"Don't be afraid, Neville," whispered Ginny, grasping his pale hand.
Neville swallowed nervously.
"After all, what's there to be afraid of?" She said earnestly. Neville shrugged.
What was he actually afraid of?
It wasn't Ginny, of course it wasn't.
It wasn't rejection. Ginny was already his girlfriend.
It wasn't embarrassment. He was convinced when Ginny said she'd never laugh at his clumsy misfortunes.
It wasn't Ron. The pair had already received their blessing from the whole Weasley family.
"I'm here, Neville. I'm here and I'm with you and I only want you. Why can't you see that?" Ginny was close to tears.
Neville stroked her hand with his thumb and he realised. It wasn't of Ginny herself or rejection or embarrassment or Ron.
It was reality.
Neville was afraid that this relationship, this love between himself and Ginny, was not real. He was afraid that he was kidding himself. He was afraid that it was all a dream and he'd wake up with the same sinking feeling he got after many dreams of Ginny. He was afraid that Ginny would suddenly burst into laughter and shout, "Gotcha!"
Neville was afraid that he was not, and would never, be good enough for Ginevra Molly Weasley.
"I'm afraid that this isn't real." said Neville, looking down awkwardly at his feet.
He was anticipating the worst: a scolding for being so ridiculous or even a break up. Ginny was surely going to think of him as a stupid fool who couldn't recognise love, even if it was right in front of him. But Ginny did neither of those things.
She laughed.
Neville looked up, confused at the sudden outburst of girlish giggling.
"You cannot be serious!" She said, gasping for breath.
Neville grimaced and shrugged. She noticed the look of pain on his face and immediately stopped laughing.
"Oh, Neville, you are serious," said Ginny. She placed a hand on his cheek and placed a small kiss on his lips.
"I love you. It's plain and simple and inevitable and it won't ever change. I love you, silly. This is real. I'm here and I love you, okay?" She said.
Neville finally smiled for the first time since the start of the conversation and pulled Ginny into a hug.
"That's all I needed to hear."
Hope you enjoyed :D Probably not my best work, I just had this idea and wrote whatever I felt. Not much thought has gone into this, but I like to post spontaneously. Review please.