he wasn't really sure if she liked him for him, or because he reminded her of his twin. Second of all, what about Fred? What would Fred say about his brother dating his ex? George fell asleep with thoughts of love and worry.
The next morning George woke up to find that he was alone on the couch. He looked at his watch, and it was only seven. Angie didn't have practice until ten, but he guessed she felt awkward about last night. He got up, walked into Fred's room and began to pace back and forth.
"I really think I love her Fred." He said finally, sitting on the bed and placing his head in his hands. "She's gorgeous mate, well you knew that, and I love the way she smells. Her smile lights up the room. And she flies with such grace. Have you ever just watched her fly?" He lifted his head only to see his own reflection in the mirror Fred had received on his last Christmas from Fleur.
"I'm crazy aren't I?" He asked his reflection.
"It's quite possible that you are." George swiftly turned his head toward Fred's doorway. Standing there was his sister Ginny with a knowing smirk on her face. George was in shock.
"How did you get in here? How much did you hear?"
"First of all I know your locking spell dear brother, and I heard enough to know that you were telling Fred about how much your in love with Angelina Johnson. She really does fly quite well." Ginny said this last part with a giggle.
"Do you think I'm crazy sis?" George said looking down at the floor. Even though Ginny could be a pest, most of the time she gave good advice.
"Crazy for talking to our absent brother, or falling in love with his ex girlfriend?"
"Both." George sounded miserable. Ginny pondered her answer before saying anything.
"I think you're crazy. But if talking to Fred makes you feel better, do it. Sometimes Mum throws stones at his grave and yells at him for leaving us. Then she just cries for a while. After that she usually feels a lot better about everything. And about being in love with Angelina, I honestly think Fred would be okay with that. She makes you happier. And she dropped by the other night to give me some Harpies swag. She talked a lot about your chats." George's face contorted in shock.
"Don't worry, she didn't tell me anything you guys said. She just said she enjoyed having someone to talk to that understood how she felt about Fred. I think she fancies you quite a lot and doesn't realize it yet. Maybe you should bring her to dinner tonight!" It took quite a bit of time for George to process everything Ginny had just said to him.
"Dinner?" George said in confusion.
"Actually that's why I'm here. Fleur wants me to invite you to dinner tonight. They have some news and they want you to be there. It's just going to be me, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Bill and Fleur of course. So maybe you could bring Angelina so you won't feel like the odd one out?"
"Alright, I'll see if she can make it," was all George could get out. 'I think she fancies you quite a lot and doesn't realize it yet.' That statement had caused an awful lot of hope to swell up in his chest. He still had his doubts though. Angelina really loved Fred and George knew he could never replace or even come close to his twin.
"I'll leave you to your thoughts then." Ginny said walking towards the door. "See you at dinner." Then he heard the click of his lock.
***
Asking Angelina to dinner was a particularly hard task for George Weasley. He didn't know why, he wasn't even asking her out on a date. Oh no, what if she thinks I'm asking her out, she'll never talk to me again, George thought to himself. He knocked on the door to her flat in West London.
"Hi George," Angelina said with surprise, then her face softened. Even though she was only wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, she was more beautiful than normal. She had taken her braids out and her shoulder length hair was wavy.
"Hey Angie, listen I just wanted to-" Angelina cut George off swiftly and without hesitation.
"Look George, forget about last night. Let's pretend it never happened. I'm sorry I went over there and forced all of my emotions on you. I never should have-"
"Angie, I didn't come here to talk about last night. I came to invite you to dinner." Angelina's face contorted in confusion, but her heart started to beat a bit faster. Is he asking me out on a date? She thought to herself. Seeing the look on her face George quickly tried to recover.
"I'm not asking you on a date or anything." Angelina's heart dropped in her chest, but her face became less confused, much to the comfort of George. "It's just a little dinner at Bill and Fleur's." Angelina was quiet for a minute, but then put on a brave face.
"And you needed a friend to go with you so you wouldn't be the only single Weasley there."
"And I couldn't think of anyone better than you." George said earnestly.
"Of course I will, just let me get dressed alright."
"Alright."
***
When they arrived at Shell Cottage they were greeted with smiles and laughter. It seemed as if everyone was particularly giddy this evening. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were all in the little sitting room of the cottage, enjoying small glasses of butterbeer. Little Teddy Lupin was crawling around on the floor at Harry's feet, his hair changing from electric blue to violent purple, and finally neon green. A glass of butterbeer was placed into both Angelina and George's hands by Bill.
"Eez everyone 'ere?" asked Fleur from the kitchen.
"Yes dear," Bill responded. "Are you ready for us to take our seats?"
"A minute mon chere!" Fleur replied in flowing French. Harry picked up Teddy in his arms.
"Is there anywhere I can lay Teddy down for a little nap? I've taken him off of Andromeda's hands for tonight. Being in his terrible two's have made him a little rambunctious. Perhaps I can take him to the room Ollivander stayed in?"
"I'll take him up Harry, don't worry about it." Bill said blushing a little. He ran over to Harry, scooped up Teddy in his arms, and took him upstairs. George had never seen his brother so nervous, something was definitely going on.
"Dinner iz served!" Fleur said emerging from the kitchen. She was glowing more than usual tonight. It was almost like her wedding day all over again. She also floated more tonight than George had ever seen as she led them into the small dining room. She had an aura about her. Whatever this news was she and his brother had, it must be good. "Everyone take 'heir seets!"
The spread on the table was gorgeous. There were a few dishes that George didn't recognize, obviously French, but everything else was familiar smelling. Fleur had obviously gone through a lot of trouble to put this dinner together. This news must be huge.
Moments later Bill took his seat and everyone began to eat. George listened intently to Angelina tell a story about quidditch practice which involved Gwenog Jones running into a goal post. They way her eyes sparkled intrigued him. He liked the way she played with her fingers while she talked. He decided he could watch her tell a story forever. A few moments later he was knocked out of his reverie by the sound of a fork tapping on glass. A bottle of Elf-made wine was floating about the room filling everyone's glasses. Finally it filled Bill's and he began to speak.
"The reason Fleur and I invited you tonight is that we have some news to tell you." So, George thought to himself, we're finally going to hear what this commotion is about. "We've already had a dinner very similar to this one with Mum and Dad last night and sent an owl to Charlie and Percy, who couldn't make it tonight. Sorry you guys are the last to know, but I mean you guys are the youngest."
"Oh Bill jus' geet to eet!" Fleur said playfully with a smile on her face.
"We're having a baby!" Bill said proudly, raising his glass to his wife. She toasted him also, but instead of wine in her glass in was water.
"A baby?" Ginny said in a mixture of surprise and excitement.
"Congratulations you two!" Hermione said hugging Fleur. George could never recall Hermione hugging Fleur before. Babies really changed things. Angelina got up and began to talk with Ginny about becoming a new aunt (her older sister has a little boy). Ron looked stunned, but Harry and George had similar reactions, patting Bill on the back and saying "Good job, mate!"
After all the initial excitement of the announcement, the party seemed to break along gender lines. All of the women went into the sitting room and talked about babies, and all of the men went outside and talked mostly quidditch. About an hour later Angelina came out and told George she was ready to go home. It was a little late and she had a game the next day. George went inside and said goodnight to everyone, which included giving a big hug to his expecting sister-in-law. Then he and Angelina departed from the cheerful dinner party.
Once again George found him self standing nervously in front of the door to Angelina's apartment. But not because he was asking her out (he had to keep reminding himself that this really wasn't a date) but because he had the urge to pull her close to him and kiss her until she told him to stop. Angelina broke the tension.
"I had a good time George, even though I was just supporting a friend." She smiled sweetly at him but there was something in her eyes that was different. The sparkle was replaced with the all too familiar sadness. George knew his eyes reflected that pain. She's thinking about Fred, he thought to himself.
"I did too." She leaned in and hesitated, finally deciding to kiss him on the cheek.
"Goodnight George,"
"Goodnight Ange." She went inside and closed her door. It took him a moment before he turned on the spot and vanished.
***
Angelina was berating herself for the umpteenth time since this whole thing had begun. She knew how this was a bad idea. She knew how she could get hurt in the process. She knew it was wrong. But the thing that hurt her the most was that she could hurt him. Falling in love with George was not the right course of action to get over Fred. But she couldn't help it.
When they had met in Hogwarts they all became really good friends, but Fred had wooed her. He had the charm and that smile. Nobody really noticed, unless you really knew them, but they had different smiles. George had a great smile, it was sweet and nice to see, but Fred's was mischievous and attention grabbing. It had an alluring sparkle to it. He knew just what to say to push her buttons, but really that's what drew her to him. He knew how to make her angry, move her right into laughter, and then she was putty in his hands. He could get her to do anything, but she knew she had the same power over him. She really was in love with Fred.
But she was in love with George too. You see George was the sweetheart with the sensitive eyes. Whenever she had a problem she always went to George. He would always help her, never let her down. He was always a good listener, even now with only one ear. She had always seen him as just the friend, but now her heart was telling her he was something very different. He was her life raft, even in her dreams. When she was trying to reach Fred, he was always right there holding her hand.
Her being in love with him had nothing to do with Fred. Sure sometimes George reminded her of Fred, but she had always been able to tell them apart, she knew their different personalities. They had always been so different, especially now that Fred was no longer with them. And yeah, so what if they were only spending so much time together because Fred wasn't there to distract her the way he had always been able to, because Fred was gone and they were both lonely and in need of something, anything to hold on to. Lonely love still counts as love doesn't it, especially between friends? Maybe it wasn't the earth shaking first love she had felt for Fred, but it was a different type of love. A type of love she had always felt but didn't realize it until she was forced to by a twist of fate.
She had always loved George. Maybe she didn't realize it till now, but she had always loved him and always would, just like she still loved Fred.
***
Two weeks had gone by since Bill and Fleur's dinner party. George and Angelina had hung out together a couple of times since then but they never spoke about the night before the dinner, the way he had invited her to dinner in the first place, or the awkward goodbye that followed dinner. They just pretended like it had never happened. But when George was alone, all he could do was think about those three incidents.
"She comes over here and confides in me, making me fall in love with her. Then when I ask her out, well not really, but still, when I ask her out she acts strangely and still goes out with me anyway. And then when we say goodbye we leave something left in the air unsaid. And sure she says she had a good time, but she looked so sad afterward. I just don't get it!" Once again George was pacing in his brother's room, sitting on his brother's bed, looking in his brother's mirror, and having a conversation with his dead brother. "I know it seems like I'm mad at her, but really I'm mad at myself. I'm scared to tell her how I feel, and I'm even more afraid to ask her how she feels. She's really important to me Fred." He looked at himself in the mirror one more time. He absentmindedly touched the hole in the side of his head where his ear used to be and ran his fingers through his shaggy red hair. He loved it when Angelina leaned forward to move a hair out of his face. Sometimes she didn't even realize she had done it until his cheeks had reddened a bit. That's when he decided.
"I'm going to tell her Fred." George said jumping off of the bed with a huge smile on his face.
"Tell who what?" Harry said from behind him. George spun around in surprise.
"Bloody hell Harry! Why is it every time I think I'm alone one of my bloody relatives, or future relatives if you and my sister keep going on like you do, pops up and interrupts me." Harry looked at George with a mixture of remorse and amusement.
"Sorry mate," Harry said with a small smile, "But really who are you going to tell what to?" George contemplated Harry for a moment. He was pretty good at keeping secrets, and even if he did tell Ginny, she already knew and she hadn't ratted him out to Angelina yet. He shrugged his shoulders and flopped on his brother's bed.
"I'm going to tell Angelina Johnson that I'm in love with her." George thought he heard Harry mutter "Finally," but aloud all Harry said was, "Good for you, mate!" After a few minutes of not uncomfortable silence Harry spoke again.
"So have you decided how you're going to tell her?"
"Well I was thinking maybe I could take her on an actual date for starters."
"Sounds like a plan. Maybe you should take her to the movies," Harry suggested.
"The movies?" George looked at Harry quizzically. The boy must have really lost it. What on earth was he talking about? Harry seemed to be expecting this reaction.
"It's a muggle thing. You go into a dark room with lots of seats, they call it a movie theatre, and you watch this big screen and it plays a movie. It's sort of show, like a play, but it's not live."
"Sounds interesting, do you think Angelina would like it?" Where ever George decided to take her, Angelina would have to enjoy it. He couldn't bare to see that confused hurt look again.
"I don't see why not, Ginny seemed to love it when I took her," Harry was now sitting on the bed beside George. "It was a funny movie. We laughed a lot; she actually wanted to see it again." He liked it when Angelina laughed and he hadn't heard himself genuinely laugh in so long.
"Alright, where can I find one of these 'movie theatres'?"
"There's one right around the corner off the muggle street in front of the Leaky Cauldron. It cost about two galleons to get in, but you'll have to convert that at Gringotts. I think it's a horror film this week."
"Well that doesn't sound like fun." George was changing his mind about this movie thing. Harry smiled at George's reply.
"Au contraire my friend, actually horror movies are the best ones to go to on dates. If she gets scared she can snuggle up close to you." Hmmm, snuggling with my favorite girl in a dark room for a couple of hours sounds good, George thought to himself.
"I just might do that then. Thanks for the suggestion Harry."
"No problem. Wait a second, did I say 'au contraire' a second ago?"
"I believe you did mon ami," He said laughing at Harry and his little joke. Harry just shook his head.
"I've been spending to much time around Fleur. With her new fascination with Teddy, Ginny and I are over there all the time. But now if we want to go out while I'm supposed to be watching Teddy for Andromeda, we have a babysitter." George laughed again.
"Some godfather you are, pawning off your godson on other people."
"He loves it at Bill and Fleur's." Harry said defensively. The two wizards chatted for another hour. Ginny had sent Harry over to tell George something, but by the end of his visit, it was never said. After Harry left George got himself together to ask Angelina out.
***
If asking Angelina platonically to a family dinner was hard for George, his nerves were a hundred times worse when he was about to ask her on an actual date. "What if I can't do this Fred?" he said quietly to himself. Then the apartment door to his left opened up. A very pretty mom and her young red headed son came out of it. The little boy was shouting at the top of his lungs, "You can do it, you can do it." The little boy persisted to his chanting even as his mother told him to stop. The chanting stopped when George could no longer see the little boy. He took this as a good sign.
He raised his hand to knock on the door but as soon as his hand touched the knocker the door opened. Angelina was dressed nicer than usual. He was used to seeing her in sweats and t-shirts, her quidditch robes, jeans, but not tonight. She had on a short black skirt, a blue halter top, and her best pair of heels. They stood there looking at each other, not really sure of what to do. Finally Angelina said something.
"Hi George," She was smiling at him, like he hadn't seen her smile in a long time.
"Hi," was all George could muster back. Once again the pair stood in silence.
"I was wonderin' if-"
"I was just on my way to-"
Quiet fell upon the two again.
"You first," Angelina said. She was playing with her short hair that she had just gotten cut. George liked her hair like this. He could see more of her face and her eyes seemed brighter.
"I was just wonderin' if youwantedtogooutwithme?" These last few syllables came out as one word.
"What?" Angelina said with amusement in her eyes. God, I love those eyes, George thought to himself. Seeing that she was at least getting some kind of enjoyment out of him being there, he decided to repeat himself.
"I was wonderin' if you wanted to out with me, but I mean if you've got other plans," George was hoping that she didn't have any other plans and was dressed up for no reason at all.
"Well I was going to go see a certain funny red headed guy I know. But I guess you'll do." She smirked at George, who returned it. "Sure I'd love to out with you George." She stepped out of the door, closing it behind her. Arm and arm the pair apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.
***
"What's the name of this thing we're going to again?" Angelina said as they walked into the movie theatre.
"A moo-vee I believe." Angelina gave George an uneasy look. "Come on it'll be fun."
"Well what are we going to see?" Angelina asked. George looked down at the tickets in his hands.
"The Sixth Sense. It's an American horror moo-vee, but I mean we've faced old Voldy I doubt it'll be scary." George said with a laugh. Angelina eyed George wearily. George didn't like the look she gave him, but he trusted that Harry knew what he was talking about and was optimistic about the date. Together they walked in to the movie theatre and took seats in the middle of the room. "Harry said that these would be the best seats." Angelina gave George another look and then kissed him quickly on the cheek.
"Don't be so nervous George." He looked at her stunned. For one, he thought he was keeping his cool pretty well, how did she see through him like that. And sure she had kissed him on the cheek before, but this was different. It was quick and shy and left a tingle on his cheek. "I know this is going to be a good first date." She turned her head to the screen and took his hand. A few minutes later the theatre lights went out and the huge screen in front of them lit up. "I think it's starting."
The movie theatre became quiet and the previews came on. George found him self laughing at the advertisements, and couldn't believe that the actual movie would be better than these. Then the screen went dark and the movie started. Angelina squeezed his hand and gave him a wicked smile. It kind of reminded him of the smiles Fred used to give him right before they tested out a new invention.
"Here we go," George said in an imitation of Fred.
***
Angelina and George were all smiles as they walked out of the theatre. They were hand and hand as they strolled around the corner and walked into the Leaky Cauldron. They took a table and ordered two butterbeers.
"That was actually pretty decent," George said trying to gauge Angelina's reaction to their date.
"Yeah, it was," Angelina said with a smile playing on her lips. "You didn't even scream." She laughed.
"Oh hush up, I admit I was a little – jumpy, but it was justified." George said defensively, but he was still wearing a smile. "And what about you, don't act like you weren't the tiniest bit freaked out."
"Okay I was, but like you said it was justified." She said grinning. "I mean the kid did see ghosts." She laughed even harder at this.
"They made all the ghosts seem so scary. Ha, I love to see Nearly Headless Nick watch that." George smiled.
"Actually, I would like to know what Fred would have thought of it." Angelina said nonchalantly. Then realizing what she said her eyes got big and she averted her gaze from George. They had never really talked about Fred. He was always the elephant in the room. But there was a part of Angelina that didn't want it to be that way anymore. She wanted to be able to talk about Fred and be brave enough to tell George that she was in love with him.
George saw Angelina's reaction to what she had said, but smiled when he gave his response.
"I think he would have loved it." George took her hand across the table. "Ready to go home?" Angelina looked at him in shock, but was pleasantly surprised that had responded the way that he did.
"Yes."
***
Once again it was another awkward scene in front of Angelina's apartment. They stood there looking at each other for a good two minutes. George was hoping that Angelina would invite him inside. He needed to tell her that he loved her, tonight. He couldn't wait any longer. He was just reminded of all the things he loved about her on their date. Her hair and how soft it was, her smile, her eyes, the way she laughed, the way she endlessly poked fun at him. He needed her to know.
Angelina was having similar thoughts. But she wasn't sure that George would want to come inside. But she needed to tell him that she was in love with him, and it wasn't because of Fred. She loved George for George. She wanted, no needed him to see that. Finally she broke the silence.
"George," His head popped up like he had just come out of some kind of trance, "Did you want to come inside?"
"Sure," George said in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice. They walked inside. George liked what he saw. It was a small flat, but it had a nice sitting area and from what he could see a nice kitchen, not to mention it was so unmistakably Angelina. It was most like a bachelor's pad with a few feminine touches.
"Well, er, this is where I live," She said while closing the door behind them. "Take a seat." The couch was small and comfortable and they were sitting awfully close to one another.
"I need to talk to you,"
"I need to talk to you,"
"We really need to stop doing that," Angelina said amusedly. To her, they sounded a bit like Fred and George, but different. The mixture of their voices was, in a word, better. She liked the sound of it. A lot.
"Well I went first last time, so you go first this time." George said with a hand gesture.
"I have a better idea," Angelina said with a smirk. She was going to tell George she loved him, but with any luck he wouldn't hear her.
"Better than mine, I highly doubt it, but let's hear it." He was also smirking. She punched him lightly in the arm.
"We go at the same time." George like this idea, chances are she wouldn't hear him, and he would pretend (though he really wouldn't be pretending) to be more interested in what she said.
"Alright, on the count of three,"
"One,"
"Two,"
"Three,"
"Angelina, I'm love with you."
"George, I'm in love with you."
"What?!?" They both asked in shock.
"I only have one ear so maybe that's why I heard what I heard. Did you just say you were in love with me?" George looked at her incredulously.
"Yes and I thought I heard you say you were in love with me, and I have two ears."
"I did. I said it. I am in love with you Angelina Marie Johnson." When George said this, his ear turned red and he could feel the rest of his skin flaming as well. He stared at her in disbelief and then got up and started pacing the room. "But you can't be in love with me Angelina." He stated this simply, as if it was a fact. Angelina stood up in anger.
"And why the bloody hell not?" She folded her arms across her chest and stared at him. He turned to face her.
"I saw how you looked that night Angelina. You loved him, hell you still do. You had dreams about him for God's sake."
"You're right George, I do love Fred, and yes I have dreams about him, but you're in the dreams too. And you're the one holding my hand, or comforting me. Those nightmares have turned into something else since that night. When we fall we land on solid ground and you're holding me in your arms. And then you kiss me, and it is the best kiss I could ever imagine.
"George I don't love you because you look like, or sound like Fred. I don't love you because I think you two were the same person. I love you for you. Because you were the one always there for me, because you make me smile, and laugh, and think about things I wouldn't normally think about. I love you because you don't remind me of Fred. And besides, you could never be Fred, you're missing an ear." She smiled sadly at George and plopped gracefully on the couch. How did she do that, George thought to himself. Then he sat down beside her.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
"For what?" she looked at him curiously.
"For reacting like that."
"I expected to you to."
"You see right through me you know," he said grinning at her.
"I know." She smiled back. He leaned in closer to her.
"And I love it." He was inches from her lips. She closed the gap and leaned in to him taking his lips fully with hers. They didn't know how long she laid on top of him kissing him and running her fingers through his red hair, while he ran his fingers through her dark hair. Their hands ran all over each others bodies. What seemed like an eternity later, they stopped and he kissed her on the forehead. "Time for me to go love."
"Wait you get me all worked up and then you want to leave me?" She said jokingly, but he could tell she was slightly serious. He kissed her again.
"I definitely don't want to leave you, I have to love. I've got to open the shop tomorrow without Lee, not to mention you've got practice."
"Oh I can miss a practice, and honestly Lee can tape his show on Tuesday, or Friday. Please." She enhanced this plea with a trail of kisses down his neck. George didn't really know why he was resisting this.
"No he can't and I won't let you miss practice. And besides, I never give it up on the first date." With that George gently moved a dejected Angelina off of him, stood up, and leaned over her again. He kissed her on the mouth. "Friday at eight?"
"Make it Wednesday at noon; I don't think I can last till Friday." She had a sly smile on her lips.
"My flat, Wednesday, at noon it is." And with that George Weasley walked out of Angelina Johnson's flat ready to take a really long, really cold shower.